Odds and Ends - Maije Hurme

Some people collect pens, shells or stamps. Others collect friends, trips or world records. In this charming translated picture book from Finland, a child makes a scrapbook of 'lasts' instead of 'firsts', inviting readers to reflect on their memories.

With a feel for the poignant, the bittersweet and the odd, she shares the whimsical, eccentric and touching lasts she has collected, from the last day cold enough for a wool cap, to the last anxious breath before a high dive, to the last person in her class to lose a tooth, to the last piece of chocolate, to the last words of a whole life. 

Beautifully illustrated in pencil and watercolour, this is an exploration of lasts that might set something new in motion or might bring finality. There are feelings of fear, sadness, contentment, longing and happiness here, making for a wistful picture book in which a young girl’s collection of last moments is depicted with a warm touch.