Isn't he cute?
Moomin and the other characters from Moomin Valley,
are sort of the Finnish version of the Peanuts. Created by Tove Jansson in the 30s, these beloved cartoon characters today are recognized by Finns everywhere. Their images are often made into toys, dolls and other household goods.
I've seen Moomin described as a hippopotamus-like troll who deals with everyday human issues. The humor is subtle, but "relate able." (Is that even a word?)
Lily and I made our first visit to the library today. I was surprised (and delighted) to find the first book of the Moomin adventures. I had read that the English translation of Moomin's adventures were hard to find. (A subsequent search on Amazon.com today came up with lots of Moomin books in English for sale at reasonable prices.)
In the first strip I read, Moomin is overrun by house guests. He tries all kinds of crazy things to get rid of the guests (he floods his house, but the guests decided to have fun swimming). Finally, he goes to his friend Stinky and invites him over. Stinky quickly rids the house of all it's guests, but stinky has an insatiable appetite and ends up eating poor Moomin's house! (Stinky is the character in the middle above.)
I find this little guy and his Moominvalley friends quite addicting. I'm hoping we will make it back home with at least a few Moomin souvenirs!
Oh we grew to love Moomin too! We read books from the library here before we went, and checked a book out every time at the library in Helsinki. Finnish, Swedish, English, Marieka loved them all! Go to the Moomin store downtown every once in awhile. we found a sale in March that allowed us to purchase some great items cheaply! Plus, Posti downtown had great Moomin zipper reflectors which were great momentos and cheap. We still read Moomin books here about once a week. Also, Moomin videos...in Finnish...at the library!!!
ReplyDeleteNetflix now has Moomin shows
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