Rosie is a sleek greyhound who loves to run. And at the start of her story, Rosie Runs–a beautiful, oversized picture book for ages 3-7–that’s exactly what she does, day in and day out:

The white mechanical hare scurries in front, and Rosie can just see it from the corner of her eye. Soon she leaves the others behind and flies across the finish line. ‘The winner is dog number two!’ the announcer calls out to the packed stands.

But Rosie isn’t free. She’s trapped, forced to run in circles like all the other dogs with her. In between races, she dreams of the outside world beyond the track. One day during yet another race she’s winning, she keeps running past the finish line without missing a beat. Instead, she races past a train, into the city, past a circus, into a rush-hour commute and to the rushing waters of the harbor. Eventually, she winds up in a small park where, “…two dogs jog up to her. They give her kind smiles. “Hey, do you want to run with us?” asks the brown dog.”

Inspired by a real-life dog with of the same name–a rescue dog saved by a friend of the author–Rosie Runs enchants with its vivid palette of pastel/crayon strokes and poetic language. The childlike images are a fascinating combination of sketchy and yet detailed, illustrating the different scenes in Rosie’s escape run in a way that invites readers to revisit them again and again. The art and words work in tandem to create a fluid sense of movement, making Rosie’s flight to freedom tangibly exciting–even for an adult reader–but not too scary for the young person at that reader’s side. The book’s interlaced themes of yearning, dreams, friendship, and following one’s passion also inspire repeated reading.

Does Rosie decide she wants to run with her new friends in the small park?

Of course.

Rosie Runs
Written and illustrated by Marika Maijala
Translated from the Finnish by Mia Spangenberg
ISBN: 978-1953861603
2023, Elsewhere Editions
Visit Maijala’s workshop and watch her read the book

Reviews: Publishers Weekly Starred Review. Kirkus Starred Review.

Awards: 2019 Nordic Council Children and Young People’s Literature Prize nominee

You can buy a copy here* or find it at a library.

*Book purchases made via our affiliate link may earn GLLI a small commission at no cost to you.

Award-winning opera singer Nanette McGuinness is the translator of over 100 books and graphic novels for children and adults from French, Italian, German and Spanish into English, including the much-loved Geronimo Stilton Graphic Novels, as well as Tiki: A Very Ruff Year (nominated for the 2023 Eisner and Harvey Awards) and Alice on the Run: One Child’s Journey Through the Rwandan Civil War (2023 GLLI YA Translated Book Prize Honor Book, 2023 Mosaic Prize winner, 2023 Excellence in Graphic Literature Finalist and 2023 Harvey Award nominee). Accolades have also gone to her translations of Magical History Tour: Vikings and of Magical History Tour: Gandhi (both 2023 Excellence in Graphic Literature Finalists), Luisa: Now and Then (2019 Stonewall Honor Book; 2020 GLLI YA Translated Honor Book; YALSA’s Great Graphic Novels for Teens in 2019) and California Dreamin’: Cass Elliot Before the Mamas & the Papas (2018 Harvey Award; YALSA’s Great Graphic Novels for Teens in 2018).