Moomintrolls and Friends

by Tove Jansson

Moomintrolls and Friends (Penguin Children's 60s)

Contains three stories by Tove Jansson:

- The Secret of the Hattifatteners
- The Invisible Child
- The Last Dragon in the World.

Genres: Fantasy, Childrens, Classics, Fiction

64 pages, Paperback

First published April 4, 1996

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

[Tweedledum · Rating 5 out of 5]

Three delightful Moomin stories to whet the appetite or to fill in between longer stories:

Moominpappa goes away with the Hattifatteners and discovers that home is the best place to be no matter how homely.

Too-ticky brings an invisible child to live with the Moomins confident that they will help her reappear. "You all know don't you that if people are frightened very often they sometimes become invisble." Too ticky tells them. Ninny's face and head remain invisible long after her paws adn body have appeared. Moominmamma doesnt know how to help her appear anymore but then something happens that forces Ninny to act.

Moomintroll finds a baby dragon and takes it home. SNuffkin knows this cannot end well but how to persuade the dragon to move on without upsetting Moomintroll?

[Stephen Theaker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Three very curious little tales. The first, "The Secret of the Hattifatteners", was especially good. Moominpapa unexpectedly leaves home to go in quest of something he feels is missing from his comfortable life, something exemplified by the serious, dramatic lives of the sea-going Hattifatteners. It’s a story about a mid-life crisis, for kids! It would stand out even in an anthology of short stories for adults. I'll definitely be reading more.

[Corinna Lumbard · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really wish I’d known about the Moomins as a kid, but better late then never. These stories are from the beloved Finnish children’s classics. I might be biased as a Finnish-American, but these stories just prove how clever and smart Finns are! I found them wholesome, charming, and funny in all the right ways. I can’t wait to read more.

[Zee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sweet and nice. Just like I remember it from my childhood.

[Snufkin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very short, very cute.