Series: Moomintrolls

Review – Comet in Moominland

Posted July 18, 2025 by Nicky in Reviews / 0 Comments

Review – Comet in Moominland

Comet in Moominland

by Tove Jansson

Genres: Children's, Fantasy
Pages: 192
Series: Moomintrolls #2
Rating: four-stars
Synopsis:

When Moomintroll learns that a comet will be passing by, he and his friend Sniff travel to the Observatory on the Lonely Mountains to consult the Professors. Along the way, they have many adventures, but the greatest adventure of all awaits them when they learn that the comet is headed straight for their beloved Moominvalley.

I either never read Tove Jansson’s Comet in Moominland or forgot most of the story — or maybe it’s present but shorter in the comic strip versions? It’s been so long. The beginning and ending seemed familiar, but not the middle stuff: I remember never entirely being clear where Snufkin or Snorkmaiden came from, but this is where they join the family!

Speaking of which, I really love Moominmamma just relentlessly adopting anyone who needs a mother. The end of the book, where they all creep into the cave in fear, is just so sweet (Moominmamma sings a comforting lullaby, promising them all “your mother is here” — but only Moomin himself is actually her child).

I love the way things just are in these books: Snufkin’s a Snufkin, Sniff’s a Sniff, a Hemulen is a Hemulen… we don’t get enormous amounts of explanation, it’s just on with the adventure, and you’d better keep up!

Rating: 4/5 (“really liked it”)

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Review – The Moomins and the Great Flood

Posted July 13, 2025 by Nicky in Reviews / 1 Comment

Review – The Moomins and the Great Flood

The Moomins and the Great Flood

by Tove Jansson

Genres: Children's, Fantasy
Pages: 64
Series: Moomintrolls #1
Rating: three-stars
Synopsis:

Essential reading for any lover of the Moomins. This is where it all began: The Moomins and the Great Flood offers an extraordinary glimpse into the creativity and imagination that launched the Moomin books. 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.

I’m not sure which of Tove Jansson’s Moomin novels I’ve actually read; I know I’ve read most if not all of the comic versions, thanks to Cardiff Library, but the novels so far have been sort of half-familiar. I think I have read this first one, The Moomins and the Great Flood before, because some of the episodes definitely felt familiar, down to the phrasing — like the marabou stork and his glasses — but in the end… who knows?

It was a fun revisit, even if it feels like the world isn’t fully set up yet in the final configuration (does Sniff get named at all in this? I don’t think so). If I recall rightly, it’s pretty skippable, but I’m glad I didn’t: I always like to see where things began.

It’s a bit of a madcap ride, really, from one random event to the other, but it’s charming all the same.

Rating: 3/5 (liked it)

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