Anni the Friend Tamer on the Red Carpet

If doing good was easy, everyone would do it!

Anni is inspired to do something good. Her class is shown a news clip about a hurricane in Brazil, and Anni sees a girl in it with a t-shirt exactly like one of her own. She must do something to help! Anni starts to make a movie with her friend Riia. The movie will be shown in the library auditorium to collect money for charity work in Brazil. But things don’t go as planned – the project is hijacked by “the pink girls”.

Anni’s mom, on the other hand, is having a career crisis, since her blog is not making money. But Anni can always be relied on for ideas! Anni learns that doing good is surprisingly easy – and surprisingly hard. The secret might actually be… teamwork


Anni the Friend Tamer in Salty Waters

Dealing with ghosts – and tricky cousins – is a lot more fun on a sunny island!

Get ready for some maritime vibes! If you like Vi på Saltkråkan (Seacrow Island) by Astrid Lindgren, this book may well be your new favorite.

Anni and her family spend the summer on a small island with her cousin’s family. Anni doesn’t remember her cousin Niko that well, but oh boy, does he turn out to be a pest. Niko keeps telling Anni about a ghost on the island, an old laundry lady who was also named Anni. Anni is not a gullible person, but when the evidence piles up, it’s hard not to be spooked… On a more fun note, a big treasure hunt is held on the island and Anni is determined to win it!


Anni the Friend Tamer

Shy people of the world, unite!

  • With hilariously quirky 4-colour artwork that perfectly illustrates the two sides of Anni: fun and witty at home, quiet and shy at school
  • Teaching middle grade readers that it’s cool to be “weird” and that everyone can find their tribe of like-minded people
  • An anti “pink girls” series!
  • Rights sold to Germany and Albania!
  • Mari Ahokoivu won the Tieto Lauri Award in 2022, Puupäähattu Comic Book Award 2023 and has been nominated for the Finlandia Prize in 2021

Anni is a 10-year-old girl. When her friend Miisa moves abroad, Anni has a chilling realization: she has never had to find a new friend. Is it too late to learn how to make friends? Obviously, no one can learn a skill this big when they’re 10, can they? Anni also has another problem. Her new pet pig only wants to stay in his safe place, under the table. Good thing Anni’s brother has just had a back operation, as this means he has lots of time to lie in bed and dole out advice. Anni’s parents are alright as far as parents go, even if they laugh a bit too much at their own jokes.

So it’s not all bad – Anni just needs to become a ‘friend tamer’!


Kaisa Paasto

Kaisa Paasto spent her childhood in the north of Finland and now lives in Espoo with her husband, two children, bunnies and a shih tzu. Kaisa has a master’s degree in Comparative Literature and has previously worked as translator, content specialist and entrepreneur. Apart from the Anni books she has published a domestic thriller for adults by Storytel Original.