Tove Jansson was the author of the Finnish Moomin series of children’s books that include her beautiful, unique illustrations. The books were originally written in Swedish, as she was part of the minority of Swedish-descended Finns. She published the first Moomins book, The Moomins and the Great Flood, in 1945 during WWII. Despite their age, these books hold up well to time and are just as interesting for adults as for kids. They are recommended for children 7 and up.
The Finn Family Moomintroll is a collection of short stories and is a good place to start with this wonderful series. Here’s an excerpt to get you started:
Chapter 1
In which Moomintroll, Snufkin, and Sniff find the Hobgoblin’s Hat; how five small clouds unexpectedly appear, and how the Hemulen finds himself a new hobby.
One spring morning at four o’clock the first cuckoo arrived in the Valley of the Moomins. He perched on the blue roof of Moominhouse and cuckooed eight times–rather hoarsely to be sure, for it was still a bit early in the spring.
Then he flew away to the east.
Moomintroll woke up and lay a long time looking at the ceiling before he realized where he was. He had slept a hundred nights and a hundred days, and his dreams still thronged about his head trying to coax him back to sleep.
