Moominmania

I love the Moomins. I have loved them since first discovering them as a child. For children, there are a series of books by Tove Jansson, beginning with Finn Family Moomintroll; for adults, using the same characters but more adult themes, there is the Moomin comic strip. I heartily recommend both.

Never heard of them? Not entirely surprising. Tove Jansson was a Swedish-Finn author & illustrator who started writing the series in 1945. For years they were best known in Scandinavia, until the "Moomin Boom" of the '90s, when the first animated series was produced. (Watch the opening sequence for the animated series here.) New markets included Japan, where they became official mascots of the Daiei chain of shopping centers & a Japanese reggae singer took the name Moomin. Moomins have also been used to advertise Finland abroad: the Helsinki-Vantaa International Airport was decorated with Moomin images and Finnair painted big Moomin figures on its Japan-line airplanes. (See the Wikipedia entry for more details.) There has been Moomin music: visit here or here to check some out. Bjork also recorded a song for a new Moomin film!

The list goes on! In Finland there is a Moomin museum & a Moomin theme park called Moominworld. For now, all we have is the books (although you can buy the animated series on Amazon.) Follow the exploits of Moomintroll, our protagonist, his parents Moominmamma & Moominpappa, & a panopoly of friends: Snufkin; the Hemulen; Fillyjonk; the Mymble's Daughter & Little My; Thingummy & Bob. From the dreary cold world of Moominland Midwinter to the theatrical aspirations of Moominsummer Madness, these books will delight an enchant all ages.