View source for Mauri Kunnas

{{short description|Finnish cartoonist and children's author (born 1950)}}
{{BLP sources|date=June 2015}}
[[Image:Mauri Kunnas.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Mauri Kunnas in 2008]]
'''Mauri Tapio Kunnas''' (born 11 February 1950) is a [[Finland|Finnish]] [[cartoonist]] and children's author.

Kunnas was born in [[Vammala]]. He [[matriculation|matriculated]] in 1969 and graduated from the [[Aalto University School of Arts, Design and Architecture|University of Art and Design in Helsinki]] as a [[graphic designer]] in 1975. He has worked as a [[political cartoonist]] in many Finnish [[newspaper]]s. He lives in [[Espoo]] with his wife Tarja, children Jenna (1983) and Noora (1987) and their cat.

Kunnas is most famous for his numerous children's books, illustrated by himself and featuring [[anthropomorphism|anthropomorphic]] animals. His most famous children's book series is called ''Koiramäki'' (Dog Hill), set in historical Finland, featuring anthropomorphic [[dog]]s. His other works include ''Riku, Roope ja Ringo'' (Ricky, Rocky and Ringo), some "horror" books and books about [[Joulupukki]].

The hordes of clothed animals present in his books by the end of the 1970s led people to compare him to [[Richard Scarry]]. But as he became more popular and produced even more work the similarities lessened. Kunnas' children's books usually feature some recurring background characters, like Herra Hakkarainen (Mr. Clutterbuck), a sleepwalking goat.

Aside of children's books, Kunnas has also drawn a [[rock and roll]] parody comic called ''[[Nyrok City]]'' for teenagers and adults. The comic parodies 1970s-1980s era rock and roll culture such as [[The Beatles]] and [[The Rolling Stones]] in a Finnish style. It is one of the few Kunnas works in which the characters are drawn as humans.

Despite his fame, he remembered his origins. Much of the scenic imagery in his work comes from his hometown of [[Vammala]] with glimpses of its churches and rustic atmosphere. He also did valuable PR work for the [[Korvatunturi|Finnish home]] of [[Santa Claus]] in ''Twelve Gifts for Santa Claus'' (USA 1988), and ''Santa and the Magic Drum'' (Otava 1996), the latter of which has also been made into an [[Santa Claus and the Magic Drum|animated film of the same name]] in same year.

He recently{{When|date=October 2017}} worked on a grander scale with ''The Canine [[Kalevala]]'', a new version of the classic Finnish epic more accessible to children as well as cultural sidestep in his version of ''The Knights of King Arthur'' featuring cats in Camelot.

He attributes a large part of his success to his good wife Tarja Kunnas who has worked for twenty years as his assistant doing the painting for her husband's drawings.<ref>{{cite web|last=Kunnas|first=Mauri|title=All about Mauri|url=http://www.maurikunnas.net/mauri_kunnas/kaikki_maurista/en_GB/all_about_mauri/|accessdate=9 January 2013}}</ref>

== Awards ==

Kunnas received the [[Pro Finlandia]] medal in 2002.<ref>https://www.hs.fi/suomi/art-2000004104380.html</ref> He was shortlisted for the [[Finlandia Prize]] in the children's and youth literature category in 2017.<ref>https://www.is.fi/viihde/art-2000005440997.html</ref>

In 2014 he won the "Vittoria Samarelli Literary Award" ([[Castel Goffredo]], [[Italy]]).<ref>{{in lang|it}}[https://gazzettadimantova.gelocal.it/tempo-libero/2014/12/05/news/il-premio-vittoria-samarelli-all-illustratore-mauri-kunnas-1.10443602 Il premio Vittoria Samarelli all’illustratore Mauri Kunnas.]</ref>

==References==

{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://www.maurikunnas.net Official site]

{{Portal |Children's literature}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kunnas, Mauri}}
[[Category:1950 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:People from Sastamala]]
[[Category:Finnish comic strip cartoonists]]
[[Category:Finnish children's writers]]
[[Category:Finnish children's book illustrators]]
[[Category:Finnish comics artists]]
[[Category:Finnish graphic designers]]
[[Category:Finnish graphic novelists]]
[[Category:Writers who illustrated their own writing]]


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