Comet in Moominland: 80th Anniversary Edition

by Tove Jansson, Sarah Death (Translator )

Comet in Moominland, the first full-length Moomin novel, was published 80 years ago. Tove revised the story a decade later and again in 1968, reframing adventures (and adding new characters). Now for the first time this edition can be read in English, in a brand new translation. Tove Jansson''s story of a mysterious, threatening comet, and the journey of discovery by Moomin and his friend Sniff across the Lonely Mountains, has captivated generations of readers across the world. The story introduced much-loved Moomin characters, including free-spirited Snufkin, the philosophical Muskrat, the intuitive Snorkmaiden, obsessional Hemulens and strange Hattifatteners. Tove Jansson wrote her story in 1946 and its themes evoke both the threats and devastation of war and a determination to have fun whatever. Or as Snorkmaiden observes, ''We began talking about dancing. Suddenly you started talking about the comet. I''m still talking about dancing.''

Hardcover

Published October 23, 2025

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

[Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

'On Friday the seventh of August there wasn't a breath of wind and it was horribly hot...'

It feels somehow uncouth to give the Moomins a star rating but here are 5, though none of them are a comet. There's a reason they, like Peanuts, have persisted, beyond just being cute designs. (Side note Charlie Mackesay wants Jannson's nachos so fucking badly.) But Jannson pulls from the end of war anxieties so poignantly and channels them into a children's story which still perfectly frames and freezes the nuclear and existentialist fears of the end of WWII. It's done in a way which remains digestible, it's a children's book after all, but still thoughtful. It's a shame it still feels relevant in that way... 

Also I love the Hemulens.

[cornelia · Rating 5 out of 5]

sooo cute !! I found myself laughing and smiling to myself on my commute to and from school :) jag älskar Mumin !

[Rhea · Rating 5 out of 5]

Would be 6 stars if the scale allowed for it ! MOOMINS 🚨🚨🚨

[Daniela · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve found the gift I will give every single one of my friends’ children.

[Jinke Koning · Rating 5 out of 5]

Onderschat nooit de kwaliteit van een moomin boek

[Chelsea-anne Kennedy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a sweet adventure of Moomintroll and Sniff finding out about the comet. Its magical and shows why Moomins have a place in our hearts. They meet new friends along the way and work together. It has beautiful illustrations that really add to the story. This was just a short sweet lovely read.

[Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

A mesmerising and engrossing story that reminds you that there are no limits to what you can write about in fiction. Every chapter has a purpose and all are thoroughly entertaining and imaginative. This book wears its heart on its sleeve, and its pages.

[Peter Dixon · Rating 5 out of 5]

The original version of Comet in Moominland was published in 1946 and translated into English 5 years later. The author then revised the text a number of times, the last being in 1968. But, while much of the rest of the world has been reading the '68 text ever since, incredibly it has taken until 2025 to translate the revision into English.

Quite some time has passed since I read Comet in Moominland, so exactly how much the two different editions vary, I cannot say. What I can say is that it is a wonderful read, which I devoured in a day. It contains an adventure involving a long trip away from a beloved home, with a vast array of wonderful creatures, a pipe, song, and a lonely mountain (or two) - not unlike a longer book published in 1937. But this one is a quick read and also contains a cat, a comet, romance, a pen knife, ginger biscuits, coffee and the word "flouncy". I can't recommend it enough.

[Martyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

If this is the version of the story which most of the world has been reading for the past sixty years then personally I think they have been missing out and I much prefer the original English translation. The silk monkey of the original story had personality and interest. The cat it is replaced with is rather boring and contributes nothing. I don't know why Jansson would have thought it needed changing. If she was aiming to stick to more usual Scandinavian fauna, why did she retain the Condor when an eagle or something would have done just as well? I also found it frustrating in this translation that Moominmamma and Moominpappa were generally just referred to as Mamma and Pappa, which never looked or sounded right. One always wanted to give them their full name/title. At the start of the book, with the opening sentences I was hoping for greater things, hoping she would have developed it from being a simple story for young children, to something with a bit more depth and beauty and interest. But instead it felt more like an abridgement of the original version. Some of the illustrations of the original version were also lost or modified because they no longer fitted in with the altered narrative. I found this revised version less humorous, less mysterious, less sinister. I'm glad Sort Of Books are intending to keep both versions of the text in print because I regard this 1968 revision as inferior to the original.

[Maria Longley · Rating 5 out of 5]

An early story detailing how lots of familiar folk ended up in Moomin Valley. A revised edition with a new translation. Lovely illustrations, lovely story.

Translated from the Swedish by Sarah Death

[Louise · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sooo charming.

[j.chestnut · Rating 4 out of 5]

cute!

[June · Rating 3 out of 5]

very nice but not nearly on the same level as the others ive read so far

[Charlotte · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gewoon heerlijk boek

[Katherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

so silly

[Clau Soliva · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super cute and wholesome