Everyone knows that the Moomins sleep through the winter, but this year Moomintroll has woken up in January. After his initial shock at seeing his ...
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Dec 16, 2009
Jennifer
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Moomin wakes up from his hibernation, but it is still winter! He discovers a whole "new" world. This one is really fun and the some of the illustrations are very cool.
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May 15, 2011
my absolute favorite of the Moomin books. This time I read it entirely in the summer house, which has emerged triumphant in winter in much the same way Too Ticky takes over the Bathing Hut in the book.
"here come the dumb
the lonely and the rum
the wild and the quiet
bang goes the drum"
Too Ticky is the character I would most like to be... I suppose Little My is my favorite, but I would rather actually model myself on Too Ticky. And I want a red More...
"here come the dumb
the lonely and the rum
the wild and the quiet
bang goes the drum"
Too Ticky is the character I would most like to be... I suppose Little My is my favorite, but I would rather actually model myself on Too Ticky. And I want a red More...
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Oct 04, 2010
Eddie
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The human world is a huge mess that somehow survives the day. I don’t know how it happens, and I’m not sure that all our (un)concerted efforts to help it survive don’t just further complicate things and make that daily survival less and less possible. My attitude in these matters is generally that of a cynical Taoist – a profound faith in things as they are functioning “perfectly” in enormous rhythms of time wedded to an understanding that most humans only make things worse. If pressed my explan
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(9 people liked it)
Sep 01, 2010
Kim
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"'It's dead. All the world has died while I slept. This world belongs to somebody else whom I don't know. Perhaps the Groke. It isn't made for Moomins.'"
Every year the Moomins sleep from November to April, snug inside and safe from the winter cold. But one year little Moomintroll, alone of his whole family, wakes up just after New Year's, finding himself in a world that is unfamiliar and lonely. The sun is hiding, the ground is covered with snow, and try as he might he More...
Every year the Moomins sleep from November to April, snug inside and safe from the winter cold. But one year little Moomintroll, alone of his whole family, wakes up just after New Year's, finding himself in a world that is unfamiliar and lonely. The sun is hiding, the ground is covered with snow, and try as he might he More...
Dec 31, 2009
Thermalsatsuma
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'It's dead. All the world has died while I slept. This world belongs to somebody else whom I don't know. Perhaps to the Groke. It isn't made for Moomins.
The Moomin family traditionally hibernate through the entire winter, safe and snug in their Moomin House. One year, Moomintroll wakes up early and finds himself on his own, unable to wake anybody else up, not even his Mama. Outside the house the world is cold and white, with no sign of the sun or the comforting warmth of Spring.
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The Moomin family traditionally hibernate through the entire winter, safe and snug in their Moomin House. One year, Moomintroll wakes up early and finds himself on his own, unable to wake anybody else up, not even his Mama. Outside the house the world is cold and white, with no sign of the sun or the comforting warmth of Spring.
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Sep 28, 2010
Bill
rated it: 
Jansson would have made some insightful comment about how, just after having finished "The Summer Book," a book which had snuck up on me from an obscure reading list or tear-out from the New Yorker, I stumbled across "Moominland Midwinter" in a box of yard sale junk idling in a corner of the basement. I wasn't even looking for a book: I was looking for work goggles. And the book wasn't facing up, saying, "Surprise, one of Tove Jannson's famous works for you to look at a
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Jan 01, 2012
Bookmaniac70
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Муминското семейство не познава зимата,защото спи зимен сън до пролетта, но Муминтрол неочаквано се събужда по-рано от другите и попада в съвършено нов и чужд за него свят. Докато търси къде е изчезнало слънцето и се опитва да свикне с белотата и студа, той се запознава с много други свенливи и потайни същества,които се страхуват да излязат навън през останалото време от годината. Прекрасна книга, която по неподражаем начин предава чувствата при смяната на сезоните!
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May 12, 2010
Paula
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I watched ‘The Moomins’ after school back in the day, when I watched it, it was live action models (if that is the correct wording) but recently I saw the cartoon and it was not the same.
‘Moominland Midwinter’ is the first Moomin book I have read, following from years of recommendations from my good friend, I decided to find out more about those little moomins.
I enjoyed ‘Moominland Midwinter’, I liked how the main character, Moomintroll woke up from hibernation early and More...
‘Moominland Midwinter’ is the first Moomin book I have read, following from years of recommendations from my good friend, I decided to find out more about those little moomins.
I enjoyed ‘Moominland Midwinter’, I liked how the main character, Moomintroll woke up from hibernation early and More...
Jul 23, 2011
Andrea
rated it:
Magical, haunting, witty, writing of such subtle depth and beauty - how glorious is this book! The characters almost spring forth from the pages into one's heart, and the illustrations are perfect. If you have read this as a child, images from this story will stay with you for a lifetime. If you are an adult newly come to this treasure, you will still be able to appreciate its genius.
Looking back over the decades since I first came to own my precious boxed set, I think Tove's writing p More...
Looking back over the decades since I first came to own my precious boxed set, I think Tove's writing p More...
Jan 10, 2012
Hannah
rated it:
Despite the spring-like temperatures in January in Athens, this book transported me to a wintery wonderland where it is dark all winter long and one can see the Aurora Borealis. The Moomins usually spend their winter hibernating, but Moomintroll (the main character of the Moomin series) wakes up and can't go back to sleep, so he spends his first winter exploring and making new friends while also longing to share the experience with his slumbering family. The illustrations are just as whimsical a
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Oct 08, 2011
Greta
rated it:
This has to be one of the strangest works of junior fiction I've ever read. It's a sort of French-film-meets-Bambi story. Strange characters, abrupt and disjointed conversations and plot twists and a sort of slow and meaningless meandering through time. Add to that the lurking feeling that all of this is much deeper than it appears and there must be a thick layer of symbolism and meaning that could be the subject of a Ph.D. thesis. Or not. Maybe it's just a wacky little story about some cut
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Jan 05, 2011
M.
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A very nice book with fantastical creatures getting along very well together, living together, and playing together during the coldest and darkest times of midwinter, perhaps in Finland which gets very cold and very dark indeed. The author was from Finland and her characters are loosely based on nice descendants of trolls and her own imagination.
This is not a book for children who want constant action; rather it's more for boys and girls who enjoy exploring a new kind of reality. P More...
This is not a book for children who want constant action; rather it's more for boys and girls who enjoy exploring a new kind of reality. P More...
Nov 28, 2011
Michelle
rated it:
Read For: School (*sigh*)
So, as you can see above, I read this little novel for school (for my Theory and Criticism class, for anyone's who's interested). I've never heard of Tove Jansson before, but I've discovered since reading this, that Moomins are actually HUGE in Finland and pretty much all of Europe, and even Japan, where an animated series aired for many years. Across the pond, this is a quintessential children's series, and this novel in particular (which is the fifth in the s More...
So, as you can see above, I read this little novel for school (for my Theory and Criticism class, for anyone's who's interested). I've never heard of Tove Jansson before, but I've discovered since reading this, that Moomins are actually HUGE in Finland and pretty much all of Europe, and even Japan, where an animated series aired for many years. Across the pond, this is a quintessential children's series, and this novel in particular (which is the fifth in the s More...
Sep 21, 2010
melydia
rated it:
The Moomins usually hibernate for half the year, but one day Moomintroll wakes up to discover a snow-covered world he's never known. Being a longtime Moomin fan, I was predisposed to enjoy this book. The characters and illustrations are simply charming, depicting an innocence without ignorance. It was not my favorite of the Moomin adventures (I'm not sure it could be without Snufkin), but it was still a fun little tale. I particularly liked Moominmamma's comments upon waking. She's my hero.
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Sep 08, 2011
Fellini
rated it:
Хорошо-хорошо =) С каждой книжкой всё более влюбляюсь в мир Муми-троллей. "Вот так бывает всегда в приключенческих повестях. Все только и делают, что спасают друг друга и спасаются сами. Хотела бы я, чтобы кто-нибудь когда-нибудь написал о той, кто пытается потом согреть героев".
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Apr 03, 2010
notgettingenough
rated it:
This book has the best footnotes.
And a bit later on, when we are so sad because squirrel is dead, the most comforting footnote I've ever read:
A displaced hedgehog is a hedgehog that has been removed from its home against its will and not even had time to pack its toothbrush.
And a bit later on, when we are so sad because squirrel is dead, the most comforting footnote I've ever read:
In case the reader feels like having a cry, please take a quick look at p. 126.
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Aug 12, 2011
Matt
rated it:
Of all Tove Jansson's fabulous Moomin books this is the most wonderful. Hauntingly beautiful, it really evokes the magic and lonelyness of winter. It also features lots of Little My, the best character Jansson created, I love her so much we named our daughter Lilla (after Lilla Mu, Little My's name in the original Finnish/Swedish). This was read to me as I child and I have read it many times since.
Jan 19, 2011
Becky
rated it:
Z seemed to really like this, but he has several chapter books and longer graphic novels going at the same time (plus a mama with laryngitis) so it cut into the continuity factor. Despite these issues, I'm pretty sure that he'll continue to visit Moominvalley in the rest of the series, given his enjoyment of the three volumes he's read so far.
Oct 01, 2009
Jimmy
rated it:
A quirky kids book, seemed kinda aimless and random for a while but the last 50 pages or so were more focused and I liked it more. I think I would've liked it more if I read it during winter, while waiting for spring; but I read it in the middle of summer. You can really tell a Scandinavian author wrote this one.
Sep 13, 2011
Amanda Lueck
rated it:
This Moomin book was sweet and almost adult. Its tone and atmosphere made me long for winter, and I loved Too-Wicky and Little My, along with the much-hated Hemulen who then own everyone over. I could see this becoming a blizzard classic for my life, kind of like Laura Ingalls Wilder's _The Long Winter_.
Feb 16, 2010
Kiri
rated it:
Holy cats, these Moomin books are something else. I have not read Tove Jansson exhaustively, but this book in particular stuck in my mind with it's otherworldly view of winter and a cast of strange creatures that emerge out of the dark and cold. It freaked me out a little when I read it in my teens.
Mar 05, 2010
I love all the Moomin books, but this one especially. It's a small existentialist masterpiece. Who but Tove Jansson can blend menace and whimsy in such a winning way? I'm plotting an omnibus review of the whole series when I've finished rereading them all (two more books to go after this one).
Aug 18, 2010
Tyas
rated it:
It's just so cute how Moomintroll woke up one winter day (when he's supposed to be hibernating with his family) and found a white-clad world that he'd never known existed - a world that offered new things, fun as well as scary, to him.
Oct 28, 2011
Andrew
rated it:
Great. This book captures the spirit of winter and spring in a very beautiful way. It is also wonderful story about how not face new situations and learn from them. How can such a short book be so good?
Jul 24, 2009
Karen
rated it:
I think it's mostly that I despise winter that this book didn't suit me as well as the other Moomin books. She does very well at capturing the cold, gray, dark, endlessness of it...Also, had more nonsensical bits to it which, in small doses, is cute and quirky, but for the breadth of the book got old.
However, my 6 year old still liked it quite a bit. He felt this one didn't have the "adventurous journeys" that the first two had, which he's very keen on. But, he liked a More...
However, my 6 year old still liked it quite a bit. He felt this one didn't have the "adventurous journeys" that the first two had, which he's very keen on. But, he liked a More...
Mar 07, 2011
Jose
rated it:
I read this book during my childhood. I remember it so fondly I decided to reread it. And it didn't disappoint me one bit. Chronically depressed characters, mysterious landscapes, philosophers and rascals, charming creatures, a deep sense of surrealism and even death herself make an appearance in this most fabulous of worlds, the Moomin valley all covered in snow. Nobody here is "good" or "bad", no princes or princesses, "being different" is just a fact of life no
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Nov 06, 2010
Jarkko
rated it:
A beautiful story about getting outside your comfort zone and how you can learn to love something you were afraid of (winter) once you survive through the hard times. The text was a bit hard to follow for my three-year-old, but I loved all the small details and nuances the book was full of.
In all, this is a lovely, inspiring story.
In all, this is a lovely, inspiring story.
Oct 31, 2011
Redfox5
rated it:
Loved this sweet little book :) Perfect for reading when your tucked up in bed with a hot cup of tea. I would love to read more Moomin books.
Nov 12, 2010
Jennifer
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This was another one that I like so well that I don't know how to begin discussing it. It was a marvelous book, even better than the usual Moomin books (which are hardly "usual," with their unusual stories and illustrations). Moominland Midwinter seems to be mostly about how accepting people for what they are is the basis of genuine community; similarly, it holds that accepting oneself, wherever one's at, is just about the only sure path to psychological health.
This is al More...
This is al More...
Jul 22, 2010
Eleanor
rated it:
my favourite book af all time, stunning visual imagery and a wonderful tale. a little bit dark at times for a childrens book.
