The Invisible Child and The Fir Tree

Mumintrollen

by Tove Jansson

In Tove Jansson’s much loved short story, The Invisible Child, the isolated Ninny is helped to regain her voice and take her rightful place in the world using a simple Moomin recipe. She is welcomed into the Moomin family and treated with equality and respect. This is one of the most touching of all Moomin stories and is paired in this unique book with The Fir Tree, the Moomins’ gloriously unselfish take on Christmas.

Alongside these two classic stories, this gift edition also includes an exclusive Moomin Gallery, featuring the characters of Moominvalley, compiled by Philip Ardagh.

Both stories are taken from the short story collection Tales from Moominvalley (The Moomins, #7) which was first published in Swedish as Det osynliga barnet (Mumintrollen, #7) in 1962.

Genres: Childrens, Fiction, Short Stories, Classics, Fantasy, Christmas, Finnish Literature

80 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1962

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

[Hilary · Rating 3 out of 5]

We saved this Moomin book to read over the festive period. Having previously read and loved The Invisible Child we looked forward to the The Fir Tree but we didn't enjoy this as much as we expected. I didn't like Christmas being mentioned in the moomins world, I like the moomins world to stay other worldly and not like the one we live in. The storyline felt a bit forced as if Tove had sat down to write a Christmas moomin story rather than writing about this other world she knows like how the other books came about. On the other hand the first story is wonderful and it's a lovely little book with a beautifully designed jacket and a gorgeous book mark of my favourite Tove Jansson painting and a nice section at the back about the characters in the story. It's great that these books are raising money for Oxfam. They are lovely gifts for any moomin fan.
4 stars for the invisible child and 2 stars for the fir tree.

[Alex Borghgraef · Rating 5 out of 5]

I may not be in the intended age group for this, but the Moomins are for everyone, and I enjoyed this very much :-) The Invisible Child is a story with lot of depth, not only for a children's book, and The Fir Tree is just hilarious. Loved it, a beautiful gift, and I wish more people would read Jansson's strange and delightfully loving stories.

[Efka · Rating 3 out of 5]

To mumiško ir Jansson'iško žavesio yra ir čia, bet bendrai paėmus - gerokai silpnesnis rinkinys, nei klasikinės Trolių Mumių "pilnametražės" knygos. Gal tik viena ar dvi istorijos paliko kiek geresnį įspūdį, o kitos - visai vidutiniškos. 3*.

[Chlo Bolton 🍃 · Rating 4 out of 5]

These are the sweetest stories I think I’ve ever read! 🥺

The invisible Child has such depth to it and I think the themes of acceptance and inclusiveness in these stories are so important.

Equally the Fir tree was so charming! Imagining the Moomins thinking Christmas was a scary concept was very funny! 😂

The characters are wonderful and the writing equally as nice! I would strongly recommend this book! Tove Janssons writing is so lovely ! ☺️

[Gitta · Rating 5 out of 5]

As someone who was abused as a kid, I am biased when it comes to this story since Ninny was the first character I could ever relate to.

[Mathew · Rating 3 out of 5]

I adore the Moonmins and these two short, yet very different, short stories are just as lovely. The first one tells the story of a child who was so mistreated by her carer that she simply stopped being visible. Time with Moominmama and the rest of the family though is the remedy! The second story is a Christmas one and, although timely, it just didn't quite fit with the former tale (even though it was wonderful and funny).

[Ellen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovely short seasonal read, very characteristic of the Moomins and their philosophy of kindness and being carefree. Very pretty edition too 🎄

[Mathilde Paulsen · Rating 5 out of 5]

5/5 stars. What can I say, Moomin stories will always fill me with a sense of inner peace mixed with adventure. I love them! This book has two Moomin stories. The first is The Invisible Child and it is about a child who has been spooked into becoming invisible and she is given to the Moomin family to see if they can cure her. Through being kind and including her and showing her that life is not so scary, she comes back piece by piece. It is a wonderful story that has stayed with me since my childhood. The second book is called The Fir Tree and it is about the Moomins (who normally hibernate through winter) being woken up to something dreadful called Christmas. They go out to get a Fir Tree and learn more and more about needing both dinner and decorations and presents to keep this mysterious Christmas figure happy. Adorable story about misunderstanding the classic holiday, very typical of the Moomins.

A quote from each story in this book:
"All right," Too-Ticky said. "Now, here's your new family. They're a bit silly at times, but rather decent, generally speaking." (From The Invisible Child, which is undoubtedly one of my all-time favourite Moomin stories, best description of the Moomin family ever)

But small creatures always have to be very, very polite to the great powers of nature. (From The Fir Tree)

[Miss Bookiverse · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've read The Invisible Child before and I even remember the anime adaption of it. It's a sweet story with a lot of subtext and Moominmamma being as lovely and kind as ever.

The Fir Tree was a new one for me. It's a super cute story in which the Moomins are woken from their winter sleep to encounter Christmas for the first time. Nobody tells them what to do and what to expect though, which is not only amusing but also makes you rethink your own behavior during the Christmas season.

[Freya · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review to come :)

[Zoe · Rating 5 out of 5]

wholesome <3

[Sophia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sehr schön, wobei komisch zu lesen auf Englisch, da ich mit den Mumins aufgewachsen bin. Aber nun hab ich Lust auf mehr. Vielleicht kommt der ein oder andere große Sammelband dieses Jahr noch ins Haus.

[Dioni · Rating 4 out of 5]

First published at: http://www.meexia.com/bookie/2017/12/...

I first discovered Moomin when I moved to the UK. For some reason Moomin never made its way to South East Asia, or even Australia, though it seems to be big in Japan. I immediately found the hipo-like creatures to be adorable, and went to buy some merchandise - mug, soft toy, postcards, shirt, notebook, even when I hadn't known the stories of Moomin at all. My other encounter was when I went to Helsinki and didn't know that Finland was where Moomin was from. I brought and wore my Moomin shirt, in Moomin land, by coincidence! It was an odd feeling looking at all the shops with Moomin stuffs, while wearing the Moomin shirt. People must've thought it was on purpose. Well the surprise was on me!

I read Tove Jansson's non-Moomin book The Summer Book last year and absolutely loved it, so I know I like her writing. Moomin however has many books in the series, so as always the case with me, when that happens, I don't know where to start. I'd be too anxious to even start, or to start with any book that is not the first in the series. (The big reason I have not read Émile Zola...)

This book came at a fortunate time. It's published by Sort of Books in support Oxfam. Costs £4.99 and 'at least £4 from each book bought goes to Oxfam projects supporting women and girls worldwide'. It's a beautiful hardback copy too. I buy a lot of books and at times don't feel very good about it, but this kind of purchase surely makes all you warm and fuzzy inside, hah.

The book contains two stories, which became my first introduction to Moomin stories. They're taken from Tales from Moominvalley collection (which is #7 in the series according to Goodreads), first published in 1962. The Invisible Child is a story about a child that literally became invisible out of sadness by her own mother, and she is dropped to join the Moomin family. The Moomin family of course tries their best to bring the child back to being visible again. As this is originally a latter tale, you are assumed to know the characters, which I didn't, and I had to look up. But it's not a big deal.

The second story is surprisingly Christmasy. I bought the book a couple of months before, and didn't know there's a Christmas story inside. To read it around Christmas time was perfect. In The Fir Tree the Moomin family was waken up in Christmas time, which doesn't seem to be a regular occurrence. Seems they usually sleep through Christmas and winter, because they have no idea what Christmas is, and that's where all the comedy spins of.

The last part of the book is a gallery of all the Moomin characters, with illustrations. I love them all already with this thin book, and really hope to read more Moomin books soon. Also the Dulwich Picture Gallery is having a Tove Jansson exhibition which I plan to visit before it ends on 28 January 2018. Consider me a fan of Jansson! :)

[Riitta · Rating 5 out of 5]

Alltid lika njutningsfull läsning: visdomen i Det onsynliga barnet imponerar mig varje gång och Granen är ju en festlig skildring mitt i prick om hur julen kan se ut i oinvigdas ögon: ”Sen satte de sig allesammans i snön och väntade på katastrofen.” Boken är mycket fin och en del av intäkterna går till Oxfam för att hjälpa kvinnor och flickor runt om i världen att kämpa mot ojämlikhet och fattigdom.

[Ken · Rating 5 out of 5]

Two wonderful short stories featuring The Moomins with all money raised being donated to Oxfam in supporting of women and girls worldwide.

I'd recommend everyone to buy this book.

[✧₊⁎Haru • &#x1f9a6;&#x1fab7;⁎⁺˳✧ · Rating 5 out of 5]

“I believe she’s never laughed before,” Too-Ticky said wonderingly. “You seem to have changed her; she’s even worst than Little My. But the main thing is that one can see her, of course.”

Ninny è uno dei miei abitanti preferiti della Valle dei Moomin e sono davvero felice di aver letto questo racconto in cui, grazie all’affetto e all’aiuto dei Moomin, ritrova la sua voce e il suo aspetto. le storie di Tove Jansson sono sempre disseminate di messaggi bellissimi e leggerli mi scalda ogni volta il cuore🥺🩷

[Sheenagh · Rating 5 out of 5]

A lovely edition (not sure if Oxfam receives any funds, or was just promoting it, but I was Very Good and resisted in our local shop several times). Both stories are quintessential Jansson (Invisible Child is quite unsettling) and nicely Christmassy. (If by Christmassy you mean 'sad in a way I can't put my finger on', which I almost always do.)


(Christmas present from PJ)

[Kricket · Rating 5 out of 5]

A sweet little hardcover edition of two stories previously published in "Tales from Moominvalley." "The Fir Tree" is especially appropriate for the holiday season and I read it as a bedtime brain cleanser for sweet dreams.

[Kirsty · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely lovely. Two of the most beautiful and heartwarming Moomin stories, printed together for the best of causes.

[Lucille · Rating 4 out of 5]

That was so sweet and adorable!! 💛✨

[Matt Shelter · Rating 4 out of 5]

I particularly liked The Fir Tree - it's a very good commentary on Christmas from the point of view of those who have never heard of it.

And overall this lovely little book just took me straight back to childhood when I used to watch the Moomin cartoons!

[Charissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Two delightful Moomin short stories. A happy little read.

[Catherine Jeffrey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful reading for any age.

[lillacsillag · Rating 5 out of 5]

So cute. I just looove Tove Jansson’s mind.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

All the warm fuzzy feelings - yes please!

[Sophie Bowns · Rating 4 out of 5]

I will give this ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ it was quirky ish.

[Anthony Buck · Rating 1 out of 5]

Charmless gibberish.

[Tim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lent to me by a friend to read. An utter delight

[Khadija · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ninny’s story will forever hold a special place in my heart. Her story hits home.

[isabel · Rating 4 out of 5]

i love fanfiction