Prolific children's author and folklorist Aaron Shepard retells an episode from the Finnish folk epic, The Kalevala, in this lovely free-verse picture-book. The story centers around the rivalry of Vainomoinen the sage and magician and Ilmarinen the great smith and craftsman of the world, for the hand of Aila, the eponymous maiden of Northland, and the daughter of the great witch Louhi. Each suitor makes a gift for Louhi - Vainomoinen invents the kantele, a traditional Finnish box zither, while Ilmarinen creates the sampo, a magic mill - but although they both plead their case with Aila, neither is accepted. Taking their gifts and departing, they are pursued by Louhi, determined to keep the sampo...

It's been years since I read The Kalevala, but I recall finding its story of magic and creation enchanting. Shepard's The Maiden of Northland: A Hero Tale of Finland is the first children's adaptation of it (or part of it) that I have picked up, and I found it lovely. The narrative is in free verse, rather than than the trochaic tetrameter of the original (understandable!), a choice that allows Shepard to at least recreate the feeling that this is a poem or song, rather than a prose story, even if he doesn't manage to recreate the structure of the original. The author discusses his source material, and his approach to retelling the story in detail, in his fascinating afterword. The accompanying artwork from Carol Schwartz is gorgeous, with beautiful decorative borders on every page, and colorful full-page paintings depicting the characters is lovely folk dress. Recommended to young folklore lovers, and to anyone seeking children's adaptations of The Kalevala. ( )