Otava

The bandit leader Wild Carl stole Maisie away on an impulse – normally when the Robbersons rob cars, they only steal candy and other things to eat, barbies and magazines. Maisie, who was on a trip to her grandma’s house, came along almost by accident, to keep the bandit family’s children Hele and Charlie company.

Maisie’s shock changes quickly to understanding. She thinks it’s fun going down the road at breakneck speed, stopping to swim whenever you want, stealing candy, running from the police – and from her father – playing Yahtzee, eating outdoors, and sleeping in a tent.

For the Robbersons, money is nothing but “mouse farts”. But during a summer party they accidentally reveal that they possess a considerable treasure, and they end up with the police and some other bandits hot on their trail. After all the chaotic revels, Hilda, the Robberson mother, starts to yearn for her own bed, Charlie the bookworm starts to miss school, and Hele, who keeps the stolen barbies tuned up, is planning yet another incarnation of villainy.

This has been the best summer ever. It was the summer I became a highwayman. I learned what it’s like to eat my breakfast straight from the pan by the side of a lake, and how cold it is when you’re sleeping outside. I learned to be crass and I learned how to whistle between my teeth. I’m waiting for next summer. The Robbersons promised to kidnap me again, because they need me.

Siri Kolu (born 1972) is a dramaturge, director, and theatre instructor. Her debut novel The Dark of the Forest was published in 2008. Me and the Robbersons is a road movie in the form of a children’s book – a story of freedom, and its costs. There are plans under way for both a film version and a theater play of this humorous story of adventure.

Me and the Robbersons has been awarded Finlandia Junior Prize 2010.