Kaisa Paasto inspired school children towards humour and reading during the grant year
Alongside her writing, Kaisa Paasto has been able to visit school and talk about her work to children in Espoo.
During the grant year, Paasto has worked on her book series for children and young people. The first book in the Prankenstein series was published in the grant year, and the second one is set to come out in May 2025. She is currently working on the third book in the series. The third part in the Skandietsivät series is also under way. The publication of the series will begin in 2026. The series is currently planned to consist of five parts. Over the course of the year, Paasto has made plans for coming years – what books to publish and in what order.
The annual artist grant has enabled her to engage in new kind of collaboration in Espoo. In the autumn, Paasto wrote a literary greeting for schools in Espoo and, inspired by this, visited seven schools to see 4th–6th grade pupils. During her visits, Paasto spoke about writing humour and her Prankenstein books.
”I enjoyed the visits, even though I was initially nervous to step in front of the classes. The pupils also asked good questions. I was often asked about the time it takes to write a book and my personal favourite book. After the presentation, some pupils have come to me to whisper that they are fans of my books, which has been nice,” Paasto says, describing her experiences of the visits.
Alongside her writing efforts, Paasto's autumn season has involved creating an audio play with the audio book studio Texteller. The intention is to distribute the audio story to all schools in Espoo. Children will be guided by the alien Prööt to explore Espoo and solve riddles. Paasto has sought inspiration for the story all over Espoo.
“The locations in the story include Leppävaara station, Lippulaiva shopping centre and Kasavuori, which I have visited to enjoy the vistas,” Paasto describes.
Creating the audio play has paved the way towards new forms of literature and, as a result, Paasto has thought about writing a Prankenstein play.
The school visits have strengthened Paasto’s enthusiasm towards writing for children, and she hopes to continue the cooperation with school in other parts of Finland as well.
“Reading provides skills that are needed in all professions, such as the ability to grasp the big picture and sum up things in an understandable way,” Paasto says.