Biography
The Island of Messy-Haired Princesses
Illustrator: Kirke Kangro
2016, 32 pp
ISBN: 9789949972050
fiction, picturebook
The Kooky Museum of Mr. Glass
Illustrator: Marge Nelk
2016, 72 pp
ISBN: 9789949935383
fiction, storybook
Lemūriukas Vilius iškeliauja
Original title: Ville the Lemur Flies the Coop
Language: Lithuanian
Illustrator: Elina Sildre
Translator: Reda Šmitaitė
BaltArt-Verlag
2019, 176 pp
ISBN: 9783952455920
fiction, storybook
Lentokentän lutikat
Original title: The Airport Bugs Fight On
Language: Finnish
Illustrator: Kaspar Jancis
Translator: Katariina Suurpalo
Aviador
2018, 206 pp
ISBN: 9789527063552
fiction, storybook
Les punaises de l’aéroport font de la résistance
Original title: The Airport Bugs Fight On
Language: French
Illustrator: Katia Humbert
Translator: Vincent Dautancourt
Le Verger des Hespérides
2019, 339 pp
ISBN: 9782365873222
fiction, storybook
Lidostas blaktis nepadodas
Original title: The Airport Bugs Fight On
Language: Latvian
Illustrator: Kaspar Jancis
Translator: Guntars Godiņš
Pētergailis
2019, 208 pp
ISBN: 9789984334998
fiction, storybook
Piia Pierniczek się wprowadza
Original title: Piia Biscuit Moves In
Language: Polish
Illustrator: Ulla Saar
Translator: Marta Perlikiewicz
Widnokrąg
2023, 96 pp
ISBN: 9788396796011
fiction, storybook
Piia Pikkuleipä muuttaa
Original title: Piia Biscuit Moves In
Language: Finnish
Illustrator: Ulla Saar
Translator: Katariina Suurpalo
Aviador
2019, 104 pp
ISBN: 9789527347003
fiction, storybook
Pija Prjaņika un Vardēdis
Original title: Piia Biscuit and the Word-Snatcher
Language: Latvian
Illustrator: Ulla Saar
Translator: Guntars Godiņš
Pētergailis
2022, 113 pp
ISBN: 9789984335551
storybook, fiction
Pija Prjaņika un bandīti
Original title: Piia Biscuit and the Bandits
Language: Latvian
Illustrator: Ulla Saar
Translator: Guntars Godiņš
Pētergailis
2020, 143 pp
ISBN: 9789984335278
fiction, storybook
Ville macht sich auf die Socken
Original title: Ville the Lemur Flies the Coop
Language: German
Illustrator: Elina Sildre
Translator: Irja Grönholm
BaltArt-Verlag
2013, 192 pp
ISBN: 9783952310960
fiction, storybook
Клопиная книга. Обитатели аэропорта не сдаются
Original title: The Airport Bugs Fight On
Language: Russian
Illustrator: Kaspar Jancis
Translator: Vera Prohorova
KPD Kirjastus
2019, 200 pp
ISBN: 9789949545360
fiction, storybook
Пийа Пряник переезжает
Original title: Piia Biscuit Moves In
Language: Russian
Illustrator: Ulla Saar
Translator: Jelena Baljasnaja
Koolibri
2023, 112 pp
ISBN: 9789985051030
fiction, storybook
Kairi Look's Booklet 2022
2020
Story time with Kairi Look (video)
Ledene zem mēles – un rakstu by Guntars Godins (Punctum, Latvian)
2019
Kairi Look at the Helsinki and Turku Book Fairs
Kairi Look at the literature night in Paris
Les punaises de l'aéroport font de la résistance (Le Verger des Hespérides, French)
2017
Kairi Look will take part in Estonian Literature Week in Finland
Kirput ja torakat sopivat Kairi Lookin sankareiksi (Savon Sanomat, Finnish)
2015
Compagni di viaggio #3: intervista a Kairi Look (Italian)
Kairi Look und Ulla Saar "Pia Pfefferkorn zieht ein" (VivaVostok, German)
Wikipedia (German)
2020
Story time with Kairi Look (video)
Ledene zem mēles – un rakstu by Guntars Godins (Punctum, Latvian)
2019
Kairi Look at the Helsinki and Turku Book Fairs
Kairi Look at the literature night in Paris
Les punaises de l'aéroport font de la résistance (Le Verger des Hespérides, French)
2017
Kairi Look will take part in Estonian Literature Week in Finland
Kirput ja torakat sopivat Kairi Lookin sankareiksi (Savon Sanomat, Finnish)
2015
Compagni di viaggio #3: intervista a Kairi Look (Italian)
Kairi Look und Ulla Saar "Pia Pfefferkorn zieht ein" (VivaVostok, German)
Wikipedia (German)
Kairi Look (born 1983) is a young children’s author who has lived all over Europe for many years, and received great attention in Estonia already with her first children’s book, Ville the Lemur Flies the Coop (2013). Altogether, she has penned only three books so far, but each of them has been awarded and acclaimed. The first two works are additionally connected by their very international settings: one in European metropolises, the other in an international airport. They reflect today’s global world, in which a multitude of different nationalities and people (or animals) come into contact.
Ville the Lemur Flies the Coop is an adventure tale full of unexpected twists. Its main character is a baby lemur, who together with a French squirrel decides to escape the humdrum jungle for Paris. But while trying to make their way to the land of street cafés and croissants, they need to take a detour to Amsterdam, where they meet a helpful cat. It probably takes just these couple of short sentences for more fact-abiding readers to start tugging out their hair – what kind of a world is it where squirrels and lemurs mingle, and the pine trees grow on a tropical island? How could they traverse a direct route from there to Paris or Amsterdam with a single ship and in a single day? It can’t be Madagascar, can it?! If, however, you abandon logic and geography, then what hatches is a brisk adventure that sweeps the reader along through different societies, prejudices, values, and lives – from the wild forest to the Louvre’s glass pyramid. You can sense the delight with which the author, who has personally lived in both Paris and Amsterdam, describes Ville’s new environs and strange acquaintances, and jokes about them. The book was awarded third place in the 2012 My First Book Children’s Story Competition.
The Airport Bugs Fight On is Kairi Look’s second children’s book, the main characters of which are – as you can guess from the title, bugs. Hardly anyone would like the thought of airports being full of fleas, termites, and flies. Hopefully they aren’t. But the book’s plot takes place in just that kind of an airport. Specifically, the baby flea Ludvig is born into a big, friendly flea family at an old airport; a family that always takes care of all its members. Life is absolutely brilliant. That is, until a barking package containing the puppy Robi ends up in the baggage room one day. Robi quickly befriends the bugs, but delivers worrying news as well. Specifically, his master is an inspector, who has been tasked with taking over the airport and closing it if at all possible. While people would probably be only glad to hear something like that in real life, it naturally brings the bugs no joy, and they decide to resolve the matter together. The airport-rescue operation puts Robi’s former way of life in danger as well, and things turn perilous. Kairi’s work tells a story about friendship, working together, and also taking care of one another. The book has received awards, likewise.
Kairi Look takes a step into the everyday world for the first time in her book Peter – “Pete” to his Friends. Or does she? One day at preschool, Markus, who lives with his father (a university researcher), meets a new boy he hasn’t seen before. The boy, who introduces himself as Peter (“Pete” to his friends), claims to own a telephone that has a direct line to Santa’s elves. Of course, the children then start to ask the elves questions, and Peter demands candy as a fee. What unfolds is a picture probably familiar from preschool or elementary school – one of inequality between children and them comparing each other. At the same time, Pete is clever enough to talk his way out of complicated situations, and he has a good heart in spite of it all. In this way, the author manages to resolve situations with honor and to create a tale, the main character of which alternately appears and disappears, teases and helps. The mischief lasts all the way to the last page, and no one will leave the book in tears. This book of Kairi Look received the Tartu City Children’s Literature Award in 2015.
Kairi Look has contributed new topics and characters to Estonian children’s literature, and her next humorous titles are greatly awaited.
Hanneleele Kaldmaa
6.08.2015
Ville the Lemur Flies the Coop is an adventure tale full of unexpected twists. Its main character is a baby lemur, who together with a French squirrel decides to escape the humdrum jungle for Paris. But while trying to make their way to the land of street cafés and croissants, they need to take a detour to Amsterdam, where they meet a helpful cat. It probably takes just these couple of short sentences for more fact-abiding readers to start tugging out their hair – what kind of a world is it where squirrels and lemurs mingle, and the pine trees grow on a tropical island? How could they traverse a direct route from there to Paris or Amsterdam with a single ship and in a single day? It can’t be Madagascar, can it?! If, however, you abandon logic and geography, then what hatches is a brisk adventure that sweeps the reader along through different societies, prejudices, values, and lives – from the wild forest to the Louvre’s glass pyramid. You can sense the delight with which the author, who has personally lived in both Paris and Amsterdam, describes Ville’s new environs and strange acquaintances, and jokes about them. The book was awarded third place in the 2012 My First Book Children’s Story Competition.
The Airport Bugs Fight On is Kairi Look’s second children’s book, the main characters of which are – as you can guess from the title, bugs. Hardly anyone would like the thought of airports being full of fleas, termites, and flies. Hopefully they aren’t. But the book’s plot takes place in just that kind of an airport. Specifically, the baby flea Ludvig is born into a big, friendly flea family at an old airport; a family that always takes care of all its members. Life is absolutely brilliant. That is, until a barking package containing the puppy Robi ends up in the baggage room one day. Robi quickly befriends the bugs, but delivers worrying news as well. Specifically, his master is an inspector, who has been tasked with taking over the airport and closing it if at all possible. While people would probably be only glad to hear something like that in real life, it naturally brings the bugs no joy, and they decide to resolve the matter together. The airport-rescue operation puts Robi’s former way of life in danger as well, and things turn perilous. Kairi’s work tells a story about friendship, working together, and also taking care of one another. The book has received awards, likewise.
Kairi Look takes a step into the everyday world for the first time in her book Peter – “Pete” to his Friends. Or does she? One day at preschool, Markus, who lives with his father (a university researcher), meets a new boy he hasn’t seen before. The boy, who introduces himself as Peter (“Pete” to his friends), claims to own a telephone that has a direct line to Santa’s elves. Of course, the children then start to ask the elves questions, and Peter demands candy as a fee. What unfolds is a picture probably familiar from preschool or elementary school – one of inequality between children and them comparing each other. At the same time, Pete is clever enough to talk his way out of complicated situations, and he has a good heart in spite of it all. In this way, the author manages to resolve situations with honor and to create a tale, the main character of which alternately appears and disappears, teases and helps. The mischief lasts all the way to the last page, and no one will leave the book in tears. This book of Kairi Look received the Tartu City Children’s Literature Award in 2015.
Kairi Look has contributed new topics and characters to Estonian children’s literature, and her next humorous titles are greatly awaited.
Hanneleele Kaldmaa
6.08.2015