The Seven Dog Brothers, the latest offering from the hugely popular author-illustrator Mauri Kunnas, is his own canine adaptation of the classic novel by Aleksis Kivi, Finland’s
national author. Kunnas has already explored the national epic in similar vein (in The Canine Kalevala, 1992),
and Seven Brothers has always been among his favourite works.

The memorable characters and rugged landscapes of the original are all present in Kunnas’s book, which
follows the path of the seven pup brothers into adulthood. Should they live free in the wild or learn the ways of men and civilisation – Mauri Kunnas portrays the hounds’ struggle
in the crossfi re of this question deliciously and with his usual wacky humour. One of the key sequences carried over from Kivi’s novel is when the brothers haltingly learn to read, always a part of the story that appeals particularly to younger readers.

The book serves as a fi rst-rate introduction to readers as yet unfamiliar with Kivi’s great novel, and will also bring delight to those who know the plot of the original.

Mauri Kunnas’s books have been translated into more than 25 languages.