Moomin and the Birthday Button

Moomin Picture Books

by Tove Jansson

Moomintroll wakes up bursting with happiness on his birthday...but his friends seem to have forgotten all about it!

On his birthday, Moomintroll wakes up full of excitement. It will surely be the most wonderful day. But when his friends all seem to be too busy to help him celebrate, it doesn't feel wonderful at all―until a happy surprise comes knocking. Kids will be amused to see that even in placid Moominvalley, birthdays can be emotional roller-coasters.

This adorable book introduces young children to beloved characters from Swedish author-illustrator Tove Jansson’s beloved Moominworld. Every book celebrates curiosity and promotes Moomin’s core imagination, tolerance, humor, friendliness, and independence.

Look for these other Moomin books for young children!
Moomin’s Little Book of Words
Moomin’s Little Book of Numbers
Moomin’s Lift-the-Flap Hide and Seek

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Fiction, Classics, Animals

32 pages, Hardcover

First published May 6, 2010

About the author

Tove Jansson was born and died in Helsinki, Finland. As a Finnish citizen whose mother tongue was Swedish, she was part of the Swedish-speaking Finns minority. Thus, all her books were originally written in Swedish.

Although known first and foremost as an author, Tove Jansson considered her careers as author and painter to be of equal importance.

Tove Jansson wrote and illustrated her first Moomin book, The Moomins and the Great Flood (1945), during World War II. She said later that the war had depressed her, and she had wanted to write something naive and innocent. Besides the Moomin novels and short stories, Tove Jansson also wrote and illustrated four original and highly popular picture books.

Jansson's Moomin books have been translated into 33 languages.

Reviews

[Maria Yankulova · Rating 4 out of 5]

Много сладка Муминска история за по-малки дечица.

[Helen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a cute story for children. It shows not to be deceived by appearances!

[Spudpuppy]

pee-hoo indeed...

[Green Bean · Rating 5 out of 5]

Snufkin, Snorkmaiden, Little My are all too busy bustling about to help Moomin celebrate his birthday, or to admire the golden button Moominmamma contributed to his collection! Moomin feels so snubbed he bursts into birthday tears! The big day can often be a bonkers and bumpy time! He and Moominmamma get their minds off the blues by decorating Moomin's tipsy three-tiered berry cake until he hears a chorus of birthday callers hollering in the yard. "Moomintroll, come outside! come and look what we've got!" What Moomin's buds were bustling over was a breathtaking home-made treasure trunk, all wrapped in seaweed! Moomin and his birthday are as unforgettable as ever! If this is the first you've heard of Jansson, you've got so many treats ahead of you! Rush out for all the chapter books and the sidesplitting and smart comics series as well!

[Книжни Криле · Rating 5 out of 5]

Златната есен си отива, но преди Мумините да заспят зимен сън, време е за едно малко приключение! Който веднъж е посетил Муминската долина копнее за се завърне отново сред магията и уюта на това място извън времето. Не познавам човек, който да е чел книгите на Туве Янсон и да не се е влюбил в нейното гостоприемно семейство финландски троли. „Мумин и златното копче“ идва от изд. „Timelines store” е истинска радост, както за запалените почитатели на Муминтрол и компания, така и за най-малките читатели, които тепърва ще се срещнат с тях. Прочетете ревюто на "Книжни Криле": https://knijnikrile.wordpress.com/201...

[Zayneea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Moomins birthday and he wants to show all his friends the present mum and dad have given but they all seem to busy and he thinks they've forgotten his birthday so he is upset. but then they come and surprise him with a present which turns out to be perfect for him as it goes with the gold button which was the parents gift in the morning.

[C. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good book for young children - also available in English of course unter the title "Moomin and the Birthday Button"

[April · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another cute Moomin story. All the characters are quirky and fun!

[Tim Gray · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lovely little book - I know my son has taken to it as he kept explaining bits in advance for me!

[Pauline · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a lovely, feel good book. One of my favourites.

[Kristýna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jen tak náhodou jsem narazila na tuhle knížku. Jako malá jsem na Muminky nedala dopustit. Kniha je ideální pro začínající čtenáře. A jednohubka pro pokročilé čtenáře. ;)

[Jennifer B. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'd never read any Moomin books before, what a pity! This one is a cute, classic birthday tale.

[Morgan Haught]

Summary:
"Moomin and the Birthday Button" is a story written by Tove Jansson. This story is about a friend named Moonin who is celebrating his birthday. His momma gives him a pretty button that he absolutely loves. Therefore, Moomin goes outside to show his friends the shiny button, but his friends all tell him that they're too busy. Friend after friend turns him down, until he goes away sad. But by the end of the book, his friends tell him that they did not forget about his birthday after all and give him a gift.
Analysis:
I have really enjoyed all of the Moomin books that I have read and this one is just as great. Moomin is a lovable character and the illustrations help to show that moomin lives in a magical land. This scenery adds to the character of Moomin and makes him more interesting to the reader. I also liked the different friends that Moomin had and the unique characteristics given to each one.
How I could use this book:
I can use this book in my classroom as a more challenging book to read in a young elementary classroom such as first grade. I could put this book on a bookshelf in my classroom and reccomend it to those students who like fantasy books. The themes and events in this story can be useful to appeal to those students who enjoy reading about magical characters.

[Sarah Beth Stair · Rating 1 out of 5]

Summary:
"Moomin and the Birthday Button" explains the adventures of a troll named Moomin who experiences an interesting birthday. For his birthday, his mother gives him a beautiful gold button, but when he tries to go show it to each of his friends, they are busy and uninterested. His feelings are hurt but he finally understands when they give him the nice gift they created together and had been working on all day to give him.

Analysis:
While this book had a sweet idea and ending, I found it to be a little too weird for my liking. The characters were strange and unexplained, and I think it belongs to a series so that's why I was confused. I didn't really like the weirdness of it though, I think it is a little too out of the box for me.

How I will use this book:
This book could teach students that often interactions we have with friends can hurt our feelings but are actually just misunderstandings. This is something important for kids to know from a young age, and they need to realize how significant communication is.

[Kaylee Aulenbacher · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was about a troll names moomintroll. It was his birthday and his mom and dad gave him a button for his collection. he wanted to show all his friends so he went out to look for them but they all said they were too busy to look so moomin walked home. he was sad that none of his friends cared to look at his button or tell him happy birthday. but little did he know that they were going to surprise him with a gift at his party. they showed up with the gift and they danced and sang till it was bed time.

I did not like this book because it didn't really teach anything and it used words that i find to be hard for littler kids.

I don't really know what i would use this book for. maybe a patience lesson and teaching not to expect things from others.

[Cecilia · Rating 4 out of 5]

The art follows Tove Jansson's original style, which is cute and gremlinish. The story overall is that stereotypical everyone pretends they're too busy to remember someone's birthday, but then they were planning a surprise all along trope, which I'm not too fond of personally. However, to add a level of typical Moomins hilarity, you can tell that Snufkin was perhaps the only friend who had remembered and just hadn't finished yet when the others, who had forgotten, suddenly asked if they could tag along on his gift (see the storyline in other sources about when they forgot Moominmama's birthday). It's the Moomins--can't fault it too much.

[Villain E · Rating 3 out of 5]

Moomintroll gets a new button for his birthday. He tries to show it to all his friends but they're busy, so he's sad. Then it turns out they were busy assembling a birthday present, so he's happy. It was fine.

[Sophie Crane · Rating 5 out of 5]

We really enjoyed this book, the characters are really brought to life. The pictures are vivid and bright
It brought discussion about how it would feel to be left out and had a good discussion about inclusion which really made my daughter think.
Would highly recommend

[Min · Rating 2 out of 5]

A birthday tale of Moomin like only Tove Jansson could tell-- one that might not appeal to most because it doesn't fit the standard outlook for a children's book.

[Tereza · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ideální postýlková pohádka pro hodně unavené dítě, které by už nevydrželo dlouhou pohádku.

[Jose Pablo · Rating 5 out of 5]

is funny and is hard to understand

[Tina Jensen · Rating 4 out of 5]

When you think everybody forgot your birthday and are to busy for you, but get a lovely surprise in the end

[Sarah]

Aaaaah x

[Tara · Rating 2 out of 5]

Too wordy.

[Patricia]

x

[Mollie B · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meh, not very great for preschool storytime.

[Elisabeth · Rating 2 out of 5]

Moomin is not for me.