Customer Reviews

Finn Family Moomintroll

5 star:		(37)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

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.

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

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.

These books are nuts!!! Moomins! Fillyjonks! Grokes! It's insanity! How could a single mind invent such hallucinatory fantasy and still keep their sanity (relatively) intact?? The mind boggles.
I am 29 years old and into a wide variety of weird and wonderful pop culture and I would definitely place the works of Tove Jansson in the same class as Genet,Burroughs,Bugakov and Tolkien. No joke!
To explain them to the uninitiated, I would say something like...imagine a Winnie the Pooh novel composed by Dali...then double the level of surrealism! Convinced??
Finn Family Moonintroll is probably the best, narrowly beating out Comet in Moominland, a close second. In this story, Moomintroll and his friends find a magic hat which brings them all sorts of mischief and absurdity. I think I first read this thing in 1982 and it just about haunted my every waking moment. The Moomin series are books that are NOT just for the kids to enjoy. Adults with a vivid imagination would ravenously lap this sort of thing up and beg for more.
Forget Harry Potter kiddies! This is where it's at!!!

When I was growing up in Japan back in 70's, "MoominTroll" was a big thing - they had animated TV series too. As soon as I'd learned how to read my dad bought me a full set of Moomin books. I remember as a first grader how hard I tried to read all words in the books - little by little, irritated sometimes for my poor reading skill since I was so fascinated by all the adventures in the Moomin Valley and was so impatient to know what they'd do next. If I'm not mistaken there were a few comic book series by same author/illustrator, Tove Jansson, about some wacky happenings in the Moomin Valley. All the copies I had had been lost long time ago. Wonder if anybody has any clue??

I was first exposed to the animated Moomin while visiting my penpal in Finland; I was all too delighted to have it assigned in a Scandanavian FairyTale class. This book can be read by both children and adults with equal glee. The straightforward adventures of the Moomins and their friends will delight children, and the wit and sly pokes at humans will amuse adults. Also, it is an excellent introduction to children's Finnish literature--it can never become outdated.

So far there have been eight Moomin books translated ino English. All are splendid. I don't want to draw comparisons, because they are all so good, and each in a different way, but the last two are perhaps the best - all are very definitely five star. They tell of the adventures of a family of little trolls in, mainly the forests of Finland but other places as well, including fairgrounds, theatres, and uninhabited islands, along with all sorts of other strange creatures such as hattifattners, fillyjonks, hemulens and astronomers. A perfect blend of adventure and domestic warmth, evoked by an endlessly original and imaginative writer, who knows "The Usefulness of Everything," in a world slightly - not too much - transmogrified but still recognisable

Full of warmth, wit, wisdom and delight. They should probaby be read in order as the characters become more complicated as time goes on, but Finn Family Moomintroll is a great place to start. The pictures (author Tove Jansson was also a professional illustrator and stage designer) are the perfect compliment to the stories. If you don't know them, buy them and your lives will be richer.

When I first talked about this book in elementary school (about a million years ago...ok, 21 years ago), no one seemed to know what I was talking about. Turns out my having lived overseas in the 80s exposed me to a bunch of literature that just now is hitting the American mainstream.

This particular book is one of my long time favorites. The characters are a bit absurd, but it's amazing how you don't really notice that as you get to know them better.

Jansson is able to weave life lessons and psychology in a brilliantly subtle fashion into the stories.

This book isn't about happy endings or the world having to be a certain way; rather, I think it embraces the world the way it is without being pessimistic.

I wish I could give this book six stars.

Extremely enjoyable, quick read. I'm going to order the entire series right now.

this is the very first of the moomintroll series by tove jansson. children of any age will love to read this book, or have it read to them. it is full of moomintroll and his friends adventures, in their beautiful fantasy land. i got this book before i could even read, but had my mother read it to me before bed, giving me sweet dreams of happiness and laughter. the moomins are fun-loving trolls from finland and are adventurous and go on wild excursions together. i reconmend this book to anyone who loves fantasy.

I am 11 years old and when I read this book, I was amazed! This is one of my 5 FAVORITE books on the face of the Earth! It is so well written and the plot was awsome! I would buy this as a present for ANYONE!!!