Welcome to my blog. For my first post I thought I should review the book I am holding in my picture.
Title: The Moomins and the Great Flood.
Author: Tove Jansson (translated by David McDuff)
Publisher: Sort of Books
Published in 2012
Format: Hardback
Source: My own copy
Originally
published in 1945 in Finland, reprinted in 1991 and finally
translated into English in 2012, The Moomins And The Great Flood
is what some have described as a “rediscovered gem”. Furthermore,
it serves as the first ever instalment of the much-loved Moomins
series with the same magical tone to it.
The
book introduces us to the lovable Moomintroll and Moominmamma as they
head out on the journey to find Moominpappa, who has gone away with
the Hattifatteners. On the way, they meet up with the Little
Creature, later to be known as Sniff, as well as the beautiful
blue-haired Tulippa who they find in a flower used for light. Not
only are the familiar characters just as lovable as remembered, but
the same applies to the additional characters in the story such as
Tulippa herself. The Hattifatteners described here are quite
different to the ones that appear in Finn Family Moomintroll, but
their personality is the same. The plot essentially appears to be
fairytale-inspired, with a few twists here and there, which will
appeal to young children and fairytale fans alike. The artwork in the
story is beautifully drawn with black ink and sepia watercolours for
the larger pictures and in spite of the Moomins looking quite
different to how they look for the rest of the series, they still
look endearing and cuddly as always.
I
would highly recommend The Moomins And The Great Flood to many
readers young or old, including fans of the Moomins series and
young children who have just discovered the series. The fairytale
motifs and characters are appealing and so are the pictures, making
the book a worthy addition to any bookshelf.
