Book info

• Title The Moomins and the Great Flood
• Author Tove Jansson
• Year 1945
• Genre Childrens

Moominmamma and young Moomintroll search for the long lost Moominpappa through forest and flood, meeting a little creature (an early Sniff) and the elegantly strange Tulippa along the way.

Thoughts

Bless the Moomins! I loved the TV series as a kid but I never read the source material until now. It’s cute, short and sweet, packed full of ideas and inspiration, crazy characters and wondrous situations.

I particularly liked the beginning, wandering through a gloomy forest, with tulips lighting the way. It’s described so well in so few words, I could picture myself there.

It gets a bit more fanciful after that, but I do like the image of a Moomin trying to climb a ladder, or sitting disconsolately on a tree branch waiting for rescue. Lovely stuff.

Rating: 4 / 5