''Uppo-Nalle'' is a children's novel by the

Finnish Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people * Finnish cuisine See also ...

author Elina Karjalainen. It was first published in 1977, and was followed by 21 other novels about the same characters. Hannu Taina is the illustrator. The main character in the books is Uppo-Nalle, an animate

teddy bear A teddy bear is a stuffed toy in the form of a bear. Developed apparently simultaneously by toymakers Morris Michtom in the U.S. and Richard Steiff under his aunt Margarete Steiff's company in Germany in the early 20th century, the teddy b ...

who loves poetry. The bear was named Uppo-Nalle (Finnish for "sunken bear") because he was originally found underwater during a river cruise. Other characters in the books are a girl named Reeta, her grandmother, and their dog named Laulava Lintukoira (Finnish for "singing bird dog"). In 1980 a play based on the books was shown in a Kuopio theatre, and a film was brought out in 1991.''Uppo-Nalle''
at

IMDb IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...

Uppo-Nalle has been honoured with a postage stamp and by having a children's hospital named after him.

References

1977 children's books Finnish children's literature 20th-century Finnish novels Children's novels Series of children's books Books about bears Fictional teddy bears Sentient toys in fiction {{1970s-child-novel-stub