Kairi Look

Kairi Look is an Estonian writer.

Biography

Kairi Look graduated in 2005 University of Tartu with a bachelor's degree in physiotherapy, and in 2008 with a master's degree in human movement sciences and rehabilitative medicine from the University of Amsterdam, Netherlands. She has studied in the same field in Finland and the University of Ghent, in Belgium. She has worked as a publisher of scientific literature in Amsterdam and Paris. She writes children´s literature, prose, book critique, and translates fiction from Dutch to Estonian. She has received the annual prize of the literary magazine Looming for the best novella. She is the author of Aabits, a new Alphabet book published in 2024 by Koolibri. In 2025, her debut novel "Dance the Dust from the Floor" was published at Loomingu Raamatukogu for which she received the Writer of the Year 2025 award.

Translations

The Airport Bugs Fight On

French: Les punaises de l’aéroport font de la résistance, Le Verger des Hespérides 2019
Finnish: Lentokentän lutikat, Aviador 2018
Latvian: Lidostas blaktis nepadodas, Pētergailis 2019
Russian: Клопиная книга. Обитатели аэропорта не сдаются, КПД 2019

Ville the Lemur Flies the Coop

Lithuanian: Lemūriukas Vilius iškeliauja, BaltArt 2019
German: Ville macht sich auf die Socken, BaltArt 2013

Piia Biscuit Moves In

Finnish: Piia Pikkuleipä muuttaa, Aviador 2019
Russian: Пийа Пряник переезжает, Koolibri 2023
Polish: Piia Pierniczek się wprowadza, Widnokrąg 2023
German: Pia Pfefferminz zieht ein, Mixtvision 2025

Piia Biscuit and the Bandits

Latvian: Pija Prjaņika un bandīti, Pētergailis 2020

Piia Biscuit and the Word-Snatcher

Latvian: Pija Prjaņika un Vārdēdis, Petergailis 2022

Peter, Petey for friends

Russian: Пеэтер, для друзей Пеэтрике, Koolibri 2023

A Little Bit Big

Lithuanian: Truputį didelis, Misteris Pinkmanas 2024
Latvian: Mazlietiņ liels, Liels un mazs 2025

As a translator

"Milla ja mere lapsed", Eesti Raamat, 2022
"Kriimik", Eesti Raamat, 2022
"Mis juhtus Leoga?", Draakon ja Kuu, 2024
"Maailma novell", Eesti Jutt MTÜ, 2024

Awards

2012 Children's Story Competition "My First Book", 3rd place
2014 Children's Story Competition "My First Book", 1st place
2014 Good Children’s Book
2015 Good Children’s Book
2015 Tartu Prize for Children’s Literature
2018 Looming magazine annual prize for the best short story
2022 National Writer's Stipend
2024 5 Best-Designed Estonian Children’s Books Award
2024 Good Children's Book
2025 25 Best-Designed Estonian Books Award
2025 Good Children’s Book
2025 Bologna BRAW „Amazing Bookshelf”
2025 The most beautiful Estonian book in the Baltics
2025 Estonian Writer 2025
2025 Book of the Year, best novel from an Estonian author

Nominations

2014 – Culture Endowment of Estonia Annual Children's Literature Award
2015 – Culture Endowment of Estonia Annual Children's Literature Award
2017 - Tartu Children's literature Award
2019 – Culture Endowment of Estonia Annual Children's Literature Award
2020 - Tartu Children's Literature Award
2022 – Book of the Year, best Estonian children's book
2022 – Book of the Year, best translated children's book
2022 – Babel Tower translation award
2023 – Book of the Year, best Estonian children's book
2024 – Babel Tower translation award
2025 – Culture Endowment of Estonia Annual Children's Literature Award