Kati Närhi wins Rudolf Koivu Award with wordless picture book MISSING (YOU)!

We are overjoyed to announce that Kati Närhi is the winner of the Rudolf Koivu Award with her multi-awarded picture book MISSING (YOU) (Kadoksissa, Capuchina Kustannus 2022)! Warmest congratulations! To celebrate the occasion, even the perpetually grey and dark November sky in Finland gave us a sunny and colorful break today.

What is it like to lose a friend and to miss them? You might feel like the boy in this wordless story whose best friend moves away. Longing for his dear friend, the boy keeps seeing his friend’s face everywhere: on a rainy street, in egg-yolks, and on the face of the moon. The world feels dull and grey without his friend by his side. Yet, the sadness will not last for ever. As the sadness transforms into acceptance, the colors return, accompanied by hope and joy.

The prize jury describes the work as follows:
Illustration plays a central role in Kati Närhi’s MISSING (YOU), as the story is told solely through images. From the point of view of pictorial storytelling, the work is an excellent whole. Kati Närhi trusts the readers’ image reading skills and does not make things too easy. The Story becomes particularly ambiguous precisely because its “text” is in the form of pictures. You can tell everything with a picture!