The Moomins are the central characters in a series of books by Tove Jansson. They are a family of trolls. In appearance, they are white and furry with large snouts that make them resemble Hippopotamuses.
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. The strips were made in English and then translated to other languages.
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, in order, are:
- Småtrollen och den stora översvämningen
- Trollkarlens hatt (Finn family moomintroll)
- Kometjakten / Kometten kommer (Comet in moominland)
- Muminpappans bravader / Muminpappans memoarer (The exploits of moominpappa)
- Farlig midsommar (Moominsummer madness)
- Trollvinter (Moominland midwinter)
- Det osynliga barnet (Tales from moominvalley)
- Pappan och havet (Moominpappa at sea)
- Sent i november (Moominvalley in November) - in which the Moomin family is absent.
The first book (original Swedish title "Småtrollen
och den stora översvämningen") has not been officially published in English.
In addition to the Moomin family, the following characters appear in many of the books:
- Sniff - a small, immature creature, cowardly yet ambitious.
- The Muskrat - a philosopher who believes in the pointlessness of things.
- Snufkin - Moomintroll's best friend, who goes south every winter and returns in the spring.
- Snork Maiden - Moomintroll's lady friend and admirer.
- Snork - The Snork Maiden's organize-loving brother.
- The Hemulen - an avid, ill-tempered collector.
- 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.
- Little My - a tiny, fearlessly independent Mymble.
- Mymble - Little My's big sister.
- Too-Ticky - A friend of the family. Has her first appearance in the novel Moominland Midwinter. She is modelled after Tuulikki Pietilä, Tove Jansson's life partner.
There are other characters who appear from time to time.
The books and comic strips have been translated from their original Swedish and English into many languages. There are several spin-off TV animation series, one Polish and three Japanese, and a large merchandising industry.