Moominsummer Madness

Rating:
Summary: Great book - shame about the translation
Review: I am reading this book to my kids aged 5 and 7. We already read "Finn Family Moomintroll" which I read and adored as a child. My criticism of "Moominsummer Madness" lies in its translation. I don't remember finding anything strange or difficult in "Finn Family..." but here I find that the English is often awkward, or unnecessarily difficult words are used. This is a shame! If you are looking for a Moomin book to read to your kids, maybe you should look first to those translated by Elizabeth Portch....

Rating:
Summary: Ranks with Pooh as classic children's lit
Review: I discovered this book while rummaging through a flea market bookshelf 5 years ago. I had never heard of Jansson or the Moomins, but was looking for something to read to my daughter, who was then 6. With nothing more than an interesting cover illustration to recommend it, I took a 10cent gamble.

Within the first 10 pages I realized that I had stumbled onto something quite remarkable, by the middle of the book both my daughter and I were engulfed in Moominland, and by the end I went out to scour bookshelves and web sites to get my hands on all the other Moomin books.

Quite simply, this series (and this book in particular) ranks with Winnie-the-Pooh and the Alice books as the truest, wisest, funniest, and most beautiful books for kids ever written. Tove Jannson has created a world populated with myriad creatures possessing a variety and depth of character unrealized in any other children's series I can think of, and rarely reached in adult fiction.

Of particular note are her numerous and varied female characters, unheard of in American and English children's lit...Little My is brash, determined, unrepentant, and spoiling for a good fight. Moominmamma is warm and nurturing without ever being sappy or sentimental. Long sufering Misabel looks only at the bluer side of life and relishes a good cry. The Snork Maiden is vain and frivolous. Emma is cantankerous, crochety, and uninterested in changing to suit anyone else's agenda. How many other books can you read to a young girl with that variety of female characters? And that's just the beginning of the list. The male characters are equally as varied, fallible, goofy, and complex.

Character aside, Jansson's sense of adventure, wild imagination, bleak Scandinavian humor, and peaceful world view make these books a marvel to read. Her illustrations are gorgeous, plentiful, and a perfect compliment to her writing.

My daughter is 11 now and doesn't require a parent to read to her anymore, yet she still asks to hear the Moomin books read aloud.

My advice...give Harry Potter a rest, and treat yourself and family to real classic children's lit. You won't be sorry. And if you like this one, Moominland Midwinter and Comet in Moominland are great next choices.

Rating:
Summary: Ranks with Pooh as classic children's lit
Review: I discovered this book while rummaging through a flea market bookshelf 5 years ago. I had never heard of Jansson or the Moomins, but was looking for something to read to my daughter, who was then 6. With nothing more than an interesting cover illustration to recommend it, I took a 10cent gamble.

Within the first 10 pages I realized that I had stumbled onto something quite remarkable, by the middle of the book both my daughter and I were engulfed in Moominland, and by the end I went out to scour bookshelves and web sites to get my hands on all the other Moomin books.

Quite simply, this series (and this book in particular) ranks with Winnie-the-Pooh and the Alice books as the truest, wisest, funniest, and most beautiful books for kids ever written. Tove Jannson has created a world populated with myriad creatures possessing a variety and depth of character unrealized in any other children's series I can think of, and rarely reached in adult fiction.

Of particular note are her numerous and varied female characters, unheard of in American and English children's lit...Little My is brash, determined, unrepentant, and spoiling for a good fight. Moominmamma is warm and nurturing without ever being sappy or sentimental. Long sufering Misabel looks only at the bluer side of life and relishes a good cry. The Snork Maiden is vain and frivolous. Emma is cantankerous, crochety, and uninterested in changing to suit anyone else's agenda. How many other books can you read to a young girl with that variety of female characters? And that's just the beginning of the list. The male characters are equally as varied, fallible, goofy, and complex.

Character aside, Jansson's sense of adventure, wild imagination, bleak Scandinavian humor, and peaceful world view make these books a marvel to read. Her illustrations are gorgeous, plentiful, and a perfect compliment to her writing.

My daughter is 11 now and doesn't require a parent to read to her anymore, yet she still asks to hear the Moomin books read aloud.

My advice...give Harry Potter a rest, and treat yourself and family to real classic children's lit. You won't be sorry. And if you like this one, Moominland Midwinter and Comet in Moominland are great next choices.

Rating:
Summary: One of the best Moomin books...
Review: I received this book as a Christmas present in the early 50s from a Finnish family whom my mother helped through the hard times of WWII and after with her version of CARE packages.

Moominsummer Madness became my favorite of all my books--read until the red hardboard cover faded to pink and the binding frayed. My personal favorite interaction is Moomintroll and the Fillyjonk at her hut in the spruce forest on Midsummer's Eve. When I first read it, I didn't have a clue what Midsummer was or what a spruce tree looked like, but I immediately resolved to have a life full of both as soon as I could escape from Eisenhowerian Oklahoma.

And I did just that.

Rating:
Summary: Moominsummer Madness
Review: It's midsummer--or should I say, Moominsummer--in Moominvalley, and the time for all sorts of madness! This story is so fun, refreshing, and hilarious! The Moomins remain as steady as ever.

It's a hot summer day when the volcano near Moominvalley starts acting up--spitting soot all over everyone and everything. Suddenly, the ground starts to shake--and then Moominvalley floods! With their classic imperturbability, the Moomins hop on a house that's floating downstream along with some friends. But this is no ordinary house, the Moomins soon find out--it is a theatre. And there are some rules about living in a theatre--especially one with a hidden occupant--the Moomins didn't know about. This book details their journey, the play they attempt to put on, the adventures Moomintroll and the Snork Maiden have while separated from the group, and, finally, a large bit of madness and the return home.

So very funny and adorable! I really love this series, for all it's too young for me.

Rating:
Summary: Simply a Classic.
Review: The Moomin books are extremely unique in the realm of children's literature. They are clean, endearing, thoughtful, a little dark, and always utterly enchanting. I am in high school now, and I still love to read these books.

I first recieved a copy of Finn Family Moomintroll from an aunt who read and loved them in HER childhood, spent in Japan. I devoured it, and promptly begged my mother to find more. Now, several years later, I am still held spellbound by these books. They are quirky, charming, full of clever witticisms and simple, wonderful turns of phrase, and are among the many hidden gems which so many cynical youngsters will scorn for lack of blood.

This book, though contains plenty of fun and even a little revenge (provided by Snufkin, of course,) but of course the characters are forever polite. Better yet, they set a good example for kids without shoving sticky-sweet morals down their throats. In addition, by setting the story around a theatre - which the Moomin family knows absolutely nothing about - Jansson gives the reader a humorous edge over the characters, which helps keep the story moving and the reader amused.

These books should be introduced to young, thoughtful children, older, shy children, college students, people going through mid-life crises, and/or those in rest homes. They are to be read in a comfy chair before a fire on a gray, rainy day, or with the snow coming down and a mug of cocoa. These books are only for those who have open, quiet minds, and for people ready to be enchanted and amazed.

Rating:
Summary: My favourite
Review: This book is one of my favourites.I discovered moomin books when I was in my late twenties and fell in love with moomin land. Now that I am in my mid-forties, I feel a longing to read moomin books again.Unfortunately, a search along the childrens'book section in my local bookstores revealed that moomin books appear to be out of favour with children nowadays - or is this due to the fact that the adult writers and reviewers favour dreary realism? Thank goodness for Amazon!

Rating:
Summary: My favourite
Review: This book is one of my favourites.I discovered moomin books when I was in my late twenties and fell in love with moomin land. Now that I am in my mid-forties, I feel a longing to read moomin books again.Unfortunately, a search along the childrens'book section in my local bookstores revealed that moomin books appear to be out of favour with children nowadays - or is this due to the fact that the adult writers and reviewers favour dreary realism? Thank goodness for Amazon!

Rating:
Summary: The best of the moomin books
Review: This is probably the best of the moomin books - it has some of the best moomin pictures and is completely nuts! :)