Rating: 
Summary: A beautifully crafted story
Review: I remember my dad reading the Moomintroll books to me when I was very young. When I was a bit older, I read them again, myself. Now I'm 21, and thought I'd try reading this book once more, after all these years. I've just finished reading it, and it was great. Like most of the best children's fiction, it also appeals perfectly to adults, and although it was written over 40 years ago, I don't think it seems dated, really. There's a lot of sharp humour, and memorable situations/characters. A lot of the themes in the book seem perfectly in-line with amazing childhood exploits; Discovery, exploration... The book surprised me with how ahead-of-its-time it seemed. I don't think you'd find an English book from 1950 that is so liberated and foreward-thinking. Anyway, what I'm (clumsily) trying to say is, I loved this book, and will now read the other books in the series. One last thing: Tove Jansson's illustrations are also excellent, and perfectly complement the story.
Rating:
Summary: The Moomins are cute, funny, and full of adventure!
Review: I think that all of the Moomintroll books are wonderful! I have read all but one. If you've never read a book on the Moomins, you are missing a lot. The Finnish trolls are exciting and full of adventure so readers of all ages can be surprised. Every book has a new and fantastic expedition! Read them all!
Rating:
Summary: We're all Moomins
Review: I was first exposed to the animated Moomin while visiting my penpal in Finland; I was all too delighted to have it assigned in a Scandanavian FairyTale class. This book can be read by both children and adults with equal glee. The straightforward adventures of the Moomins and their friends will delight children, and the wit and sly pokes at humans will amuse adults. Also, it is an excellent introduction to children's Finnish literature--it can never become outdated.
Rating: 
Summary: Strange but good
Review: It takes a special person to like these books. You can't be outcome oriented. You must just enjoy reading for the sake of reading. There is no didactic purpose in these books, and because of that Americans tend to hate them. These books are huge in Japan and, naturally, in Finland. There's even a theme park for these characters in the books because people love them so much in other parts of the world. Read them with an open mind. You'll learn to love the characters.
Rating:
Summary: Outlandishly Enchanting
Review: Like some of the previous reviewers, I grew up in Japan and enjoyed the 70's hit TV anime series (they later re-made them in the 90s to be truer to the original books, I believe) and later read all the books voraciously. The series captivates its readers much like the Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter books do; by totally drawing them into its unique and marvellously rich world, a world that is somehow fanciful yet credible.Now that I have a 7-year-old boy of my own, I enjoy reading them aloud to him. We burst out laughing every time Sniff says something self-serving, get the shivers when we see a picture of the Groke (I was truly scared of her when I was a child), wonder what in the world the mysterious Hattifatteners are up to, and marvel at how everything comes together in the end of each story. The author has a true gift for weaving fantastical creatures, objects and situations together to create a solid, almost palpable world. Finn Family Moomintroll is probably the best introduction to the Moomin Family, and a great book to read by yourself, to give to that special child in your life, or better yet, to share with him/her by reading it aloud.
Rating:
Summary: Moomintroll books are great for all ages!
Review: My 9-year-old brother read the Moomin books and liked them, while I still read them at 13 years and adore them! The charming Moomins and their friends will delight all ages in this endearing series.
Rating:
Summary: There is no better fiction book for kids (and/or adults)
Review: My love for Moomins started when I was 6-7. In Poland, where I come from, Moomins were very popular. After my Mom went through all 8 books, and me and my younger brother did not have enough of them, she started to invent new adventures of Moomin, Snufkin, and the rest of the pack. I wish I had noted all these stories...
Anyway, this book is a good starting point, even though, chronologically, it is NOT the first one. You will see the Moominvalley at its best, full of adventures. "Finn Family Moomintroll" is a set of loosely connected stories; you can read one at a time without having to remember what happened last, or caring what will happen next (now, your child WILL insist that you keep on reading when you finish a story, you can be sure of that!).
It is interesting how the Swedish names (I think Tove Jansson wrote the original in Swedish, even though she lived in Finland) got translated into different languages. I will give you English and Polish examples below. Can anyone else post here other translations?
Moomintroll - Muminek
Moominpappa - Tato Muminka
Moominmamma - Mama Muminka
Sniff - Ryjek
Snufkin - Wloczykij
Groke - Buka
Muskrat - Pizmowiec
Thingumy and Bob - Topik i Topcia
Snork - Migotek
Snork Maiden - Panna Migotka
Hemulen - Paszczak
Misabel - Bufka
Too-ticky - Too-tiki
Little My - Mala Mi
Rating:
Summary: every child should get to know the Moomins!
Review: My sister read these books as a child, and then when we grew up and I got into the children's book business, I got her a set, and she loved them just as much now as then. When she had a bad day at work, she would go home and cheer herself up by reading about the Moomins and their friends--but even with her enthusiasm for the books, it took me another year or two to get a set for my son. When we started reading them together, we were both entranced by the inhabitants of Moominvalley--they're charming, funny, witty, entertaining, and lovable, all in very unique ways. Other reviewers have compared the Moomins to the Chronicles of Narnia and the Lord of the Rings series--but they're only similar in the sense that they're fantasy. There's no allegory or deeper meaning here--just characters unlike any you've met before interacting in ways that are disarmingly human. This review applies to the whole series (although my son read Moominsummer Madness without me, so I haven't read that one, and we weren't quite as fond of Tales from Moominvalley).
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Summary: One of a Great Series
Review: So far there have been eight Moomin books translated ino English. All are splendid. I don't want to draw comparisons, because they are all so good, and each in a different way, but the last two are perhaps the best - all are very definitely five star. They tell of the adventures of a family of little trolls in, mainly the forests of Finland but other places as well, including fairgrounds, theatres, and uninhabited islands, along with all sorts of other strange creatures such as hattifattners, fillyjonks, hemulens and astronomers. A perfect blend of adventure and domestic warmth, evoked by an endlessly original and imaginative writer, who knows "The Usefulness of Everything," in a world slightly - not too much - transmogrified but still recognisable Full of warmth, wit, wisdom and delight. They should probaby be read in order as the characters become more complicated as time goes on, but Finn Family Moomintroll is a great place to start. The pictures (author Tove Jansson was also a professional illustrator and stage designer) are the perfect compliment to the stories. If you don't know them, buy them and your lives will be richer.
Rating:
Summary: Finn Family Dada
Review: These books are nuts!!! Moomins! Fillyjonks! Grokes! It's insanity! How could a single mind invent such hallucinatory fantasy and still keep their sanity (relatively) intact?? The mind boggles.
I am 29 years old and into a wide variety of weird and wonderful pop culture and I would definitely place the works of Tove Jansson in the same class as Genet,Burroughs,Bugakov and Tolkien. No joke!
To explain them to the uninitiated, I would say something like...imagine a Winnie the Pooh novel composed by Dali...then double the level of surrealism! Convinced??
Finn Family Moonintroll is probably the best, narrowly beating out Comet in Moominland, a close second. In this story, Moomintroll and his friends find a magic hat which brings them all sorts of mischief and absurdity. I think I first read this thing in 1982 and it just about haunted my every waking moment. The Moomin series are books that are NOT just for the kids to enjoy. Adults with a vivid imagination would ravenously lap this sort of thing up and beg for more.
Forget Harry Potter kiddies! This is where it's at!!!
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