Tove Jansson: Moominsummer Madness

Some books resonate right through childhood and are just as compelling when read again as an adult. Tove Jansson's wise and gently humorous Moomin series, a magical combination of story and illustrations, contains such books.

Born in 1914, Tove Jansson grew up as part of the Swedish-speaking minority in Finland. Her parents were both artists and family life, while typical in many ways, was also edged with a bohemianism unusual for the time.

Tove Jansson's mother, Signe Hammarsten-Jansson, was a caricaturist who designed many of Finland's stamps and Tove was deeply influenced by her work. She began a career as an artist and then, in 1945, published her first Moomin book. This was the beginning of a series that spanned 30 years.

The Moomins, for the uninitiated, are small friendly creatures that inhabit a remote valley. They are a close-knit family of three: the young and adventurous Moomintroll and his parents, the calm Moominmamma, and the sometimes reckless Moominpapa.

They share the valley with many other unusual creatures who all have unique personalities. Many are as kindly as the Moomins, but the valley has its share of eccentric and sometimes unpleasant characters. The Groke - a large shapeless greyness that freezes the ground it sits on - must be one of the most sinister figures of children's fiction.

Life is often idyllic, but disaster and danger feature as well. Some of the later books move away from straightforward adventures and tackle quite philosophical themes. Moominvalley in November, written after Tove's mother died, is haunted by a gentle melancholy and deals with feelings of loss and abandonment. Moominland Midwinter focuses on Moomintroll's coming of age when he leaves his hibernating family to explore, for the first time, the very different world of his valley in winter.

In Moominsummer Madness the valley is flooded when a volcanic eruption sends a giant wave rolling over the land. The Moomin family and their friends escape on to a strange building that floats past their house, and so begins a very unusual summer.

Their new home is like nothing anyone from the valley has seen before. It features a huge space framed with red velvet curtains, a room filled with beautiful clothes, pictures hanging from the ceiling and doors that open on to nothing. The Moomin family and their friends revel in the strangeness of it all, but not until they meet the original occupant, an old stage-rat called Emily, do they realise they are living in a theatre.

The concept is new and strange, and they have some difficulty understanding it. Emily tries to explain:

"A theatre is the most important sort of house in the world, because that's where people are shown what they could be if they wanted, and what they'd like to be if they dared to and what they really are."

"A reformatory," said Moominmamma, astonished.

Moominpapa resolves to write a play with a part for everyone, and Emily is roped in to stage manage it. As they float through summer, rehearsals for the play are interrupted by many other events. Moomintroll and the Snork Maiden are imprisoned; Snufkin rescues 24 orphans from a horrible Park Warden, and they all find some new friends.

The Moomin books champion tolerance and individuality. They challenge authoritarianism and narrow-mindedness. They are, in the words of Philip Pullman, author of the renowned Northern Lights, a perfect marriage of words and picture.


Publisher: Penguin

Price: $12.99

Age: 8-10

Recommended by: Jenni Keestra