Loukko by 
Original title: Ilmapallokivi
Author: Maria Vilja
Published: 2026
Publisher: Karisto
Genres: Picture Books (0-3 Years), Chapter Books (3-6 Years)
Pages: 40
Reading material:
Finnish PDF, full English draft translation
✓ Gently explores themes of fairness, money and poverty, and childhood disappointment
✓ Celebrates imagination as a way of coping with difficult feelings
✓ The warm and honest tone resonates with both children and adults
✓ Maria Vilja is the winner of the Punni Children’s literature award + the Rudolf Koivu illustrators award, and a Finlandia Prize nominee!
Panu Has the Finest Balloon of All. This honest picture book brings a ray of light even to life’s greatest worries.
Panu wants a balloon, but his mother says they can’t afford one. Panu thinks that’s unfair. Why does his friend Rami get to have a balloon of his own, and a scooter, too? In the midst of his disappointment, Panu finds a very special stone: large, beautiful, and perfectly round. It’s almost as splendid as the showy helium balloons at the supermarket. But can a stone really be as good as a balloon?
Award-winning author-illustrator Maria Vilja’s beautiful artwork captures both the joy of spring and the muddy moments of sorrow. The Stone Balloon does not shy away from difficult questions.
“Maria Vilja is currently in excellent form with her picture books and produces remarkable work time and again. The Stone Balloon is no exception. [–] The Stone Balloon gives words to experiences of unfairness. It does not, of course, solve any structural problems, but it at least shows how sharing one’s worries can lighten the burden and offer comfort. The book’s illustrations are beautiful and expressive, and the text is skillfully written. Wonderful work.”
– Mikko, Kirjavinkit book blog
Download reading materials 
