The Only Beautiful Day of the Summer wins the 2025 Rudolf Koivu Prize!

We are overjoyed to announce that Maria Vilja is the winner of the Rudolf Koivu Prize with her multi-awarded picture book THE ONLY BEAUTIFUL DAY OF THE SUMMER! Congratulations Maria Vilja!

The prize jury describes the work as follows:

The work is cleverly composed, expressive, and a harmonious whole. In the story, the perspectives and emotions of the main characters, the mother and the children, are beautifully conveyed through the illustrated spreads. The images invite the reader to reflect on events beyond the story itself: What happened yesterday? What are those less beautiful days of summer like?

The pictures overflow with warmth, love, and humor, yet they also leave room for the mother’s piercing fear of failure and the children’s clinging need for acceptance. Vilja’s depiction of expressions and gestures is perceptive, and the composition is inventive.

The book’s illustrations also serve as an excellent lesson on the importance of light in creating emotional atmosphere: The only beautiful day of summer glows alternately in the gentle evening sun and in the reddish saturation filtered through the mother’s skirt.”

The prestigious prize awarded by Grafia biannually is presented to the Best Children’s Book Illustration in Finland. This year, the top ten nominees were selected from 139 books. The main prize is worth 15,000 €.

REQUEST MATERIALS FOR THE ONLY BEAUTIFUL DAY OF THE SUMMER HERE

A life-affirming picture book about a summer day out including both laughter and tears, love and arguing, sunshine and thunder clouds.

Maria Vilja skillfully depicts the life of a family with children with all its emotions.

The sun and expectations are high when Eila and Aarno finally have a chance to go on a trek outdoors. Huffing and puffing, Mother is packing – something will definitely get forgotten. Then they run to catch the bus – and make it in just the nick of time! But when Aarno starts acting out and the camera gets broken, Mother loses her temper. Eila feels as if the sun has gone out at the very same moment.

Maria Vilja writes and draws about emotions and family relationships in a beautiful, sensitive way. A summer’s day includes both joy and tears, love and arguing, sunshine and thunderclouds. The message of the book is that everyone has a right to experience emotions, both children and adults. The hazy illustrations of the book are as if memories of a bygone summer.