Moominvalley in November [Library Binding]

Tove Jansson (Author), Kingsley Hart (Author, Translator)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 10, 2008

Now that autumn is turning into winter, a group of unlikely friends—including the Fillyjonk, the Hemulen, and Toft—are waiting in Moominvalley to see the Moomins, for winter doesn’t seem right without them. But the Moomins are not at home. So all the visitors settle down to await their return, and oddly enough find themselves warming up to their new life together. For Moominvalley is Moominvalley still, even without the Moomins in it.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

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

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Language Notes

Text: English, Swedish (translation) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Library Binding: 176 pages
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1439510717
• ISBN-13: 978-1439510711
• Product Dimensions: 7.4 x 5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,275,119 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Misfits and yearning, February 4, 2004

By 

kennedy19 "kennedy19" (wakefield, ma USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Moominvalley in November (Moomintrolls) (Paperback)

I'm writing this review in early 2004, and this wonderful book is back in print in America; congradulations to the publisher. I always wondered why others in the fine "Moomin" series (originally from Finland, and translated in England) were available while this one was not; but now it is, and I couldn't be more glad. Fans of Tove Jansson's writing will know that she has a fondness for quirky creatures, seasonal moods, and an almost effortless ability to strike profound chords in the reader's inner world through faint suggestions and an economy of words. All this from a writer who is known as a children's author, but these novels could appeal to anyone in grade four on up to adults, so long as the reader is of a quiet, thoughtful turn of mind. In this particular story, the Moomin family (rounded, fuzzy little "trolls") is absent from Moominvalley (see the book "Moominpappa at Sea" to find out where they went). In their absence, an unlikely group of misfits comes looking for them and ends up sharing a month at their house together. All are seeking for something or other, though they do not yet know that the something is within themselves. Moomintroll's practical, taciturn friend Snufkin (well-known from other books) is onhand to help them sort themselves out, and in the end all are transformed by the shared experience. If this sounds like the plot of an inner world rather than an outer one, it is; yet it is amazingly well done through a very down-to-earth, everyday narration, filled with subtle comic touches and good cheer. Jansson's inimitable, cartoony illustrations of her own books add much to the tale while still leaving some to our imaginations. As you may gather, I have a hard time describing this unique book properly; all I can do is to heartily recommend it to any child (or adult) who is a little offbeat and likes some peace and quiet to be alone with their thoughts.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another Moomin classic, December 17, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Moominvalley in November (Hardcover)

Why is this excellent book out of print when other Moomin books are not? This is one of the most poignant and quiet of Moomin books, like the month it describes. Your Moomin collection is incomplete without it.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I would give 5.5 if I could, January 1, 2005

By 

Boutchiorezze "Boutchiorezze" (Wilmette, IL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Moominvalley in November (Moomintrolls) (Paperback)

Well, this piece of Moomin anthology is a more serious one. I read it first when I was 10 in my home Poland, and did not like it much. It is not so full of joy, energy and adventures as the "Summer" or "Valley". Since that time though, I have read it at least 10 more times, love it, and highly recommend to all maturer Moomin-lovers.

It is a bit melancholic, played not in a G-major notation, rather e-minor, maybe even with a flat... November mists, wet forests, grey seas, you will remember it forever!