The Moomin series
by Tove Jansson

The tales of Moomintroll and his friends and family were authored and illustrated by a Finnish author and painter who wrote in Swedish. They began as simple, lighthearted, episodic stories about a family of little trolls and the small creatures they befriended. Gentle and heartwarming as they are, they also have a touch of melancholy, perhaps an inescapable part of any tale based on childhood in a far northern climate; and there are hints of messages about social and personal values. Later, the series grew in depth and maturity, until Jansson turned toward writing adult fiction.

I am indebted to Wikipedia for this summary of the Moomin books. After reading several of the books, I had to wiki the series because I was getting confused about the order in which the books happened. Here, for the record, is the order of the full-length Moomin books:

1. The Moomins and the Great Flood (1945)
2. Comet in Moominland (1946)
3. Finn Family Moomintroll, a.k.a. The Happy Moomins (1948)
4. The Exploits of Moominpappa, a.k.a. Moominpappa's Memoirs (1950)
5. Moominsummer Madness (1954)
6. Moominland in Midwinter (1957)
7. Tales from Moominvalley (a 1962 collection of short stories)
8. Moominpappa at Sea (1965)
9. Moominvalley in November (1970)

There are also several smaller, children's picture books based on the Moomins, including The Book About Moomin, Mymble, and Little My (1952), Who Will Comfort Toffle? (1960), The Dangerous Journey (1977), An Unwanted Guest (1980), and Visitor from Moominvalley (1993). Not all of the work in the last few was hers, and some of them have not been translated into English. Jansson also co-created a comic strip based on the Moomins, but for most of its run it was the work of her brother Lars.

The Moomin books started when the author wanted to write something sweet and innocent to relieve her depression over World War II. The first book was The Moomins and the Great Flood, but many English-speaking readers missed this book because it was not widely available in translation until after many of the other books in the series. Jansson's publisher made her change the title to The Little Trolls and the Great Flood, because he feared the public would not understand the word "Moomins." In translation the original title has been restored, but (like the American publisher's decision to change the title of J.K. Rowling's first book) these changes of title have added to the confusion. So for many fans of these stories, the curtain rises with the second book, Comet in Moominland - though it contains references to the earlier book.

For her contributions to worldwide children's literature, Tove Jansson won the Hans Christian Andersen Award in 1966. The Moomins are also honored by a museum and a theme park. At 33 languages strong, these have become some of the most widely translated works of Finnish literature. Some of Jansson's other books include The Summer Book, A Winter Book, and The Field of Stones.

Robbie Fischer
USA

If you would like to contact Robbie, you may do so here.