Finn Family Moomintroll: Tove Jansson (Moomins Collectors' Editions)

Finn Family Moomintroll absolutely delighted me as a child, and continued to delight me when my reading tastes became extremely serious and intellectual in my middle teens (Dostoyevski!) When I was getting rid of my childhood books, FFT was never a reject. Even an intense teenager into heavy duty Russian literature had the sense to see this book would last a lifetime.I've really enjoyed all the other clearly adult reviewers waxing lyrical about Tove Jansson's books. In adulthood I discovered Moomintroll and his wonderful family were a series of books, and its been as an adult that I've bought and enjoyed the rest of the series.As many reviewers have noted, Jansson has a warm, quirky, imaginative and unpatronising view of her world and its strange creatures. Moomimamma with her handbags, cuddly warmth and excellent cooking, dreamy Moominpappa, Moomintroll and his friends are as delightful company to a small child as to a large much older child-disguised-as-or-pretending-to-be-adult.The beautiful writing is accompanied by Jansson's wonderful pen and ink illustrations.Lest this all seems as if its impossibly fluffy and anodyne - there's enough darkness loss and fearfulness within the pages to satisfy a small child's desire to BE a little frightened, from time to time - but its not at a level which might mean your small one wakes screaming from a terrible nightmare!There are so many delights to discover within the pages of the book. Look out for the outlandish words on the loose and the fluffy clouds that can be ridden!................and I can still hear Snufkin playing that most welcoming and happy of tunes 'all small creatures have bows in their tails'

Bought as a present. Loved it

I'm 41 and long have I loved the Moomins and are perhaps my favourite of all children's stories; Finn Family Moomintroll, the most famous is perhaps my favourite of the series.Tove Jansson created lovable and quirky characters, characters that you instantly feel reflect your own personality, with a simple message that a simple way of life and a life of acceptance is best, set in a beautiful land where nature is also a leading character.Here, in the third of the series, Finn Family Moomintroll, Moomintroll, Snufkin and Sniff find the Hobgoblin's Hat. Weird things spring from the hat and wonderful adventures occur to the Moomin family; loving Moominmamma, relaxed Moominpappa, boyish Moomintroll, greedy Sniff, carefree Snufkin, the vain Snork Maiden, officious Snork, the obsessive Hemulen, the philosophising Muskrat and the funny little newcomers, Thingumy and Bob who hold a secret in their little suitcase! Enter my favourite character the Groke; seen as evil, she is undoubtedly friendless and lonely.I agree wholeheartedly with Philip Pullman when he said "they seem to grow in wisdom and delight every time I read them." It gives a simple message of acceptance without wearing it's message on it's sleeve, something one appreciates more as one gets older.A life-affirming joy!

I got this because the only other Hugh Laurie reading I've got is an abridged "Great Expectations" (Penguin Classics). He's a brilliant reader.The story is adorable, and I remember reading a few Moomin books in my school library, back in 70s. So a lovely bit of nostalgia. Plus I recently saw a Tove Jansson documentary on BBC TV, so I got the benefit all of that lovely subtext about her 'coming out' to her family. Bless.PS: a moan from a luddite - I know that Hugh Dennis has recorded the rest of the Moon books (as audio downloads), but I want them on CD. Come on publishers, roll out the format!

It's Moomintroll's 65th birthday in 2010, though he still looks very young and modern. Unfortunately the Moomintroll Museum is too far to visit (unless you're lucky enough to live in Finland with its beautiful scenery and interesting weather) so it's just as well Puffin have produced this new, handsome hardback edition of Finn Family Moomintroll so his friends across the world can join in the celebrations.Tove Jansson's perenially popular characters seem almost wasted on the young and her monsters (the Groke appears in this book) can be genuinely frightening. But luckily there are always lots of adventures and surprises, such as collecting salvage from the beach on Lonely Island and having a party to celebrate Moominmamma being reunited with her handbag, though finding the Hobgoblin's enchanted hat proves to be something of a mixed blessing. The illustrations mean even the youngest reader will find something to enjoy.Finn Family Moomintroll is a perfect book, for children and other wise people. I wouldn't change a thing.

Loved the stories. Great wisdom and ideas. However, it felt uncomfortable to me that this female writer has written such shallow and stereotypical female characters, when the male characters are all so amazingly rich and complex. Wondering if she was only able to find the rich and complex parts of herself outside expected norms of femaleness.

As kids both my wife and I loved the Moomintroll books and so we decided to buy them for our grandson's birthday present. When they arrived we looked through them and were so taken we could not resist buying a second set to keep for ourselves.Buy them, read them, keep them.

This a a whimsical book for children and even adults! Very addictive. Once you have read this you will want to read all of the Moomin books. :)

Good quality and always a good book.

The cover and pages are so beautifully drawn, and I can't stress this enough.

Ein wirklich tolles kleines Buch mit vielen schönen Zeichnungen und gleich vorne einer herausklappbaren Landkarte des Mumintals und Grundrissen des Muminhauses. Offenbar ist dieses das erste Buch der Serie...

I've repeated the review here from another purchase. Bought for a present for my grandchildren the Moomin stories are beautifully told and translated into English. The illustrations are wonderful. The Moomin tales are great fun for children and adults alike. Artful and thoughtful is what they are. So, you can't miss with these books.

Great book and read