Finn Family Moomintroll

The instant I saw the marvelous illustrations of plump little hippo-trolls floating on clouds, I was captivated by their fun-loving world of wonder-full adventures.

This book is about moments of discovery that add richness to our lives–like when Moomintroll ventures to the top of a mountain with his friend, Snufkin, and they discover a hat–the “Hobgoblin’s hat”–which supposedly has magical powers. Or when the Hattifatteners, ghost entities, steal Hemulen’s barometer. Or when everything the moomintrolls need can be found in moominmamma’s purse.

Well, you can imagine the sort of fun and childish interplay of these curious characters as they make… show more.

Tove Jansson’s Moominhouse is the perfect image of hospitality. In Finn Family Moomintroll, Jansson conjures the enchanting image of a place where guests, however strange, are made at home by just “adding another bed and putting another leaf in the dining-room table.”

Muskrat philosophers, mysterious ancestors, troublesome children, unsettling wayfarers: everyone seems to be accommodated, somehow or other. In the chaos that ensues, Jansson writes, “very often unexpected and disturbing things used to happen, but nobody ever had time to be bored, and that is always a good thing.”