As part of a "read a new book, reread an old book challenge" and because it's the 65th anniversary of the Moomin series (there's even a Moominweek at tor.com!), I decided to reread as much as I could of the Moomin series. Which ended up being only one book, unfortunately: Finn Family Moomintroll. I read this series when I was perhaps 8 or 9 years old, and loved it; I think it would also be a great choice to read aloud to younger children. The illustrations are adorable, and the names of the char More...

Sometimes things do work out as they ought to: my son is well on the road to loving the Moomintroll books just as much as I do. We breezed through this second book in the series really fast -- T was able, without much effort, to persuade Mama to read a chapter aloud pretty much any time of day, as long as he wasn't supposed to be in school.

This charming tale of one Spring and Summer in the lives of the Moomin family picks up where its predecessor left off. Every member of the Moomin household fr More...

Read this one when I was seven...At the time, I didn't understand the concept of "Never judge a book by its cover" (and boy am I glad, as this book's just as good, if not better than it's awesome, mind-candy cover) and at first, I picked this one up solely based on the colorful illustrations on the jacket.
It's still a favorite of mine and reminds me of the absolute wonder of being a kid. This book rocks my world. What a little freakin' treasure chest of glory the Moomintrolls are!
Snufkin is a r More...

This was nutty. I adored it.

The unusual settings, creatures and adventures made me actually regret to have never read these books as a child: I'd have been utterly enriched by them.
Not in the least through the fact that I'm adopted and the aspect of the Moomins being such a hodgepodge of a family, with myriad backgrounds and their penchant for taking anyone of any origin, shape or size into their home spoke to me and touched me even now.

The evocative otherness and fey atmosphere was completely More...

Even though it� s a short and easy read, I took a break while reading this book because I was having strange dreams while reading it. Recently though I picked it back up and started reading it again. [return]For a children's book, I found it entertaining. It had continuity, subtle moral lessons that I agreed with, and an enjoyable amount of whimsy. I read most of it out loud to myself or my wife. Even though it was originally written in Finnish, the English sentences are fun to speak. The origin More...

Moomins must be one of the greatest fictional creations EVER. They were a HUGE part of my childhood and I am happy to see, that they are still part of the life of little children. But also adults are obsessed about them, collecting everything from Moomin mugs to curtains and duvet covers. We even have Moomin soda and Moomin candy in pretty much every single grocery store here in Finland.

For many (at least foreigners) The Moomins are the most familiar from the the Japanese animation series - it i More...

I read this to myself several years ago and I didn't like it all. I was extremely confused about the characters, the plot seemed to ramble, and it left me with a headachy feeling like I had tried on the magician's hat.

Well, I tried it again--this time I read it aloud to my son. I was prepared to be confused this time. (I had completely forgotten just about everything in it from the last time I read it, so I couldn't rely on my memory to help me out.) And guess what? I actually enjoyed it!

Severa More...

Strange and otherworldly yet somehow very realistic, I got unexpectedly wrapped up in the world of the Moomins.

A friend who grew up reading obscure Enlgish comics from the 1950's recommended this to me, so my plan was to read it mostly as a concession to her (so that she would have to read Annie Dillard - not exactly a fair trade, in terms of time and effort required...).

But then I loved it. It's odd; it's a children's story with situations revolving around unexplored islands and magical hats, b More...

I started reading the Moomin series when I was eight. I'd gone on a trip to Epcot and found these books tucked away in the Scandinavia section of the International Village bookstore. When you grow up in the Unite States with a name like 'Tove' it's unthinkable that you'd pass up the opportunity to read a book written by an author with your name. So I began my Moomin collection.

Now at 22, I own these books in two different languages. They've managed to stick with me for all of these years. The Fi More...

I feel sacrilegious in rating this book with just 2 stars. I almost “graded” it higher.

I apologize to everyone who loves this book. I’ve gotten over it now, but for years I was extremely perturbed when others I knew didn’t love A Wrinkle in Time and some of my other favorites.

I apologize to The Muskrat (who is a real hoot) and to Moominmamma (because she really is a great character) and some of the other characters too. I apologize to the author because there were glimmers and glimpses throughou More...

Very adorable children's story about a family of Moomins and their friends. In a story of fun, friendship, and family, these hilarious creatures have many many adventures.

This book centers around a magical hat that changes anyone or anything inside it into something else ((view spoiler)[ the "outlandish words" in a dictionary turn into funny little bugs, in an amusing sequence; eggshells turn into clouds reminiscent of bumper cars; and false teeth emerge as a scary monster =P (hide spoiler)]).

Thingumy and Bob are my favorite More...

Adorable. I really, really liked this. It's like an odd cross between Wind in the Willows and Dr. Seuss. There are shallow characters, kind characters, vain characters, selfless characters, and characters with questionable morals all wrapped up in this funny little family who will accept anyone who seems to need a family. It sort of wanders about telling bits of tales that make up a lovely summer in the Valley of the Moomins. There's never any real sense of alarm, even when the Groke shows up, b More...

I didn't quite enjoy this as much as the first two, for it felt a bit more disjointed, but that isn't to say it wasn't still an extremely enjoyable read. I felt a bit sorry for the Groke, actually. I think that distracted me a bit from the general sense of joy that the Moomin books have brought me thus far.

The language remains a joy, and an amusement, and the imagination is just incredible. I'm so glad, in a sense, that I have left these so long to read, because I don't think I would have appre More...

This was the first of the Moomin books that I read, and it felt like I was discovering a world that had been around me for a long time but I was just now noticing. The character's have been having adventures and have personality quirks that are taken for granted, and as confused as I felt at first, I was quickly wrapped up in their adventures and eager to read more.

When Moomin and his friends discover the Hobgoblin's hat it causes several problems and wonders, and the entire books holds the prom More...

I loved the Moomins so much as a kid. I don't remember reading them, actually -- surprisingly, no sense of location or of my fingers on the pages comes back to me, though usually I'll remember where I read books and whether my edition was new or old, and the smell of the pages... In any case, I do remember that I loved the Moomins, and it was lovely to curl up and reread now I'm older, and wiser, and really not feeling well.

I do love the range of characters, all with different customs and such, More...

A wonderful, charming book in the Moomin series. Like the other early Moomin books this one is filled with events and adventures. In this one the Hobgoblin's magical hat turns eggshell's into clouds and water into juice, among other things. The only thing that bothered me about the English translation were some translation choices. Firstly, in Swedish the owner of the hat is simply "Trollkarlen", the Wizard and I am not quite sure why he has been changed into a Hobgoblin. Secondly, I do not like More...

Муми-мама прилегла у скалы с подветренной стороны. Ей были видны лишь голубое небо да морские гвоздики, качавшиеся над самой ее головой. «Полежу здесь совсем немножко», — подумала она и тут же заснула глубоким сном на теплом песке.

Как мне это знакомо! На природе я готова спать и дремать бесконечно, так опьяняет свежий воздух, сочетание жары и прохладного ветерка.
Про Муми-маму добавлю, она – идеал мамы. Пускай она сказочная, но в нее почему-то веришь безоговорочно...

Муми-мама пошла спать в свою

More...

These are darling read-to chapter books for young children, anywhere between grades 2 and 4. There is a whole series, and I'm not going to drag each one onto the screen, but if you like reading consecutively in order to keep track of events (helpful, but not really necessary), you can check the copyrights, and put the series in order. I recommend you get the first one and try it first, because children are quirky, and what one loves, another will not be interested in. If you fall in love with th More...

I liked, but didn't love Comet in Moominland. Finn Family Moomintroll though really captures the same wonderfulness that the Moomin comic strips do. This book is a bit more episodic than Comet, but it feels more cohesive. Maybe the Moomintroll is best when he isn't on long adventures with his friends, short adventures serve them nicely when they can return home to rest and enjoy the simple pleasures of Moominvalley. If I had kids I would read this to them, if they didn't like it, I'd drive them More...

My third foray into the writings of Tove Jansson (book 2 in the series) provided what I had expected to find in each of the books I ahd prviously opened, that being an assortment of humorous anecdotes involving a group of fanciful creatures in their idyllic environment. However, while books 1 and 7 drifted far afield from those expectations here, I found that all three books have just enough plot to give them a cohesive quality. The absurd natures of these characters are presented with such fran More...

I picked this up to read to Xander on a long bus journey and he lapped it up! He loved it so much we had to get hold of the original Moomins TV show I used to watch as a child and guess what? He loves that too! This is actually the second Moomins book, but it can be read without previously having read Comet in Moominland (which, incidentally, I plan to get hold of as soon as possible!). It’s a magical fantasy with adorable creatures and exciting adventures following through a whole year with the More...

Picked this up for 200 yen in a Book Off, though was a bit worried that the books might not be as fun as the comics. But it was so cute! It had all the whimsical charm of the graphic novels -- it helps that it comes with illustrations, but I would have enjoyed it nearly as much without. Moominpappa and Moominmamma are total stereotypes when it comes to gender roles, but oh well. Moominmamma is one of my favourite characters. Not gonna lie, I totally came close to tearing up when she recognised M More...

I love the Moomins and I love Tove Jansson. They are slightly unsettling books, with strange characters and happenings. Moomintroll, Sniff and Snufkin find the Hobgoblin's magical hat. Things put inside the hat change, causing bizarre happenings. Two weird little characters, Thingummy and Bob, turn up with a ruby that they have stolen from the sinister Groke. They are put on trial, then the Hobgoblin turns up looking for his hat.

I think that these books are wonderful. They provoke a lot of discu More...

-PUFFIN
-Time 10/25= 90minutes
-7-word summary: bed -family - eat - friends - sleep- snow - valley.
-Discussion questions:
1 Do you want to sleep through the winter season?
Actually, I hope so. I don't like to get up in the winter because I feel cold.

2 What kinds of animals do you think moomintrolls are?
I think they are seem to be hippo. However, they are angels.

I strongly recommend it. Yomiyasusa level of this book is for those who gets more than 600 points of TOEIC. Moomintrolls are soooo cute. More...

Who knew I would get so much reading pleasure from characters I watched on television back in the day when I was a kid. ‘Finn Family Moonintroll’ was a lovely read, all of the characters are loveable in their way, and I love the fact that the Moominpappa, Moominmamma, Moomintroll accept anyone into their home, their adventures, my favourite character is Moominmama, she is brilliant and loveable.

Tove Jansson has created a wonderful world with the Moomins and I am happy I am discovering them, per More...

What a funny little book! The Moomin family and all their many guests encounter adventures in the heart of the Finnish forest in high summer. Opening with the family rousing themselves from a winter hibernation, the book immediately begins with a comical other-ness that gently arouses a sense of curiosity as the book continues. All the adventures, in this book, are linked by the find of Hob-goblin's hat, which produces some fun and some frightening events that stem just beyond the control of the More...

I read the Moomintroll stories many decades ago, but I still remember how much I enjoyed them.



Cute as the characters undoubtedly are, they are a little mysterious as well. The beautiful illustrations heightened this sense of mystery. More...

Sweet and funny. Jansson has a great voice, speaks matter-of-factly and in a way that's respectful of the child reader; there's no talking down. Perhaps it's just a more European sensibility, but I like it when author's tell it like it is, regardless of the age of the intended audience. Here, as in books by Dahl and the Nicholas series, for example, the authors write people (or moomins) just as they are, even the nasty, grouchy bits. Kids can relate to it and adults get to laugh at the frank nat More...

The best, and longest-lasting childrens' books are those which can appeal to adults and children alike. And I, for one, still adore a good childrens' book - after all, they were my introduction to the world of literature. Thus, the second book I completed in 2008 was 'Finn Family Moomintroll' by Tove Jansson.

The weird thing is, I never read this book as a child. My mother is absolutely convinced that she read it to me, but I know she didn't. I'm pretty certain that it entered our household after More...

I am a new convert to Moominmania. The Moomins are my idea of a Finnish version of Milne's Winnie the Pooh and friends. With a title like "The Finn Family Moomintroll" I thought I had picked up the first book, but I guess it's the third Moomin book, and I thought it a bit strange that there was no introduction to any character but Moominpappa, Moominmamma, Moomintroll, the Snork Maiden, Sniff etc just bounded through the pages. Magical and strange and funny.