Ellen Niit
Writing
Biography
Ellen Niit (neé Hiob; July 13, 1928 – May 30, 2016) was an Estonian children's writer, poet and translator. Over her lifetime, she penned more than forty books of both prose and poetry for children. She also wrote a number of collections of prose and poetry for adults. Her works have been translated into eighteen languages. Niit was born in 1928 in Tallinn, Estonia. She attended school in Tapa and in Tallinn, then graduated from the University of Tartu in the field of Estonian philology in 1952. After working as a poetry consultant at the Writers' Union of the ESSR from 1956 to 1961, she was forced to resign for ideological reasons. Afterward, Niit worked as an editor of children's television programmes, and in 1963 became a freelance translator and writer. Hiob first married folklorist and literary scholar Heldur Niit in 1949. They had one son, noted psychologist Toomas Niit, in 1953. The couple divorced in 1958, the same year she wed writer Jaan Kross; their children are Maarja Undusk (born 1959), Eerik-Niiles Kross (born 1967) and Märten Kross (1970).
Known For
Kips and the Forest Sage's helicopter breaks down in a thunderstorm, but fortunately, the distressed fall to a desert island. Kips learns which forest gifts to use for survival – some are suitable for cooking, others become material for clothes and blankets. With the disease, medicinal herbs help. He makes friends with a water spider who shows him the underwater world. When thunder breaks out again, Kips and the Forest Sage help the ants in trouble, who will not forget this good deed.
Kips the Operator on a Desert Island
A modern fairy tale tells the story of an inseparable character living in a children's fantasy world, the mischievous animal Nippet.
Nippet
A psychedelic Soviet/Estonian animation short. A hare boy doesn't want to go to sleep in the evening. His mother tries to scare him with a fox, a wolf and a bear, but he is not afraid of any of them. Suddenly, a small mouse appears on the floor - and the hare boy goes quickly under the blanket.
The Story of a Hare Boy
A grey world makes people somber. A world full of colors makes people irritated. What is a poor painter to do if he wants to please this insatiable and daft crowd? Paint it white?
The Great Painter
Estonian/Soviet animation short from 1964
The Last Chimney-Sweep
A story about a boy who dreams of performing great heroic deeds, but in reality turns out to be lazy and misses out on the reward he longs for.
Täheke
Two well-known children's stories made into animation. The duck who fell asleep while driving the train and the girl who couldn't stop whining.