Moomin Book 1

Starred review from July 24, 2006
From 1953 to 1960, the late Finnish artist Jansson drew a comic strip about her creation Moomin for the London Evening News
. Though the strip was an enormous success around the world, this is the first North American edition of an expressive and endearing classic. Moomin's stories begin simply (he needs to rid his home of freeloaders, or goes on a family vacation) and snowball into a series of amusing, whimsical misadventures, which can involve elements of the fantastic, like magic, monsters and ghosts. Although Moomin, his parents and his girlfriend, Snorkmaiden, are trolls, they look like friendly hippopotamuses. Moomin is reminiscent of a big, chubby baby; there is something of Charlie Brown in him: Moomin is like a child beset by life's troubles and usually (but not always) too passive to get angry and fight back. Adults should appreciate Jansson's satire—although she always provides happy endings, dark undercurrents are at play: one episode opens with Moomin attempting suicide; reunited with his missing parents, he's abandoned by them again. Jansson's deceptively childlike style masterfully conveys her characters' personalities. Moomin's mouth rarely appears, but his eyes, his brows and his gestures are expressive and endearing.

May 15, 2007
Whimsical and charming, Moomin's (mis)adventures suggest anAlice in Wonderland dream world with odd beings, unexplained connections, and events that freewheel out of controlalmost. Moomin and his family are hippopotamus-like trolls, and this strip from the late Finnish artist appeared in theLondon Evening News from 1953 to 1959 and was syndicated in 40 countries. She always resolves matters with happy endings, but like the best all-ages comics, her gentle humor can be read on multiple levels. Moomin is beset by freeloading guests (which he attempts to drive off in increasingly ludicrous ways), endeavors to win the love of a girl troll, and journeys to the Riviera with his parents. Throughout, foxlike opportunistic sidekick Sniff supplies a slightly edgier counterpoint to Moomin's bewilderment in the face of life's challenges and his joy in ordinary pleasures of nature and family. The deceptively simple black-and-white art invites readers to try drawing their own imaginings. The Moomin saga began as Swedish-language books, then became wildly popular internationally in the 1990s, especially in Japan, and inspired animated and theatrical adaptationseven a theme park and museum. Jansson won numerous prizes for her work. For all ages.M.C.

Copyright 2007 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

November 1, 2006
Gr 10 Up-Beloved around the world, the Moomins are fanciful creatures that look quite a lot like upright hippopotami. They are peaceful, dreamy sorts who occasionally yearn for adventure, but always come back to their home. This is the first collection of the comic strips, which were begun by Jansson in 1954 and carried by the "London Evening News". Adventures in this volume include sophisticated issues, such as dealing with houseguests who have overstayed their welcome, a trip to the French Riviera, pirate attacks, and critiques on modern art. Whimsical, yet deep, they will appeal to fans of Charles Schultzs Peanuts strip. Black-and-white illustrations are simple, but stylistically unique and charming. Appeal may be mixed due to the slightly dated language and philosophical tendencies of the characters, which, in this incarnation, were written for adults, but teens with a taste for the absurd will find this offering quite adorable."Dawn Rutherford, King County Library System, Bellevue, WA"

Copyright 2006 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

August 1, 2006
In the 1950s Jansson (1914-2001) was world famous for her children's books about Moomin when the Associated Press contracted with her for an all-ages Moomin comic strip. Wide-eyed, sweetly thick-headed Moomin has the body of a hippo, the soul of a puppy. Unlike his friend Sniff, a sort of kangaroo-rat hybrid, Moomin cares naught for fame or fortune, though he isn't averse to mild adventure. The strip's story arcs are lengthy and complex but not confusing, develop the characters well, and hold up nicely after 50 years. In the first, "Brigands," Moomin is the only creature of his kind, but in the later "Family Life" and "Moomin on the Riviera," he has parents and a partner, Snorkel Maiden. Jansson's black-and-white images are most expressive; the characters arch brows and roll eyes tellingly, and settings glow with sunshine, glower with storm. The gentle ribbing Jannson gives midcentury Western culture--Moomin makes modern art, deals with a banker, is bested by a picnic pig's\b \b0 widow--delighted sophisticates then and should charm their progeny now. (Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2006, American Library Association.)

December 1, 2007
When she accepted the London Evening News? early-1950s proposal that she put her hippolike children's book characters, the Moomintrolls, into a comic strip, Jansson had become so used to writing long, leisurely stories that that's what she naturally did for the newspaper. There were four stories in the first volume collecting the strip, and there are four in the second, which drolly satirize winter sports, middle-class tidiness, building one's own home, and the folly of following secular saviors. A deep-rooted decency rather than any kind of humanitarianism undergirds Jansson's humor and makes it as wisely risible today as it was half a century ago.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2007, American Library Association.)