Moomins 05 Moominland Midwinter

Everyone knows the Moomins sleep through the winter. But this year, Moomintroll has woken up early. So while the rest of the family slumber, he decides to visit his favorite summer haunts. But all he finds is this strange white stuff. Even the sun is gone! Moomintroll is angry: whoever Winter is, she has some nerve. Determined to discover the truth about this most mysterious of all seasons, Moomintroll goes where no Moomin has gone before.

“The Moomin books make for both splendid bedtime read-alouds and solitary savoring.”—Wall Street Journal

“This book is a marvelous new look at a time of year when many of us are huddling inside, trying to stay warm, and a good reminder during a hot summer of what to look forward to in a few short months.”—The Green Man Review

“Timeless . . . Perfect for reading aloud . . . The magical adventures of the innocent Moomin family have the whimsical, surrealistic quality of Frank Baums Oz books.”—Chicago Parent

“The Moomins originated in Finland, found their way to England, and have now, happily, crossed the Atlantic. One couldnt ask for more engaging citizens.”—The Christian Science Monitor

“The books . . . belong on the shelf next to classics like A Wrinkle in Time and The Phantom Tollbooth.”—Entertainment Weekly

“A lost treasure now rediscovered . . . A surrealist masterpiece.”—Neil Gaiman

“Jansson was a genius of a very subtle kind. These simple stories resonate with profound and complex emotions that are like nothing else in literature for children or adults: intensely Nordic, and completely universal.”—Philip Pullman

“Tove Jansson is undoubtedly one of the greatest childrens writers there has ever been. She has the extraordinary gift of writing books that are very clearly for children, but can also be enjoyed when the child, like me, is over sixty and can still find new pleasures with the insights that come from adulthood.”—Sir Terry Pratchett

“Clever, gentle, witty, and completely engrossing.”—Jeff Smith, author of Bone

“[Tove Jansson] is a master.”—The Times Literary Supplement (London)

“The most original works for children to be published since the Pooh books, and possibly, since Alice.”—Saturday Review

“You will declare yourself a citizen of Moominvalley and call the stories your own—the Moomin world is that compelling.”—Riverbank Review

“Its not just Tove Janssons wonderfully strange fairytale world that so appeals but also her beautiful line work and exquisite sense of design.”—Lauren Child

“[Jansson was] a whiz of tomfoolery who was also a profound guide to the human heart.”—Shelley Jackson, LA Weekly

The Moomins sleep through the winter, but this year, Moomintroll wakes up early. Now he's wondering why this season he's never seen has made everything so different. Illustrations.

Everyone knows that the Moomins sleep through the winter, but this year Moomintroll discovers that winter is worth waking up for after all.

Tove Jansson (1914-2001) was born in Helsinki and spent much of her life in Finland. She is the author of the Moomin books, including Comet in Moominland and Finn Family Moomintroll. Born into an artistic family—her father was a sculptor and her mother was a graphic designer and illustrator—Jansson studied at the University College of Arts, Crafts and Design in Stockholm, the Finnish Academy of Fine Arts, and LÉcole des Beaux-Arts in Paris. In addition to her Moomin books, she also wrote several novels, drew comic strips and worked as a painter and illustrator. In 1966, she was awarded the Hans Christian Andersen Medal for her body of work. Jansson had a studio in Helsinki but spent most of her time at her home on a small island called Klovharu.