,

Tove Jansson


Born
in Helsinki, Finland
August 09, 1914

Died
June 27, 2001

Genre


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 in
...more

Average rating: 4.14 · 280,391 ratings · 27,215 reviews · 938 distinct worksSimilar authors
The Summer Book

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really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 57,705 ratings — published 1972 — 4 editions
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Comet in Moominland (The Mo...

4.25 avg rating — 23,641 ratings — published 1946 — 17 editions
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The Moomins and the Great F...

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4.04 avg rating — 22,214 ratings — published 1945 — 85 editions
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Finn Family Moomintroll (Th...

4.31 avg rating — 19,442 ratings — published 1948 — 15 editions
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Moominland Midwinter (The M...

4.40 avg rating — 18,144 ratings — published 1957 — 164 editions
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Moominsummer Madness (The M...

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4.29 avg rating — 14,505 ratings — published 1954 — 152 editions
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Moominpappa at Sea (The Moo...

4.22 avg rating — 12,357 ratings — published 1965 — 2 editions
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Moominvalley in November (T...

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4.27 avg rating — 11,607 ratings — published 1970 — 125 editions
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Tales from Moominvalley (Th...

4.31 avg rating — 11,497 ratings — published 1962
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Fair Play

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3.87 avg rating — 7,972 ratings — published 1989 — 9 editions
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More books by Tove Jansson…
The Moomins and the Great F... Comet in Moominland Finn Family Moomintroll Moominsummer Madness Moominland Midwinter Tales from Moominvalley Moominpappa at Sea
(9 books)
by
4.25 avg rating — 148,685 ratings

Moomintroll and the End of ... Moomin and the Brigands Moomin and Family Life Moomin on the Riviera Moomin's Desert Island Moomin's Winter Follies Moominmamma's Maid
(14 books)
by
4.27 avg rating — 41,839 ratings

Moomin: The Complete Tove J... Moomin: The Complete Tove J... Moomin: The Complete Tove J... Moomin: The Complete Tove J... Moomin: The Complete Tove J...
(11 books)
by
4.33 avg rating — 13,619 ratings

The Book About Moomin, Mymb... Who Will Comfort Toffle? Den farliga resan The Unwanted Guest Den store mummiboka Muumilaakso juhlii 1 Muumilaakso juhlii
(26 books)
by
4.30 avg rating — 8,398 ratings

Країна Мумі-тролів. Книга п... Країна Мумі-тролів. Книга т... Країна Мумі-тролів. Книга д...
(3 books)
by
4.54 avg rating — 1,362 ratings

More series by Tove Jansson…
Quotes by Tove Jansson  (?)
Quotes are added by the Goodreads community and are not verified by Goodreads. (Learn more)

“One summer morning at sunrise a long time ago
I met a little girl with a book under her arm.
I asked her why she was out so early and
she answered that there were too many books and
far too little time. And there she was absolutely right.”
Tove Jansson

“I only want to live in peace, plant potatoes and dream!”
Tove Jansson, Moomin: The Complete Tove Jansson Comic Strip, Vol. 01

“You can't ever be really free if you admire somebody too much.”
Tove Jansson, Tales from Moominvalley

Polls

August 2021 New School Classic Group Read Poll

Orlando by Virginia Woolf, 1928, 272 pages
 
  51 votes, 24.3%

 
  32 votes, 15.2%

The Summer Book by Tove Jansson, 1972, 172 pages
 
  29 votes, 13.8%

The Neverending Story by Michael Ende, 1979, 396 pages
 
  26 votes, 12.4%

The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler, 1939, 231 pages
 
  24 votes, 11.4%

 
  22 votes, 10.5%

The Bridge on the Drina by Ivo Andrić, 1945, 314 pages
 
  14 votes, 6.7%

 
  6 votes, 2.9%

 
  6 votes, 2.9%

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