Poor little chap! He had been turned into a very strange animal indeed ...Although they're small, fat and shy creatures; Moomins have the most amazing adventures. It all begins when Moominpappa tries on a magic hat that makes exciting and funny things happen.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
The initial volume in the Moomintroll series of Finnish fantasy, which dates back more than 40 years, opens as three of the fabulous folk in the Moomin Valley find the Hobgoblin's top hat. Ages 7-10.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Review
“There is, in short, everything in the Moon books: giant comets and secret caves and tree houses and stilts and magic-carpet clouds and amusement parks run by despotic practical-joking kings and time machines and ski instructors.” –Harper’s
“We need Moominland for its gentle pace, its sense of beauty and awe, and its spirit of friendliness and empathy—now more than ever.” –The Horn Book
“These charming fantasies are propelled by a childlike curiosity and filled with quiet wisdom, appealing geniality, and a satisfying sense of self-discovery.” –School Library Journal.com
“If you had no shame reading Harry Potter on the subway, there’s no need to hide Tove Jansson’s witty, whimsically illustrated Finnish series.” –Daily Candy
“The Moomin books make for both splendid bedtime read-alouds and solitary savoring.” –Wall Street Journal
“It’s more than forty years since Jansson’s Moomintrolls first appeared. I found the writing and invention as appealing as ever. She has a thistledown touch.”—The Washington Post Book World
“The adventures of the easygoing Moomintrolls have all the crispness and tart surprise of a lingonberry, thanks to Jansson’s ineffably light touch, her uncanny sensitivity to universal childhood emotions, and her gift for terse, naturalistic dialogue.”—Entertainment Weekly
“A gentle, offbeat fantasy.”—The Horn Book
“A lost treasure now rediscovered . . . A surrealist masterpiece.”—Neil Gaiman
“Jansson was a genius of a very subtle kind. These simple stories resonate with profound and complex emotions that are like nothing else in literature for children or adults: intensely Nordic, and completely universal.”—Philip Pullman
“Tove Jansson is undoubtedly one of the greatest children’s writers there has ever been. She has the extraordinary gift of writing books that are very clearly for children, but can also be enjoyed when the child, like me, is over sixty and can still find new pleasures with the insights that come from adulthood.”—Sir Terry Pratchett
“Clever, gentle, witty, and completely engrossing.”—Jeff Smith, author of Bone
“It’s not just Tove Jansson’s wonderfully strange fairytale world that so appeals but also her beautiful line work and exquisite sense of design.”—Lauren Child
“[Tove Jansson] is a master.”—The Times Literary Supplement (London)
“The most original works for children to be published since the Pooh books, and possibly, since Alice.”—Saturday Review
“You will declare yourself a citizen of Moominvalley and call the stories your own—the Moomin world is that compelling.”—Riverbank Review
“The adventures of the easygoing Moomintrolls have all the crispness and tart surprise of a lingonberry, thanks to Jansson’s ineffably light touch, her uncanny sensitivity to universal childhood emotions, and her gift for terse, naturalistic dialogue.”—Entertainment Weekly
“A gentle, offbeat fantasy.”—The Horn Book
“A lost treasure now rediscovered . . . A surrealist masterpiece.”—Neil Gaiman
“Jansson was a genius of a very subtle kind. These simple stories resonate with profound and complex emotions that are like nothing else in literature for children or adults: intensely Nordic, and completely universal.”—Philip Pullman
“Tove Jansson is undoubtedly one of the greatest children’s writers there has ever been. She has the extraordinary gift of writing books that are very clearly for children, but can also be enjoyed when the child, like me, is over sixty and can still find new pleasures with the insights that come from adulthood.”—Sir Terry Pratchett
“Clever, gentle, witty, and completely engrossing.”—Jeff Smith, author of Bone
“It’s not just Tove Jansson’s wonderfully strange fairytale world that so appeals but also her beautiful line work and exquisite sense of design.”—Lauren Child
“[Tove Jansson] is a master.”—The Times Literary Supplement (London)
“The most original works for children to be published since the Pooh books, and possibly, since Alice.”—Saturday Review
“You will declare yourself a citizen of Moominvalley and call the stories your own—the Moomin world is that compelling.”—Riverbank Review
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More About the Author
TOVE JANSSON (1914-2001) is revered around the world as one of the foremost children's authors of the twentieth century for her illustrated Moomin chapter books.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
39 of 40 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A beautifully crafted story,
By Sam Jeffreys <sam.jeffreys@virgin.net> (Poole, UK) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Finn Family Moomintroll (Paperback)
I remember my dad reading the Moomintroll books to me when I was very young. When I was a bit older, I read them again, myself. Now I'm 21, and thought I'd try reading this book once more, after all these years. I've just finished reading it, and it was great. Like most of the best children's fiction, it also appeals perfectly to adults, and although it was written over 40 years ago, I don't think it seems dated, really. There's a lot of sharp humour, and memorable situations/characters. A lot of the themes in the book seem perfectly in-line with amazing childhood exploits; Discovery, exploration... The book surprised me with how ahead-of-its-time it seemed. I don't think you'd find an English book from 1950 that is so liberated and foreward-thinking. Anyway, what I'm (clumsily) trying to say is, I loved this book, and will now read the other books in the series. One last thing: Tove Jansson's illustrations are also excellent, and perfectly complement the story.
21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
There is no better fiction book for kids (and/or adults),
By Boutchiorezze "Boutchiorezze" (Wilmette, IL) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Finn Family Moomintroll (Paperback)
My love for Moomins started when I was 6-7. In Poland, where I come from, Moomins were very popular. After my Mom went through all 8 books, and me and my younger brother did not have enough of them, she started to invent new adventures of Moomin, Snufkin, and the rest of the pack. I wish I had noted all these stories...Anyway, this book is a good starting point, even though, chronologically, it is NOT the first one. You will see the Moominvalley at its best, full of adventures. "Finn Family Moomintroll" is a set of loosely connected stories; you can read one at a time without having to remember what happened last, or caring what will happen next (now, your child WILL insist that you keep on reading when you finish a story, you can be sure of that!). It is interesting how the Swedish names (I think Tove Jansson wrote the original in Swedish, even though she lived in Finland) got translated into different languages. I will give you English and Polish examples below. Can anyone else post here other translations? Moomintroll - Muminek Moominpappa - Tato Muminka Moominmamma - Mama Muminka Sniff - Ryjek Snufkin - Wloczykij Groke - Buka Muskrat - Pizmowiec Thingumy and Bob - Topik i Topcia Snork - Migotek Snork Maiden - Panna Migotka Hemulen - Paszczak Misabel - Bufka Too-ticky - Too-tiki Little My - Mala Mi
17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Magical Moominland,
By
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Finn Family Moomintroll (Paperback)
Finn Family Moomintroll is one of a series of delightful books by Tove Jansson now available in translation. Distinctly Scandinavian in feel the book is unlike anything I have read in children's literature. The stories focus on the Moominfamily (Moominpapa, Moominmama, and Moomintroll) and their extended family of guests who came to live with them and never left, Sniff, Snuffkin and the Muskrat (the philosopher). They have episodic adventures with their neighbors the Snork and the Snorkmaiden (who look remarkably like the moomins) The Moomintrolls are illustrated to look rather like small hippopotamuses.The author takes an informational tone sometimes offering footnotes on the Moomintroll homes or customs. The chapters are short tales that connect to one another which makes them ideal for reading aloud. (Think of the short chapter adventures of Paddington Bear as an analogy.) All of the fantastical things that occur are portrayed as perfectly normal in Moominland. What is most enticing about the tales are the charming illustrations and the feeling that reading about Moominland creates; it is at once otherworldly and very much in tune with nature. While the adventures are exciting there is never a sense of overwhelming danger, which give the series gentleness. This volume involves the mysterious and potentially threatening Hobgoblin but even his interaction with the residents of Moominland turns out to be surprisingly generous. Smaller children who enjoy fanciful books will like to have these stories read aloud and older children and the adults who read these stories will find humor in the footnotes or the "philosophy" of the Muskrat. These are clearly Scandinavian classics that have not yet reached a wider audience in America.
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