Lasten Satuja

Yleisradio (Yle) launched “Lastenradio/Lastentunti” in 1927, establishing a daily children’s hour hosted by Markus Rautio (known as “Markus‑setä”). Finland adopted recording technology in the 1930s, and radio drama quickly became a national habit, giving a production model—scripts, actors, studio foley—that children’s fairy‑tale recordings would follow.

By the 1950s–60s, seasonal children’s plays and fairy‑tale specials (for example, Pikkuväen satujoulu and the first appearances of Toini Vuoristo’s Noita Nokinenä character) were staples on Finnish radio. These shows fixed the calm narrative tone, clear diction, and moral framing that still define the genre.

As C‑cassettes became Finland’s dominant home medium, children’s fairy‑tale albums (“satukasetit”) flourished. Labels reissued older material on cassette and released new story compilations; the format’s ubiquity in homes, cars, and daycare centers made fairy‑tale listening a mass pastime. Compilation series such as Satuaitta—originally an early‑1980s cassette set later reissued on CD—typify the period.

Publishers continued the tradition with CD anthologies like Otava’s multi‑disc “Suomen lasten satuja/Suomen lasten satuaarteet,” and public broadcasters, small studios and independent creators have moved fairy‑tales to on‑demand audio and podcasts, keeping narration foregrounded and music supportive.

These practices mirror the long‑standing radio‑to‑recording approach in Finland’s children’s fairy‑tale audio: narration first, music supportive, sound design gentle and imagistic.