The Moomins are the central characters in a series of books by Tove Jansson. They are a family of trolls who are white and furry with large snouts. The family members are Moominmamma, Moominpappa and Moomintroll. They live in their Moominhouse in Moominvalley.
The Moomins also appeared in the form of comic strips; their first appearance was in the London Evening News in 1954. Tove Jansson drew and wrote all the strips until 1959 when she lost inspiration. After this her brother Lars Jansson, who could duplicate the style of drawings and texts accurately, took over the job until 1975 when the last strip was released.
Moominmamma is the perfect mother who very rarely gets cross and takes even the most distressing circumstances (such as the arrival of a comet, or being washed away by a flood) in her stride. She is never without her handbag.
Moominpappa is a somewhat restless soul who was adventurous in his youth but has now settled down determined to be a responsible father to his family.
Moomintroll is their son, with a keen sense of adventure and fun, and a generous spirit.
The books in the series are (English titles in alphabetical order):
- Comet in Moominland
- Finn Family Moomintroll
- Moominpappa at Sea
- Moominsummer Madness
- Moominland Midwinter
- Moominpappa's Memoirs
- Moominvalley in November (in which the Moomins are absent)
- Tales from Moominvalley
- The Exploits of Moominpappa
In addition to the Moomin family, the following characters appear in many of the books:
- The Groke - She is cold and ghostlike, and represents all that is scary in the world of Moomin. She seeks warmth and fire, but is unable to do anything but to put them out.
- The Hattifatteners - deaf-mute creatures which turn electric during thunderstorms and congregate once per year to Hattifatteners' Island (in Japanese, nyoro nyoro)
- The Hemulen - avid collector, but lacks a sense of humour
- Little My - a very small, fearlessly independent Mymble
- Muskrat - a philosopher
- Sniff - Moomintroll's associate
- Snork Maiden - Moomintroll's friend and admirer
- Snork - Snork Maiden's brother
- Snufkin - Moomintroll's great friend (who goes south every winter and returns in the spring)
- Too-Ticky - A friend of the family. Has her first appearance in the novel Moominland Midwinter.
There are other characters who appear from time to time.
The books and comic strips have been translated from their original Swedish into many languages. There are several spin-off TV animation series, one Polish and three Japanese, and a large merchandising industry.