Original title: Marsu ja lumpeena kellumisen taito
Author: Tuutikki Tolonen
Illustrator: Reetta Niemensivu
Published: 2025
Publisher: WSOY
Genre: Middle Grade (8-12 Years)
Pages: 144
Reading material:
Finnish Edition, English chapter by chapter synopsis
From the internationally bestselling and award-winning author of Agnes and Monster Nanny comes a gently humorous children’s novel about Margo and her new family dynamics.
✓ Tuutikki Tolonen is an Arvid Lydecken award-winning author and her Monster Nanny series has been sold into 37 territories!
✓ Addresses the topic of two homes and separation from a child’s perspective in a realistic, comforting, and age-appropriate way.
✓ For the fans of Jacqueline Wilson.
“Kids. Tomorrow we’re having a family meeting."
Nine-year-old Marigold, nicknamed Marsu, has her ordinary life turned upside down when her parents call a family meeting. Soon, instead of one home, they have two. Dad suddenly has a strange new beard, Mom buys a car and is learning to park and secretly cries, and her little brother, of course, doesn’t understand a thing – he’s just thrilled to have two sets of toys in two homes. The true nature of things becomes clear to the children only gradually.
Marsu, on the other hand, sees everything with her new hawk-like vision. Marsu spots her dad marching alongside with a man, she doesn’t recognize. But even Marsu’s sharp gaze softens when she realizes that while her parents may be separating from each other, they’re not separating from their children.
"Tuutikki Tolonen depicts a separation situation sensitively and precisely from the perspective of a primary school-aged girl. The new homes and daily routines are portrayed clearly, and although the novel is more of a reflective work than a fast-paced comedy, its perceptive observations about family life make adult readers chuckle. A ten-year-old praised the book as realistic and well-written."
– Helsingin Sanomat newspaper
Loukko by 






