Tove Jansson The Moominland series of books and cartoons are very popular with children. They have been translated into several languages, filmed and staged. Moomins, the funny fictional animal characters, were invented by the Finnish fairy tale writer, Tove Jansson. These characters lived in the imaginary country of Moominland. The author not only wrote the story but also made professional illustrations for every book in the series.
When she was a child, Tove Jansson never planned to be a writer. Born into the family of a sculptor and an artist, Tove enjoyed a relaxed and creative atmosphere in her home, open to many people. She spent a lot of time painting and staging fairy tales with her brothers. Since her early years, Tove was impressed by Christian Andersen’s fairy tales. In her imagination she lived the characters’ lives and imagined their adventures in her colourful dreams.
The family often went on sea trips, the memories of which Tove kept for years. She admired the Finnish landscapes with beautiful sunsets and sunrises, she watched the sea constantly changing its colour and the cosy bays. All the magic appeared later in the pictures of the Moomin valley with the blue house standing in the middle of it.
At about fourteen, Tove realized she wanted to go into painting professionally. At first, she worked for a local children’s magazine together with her mother. When Tove completed her school course, she studied fine arts in colleges in Finland and abroad. Tove’s excellent education, talent, and magnificent artistic skills allowed her to illustrate the books of the famous English writers J.R.R. Tolkien and Lewis Carroll. She made some successful wall paintings in Helsinki as well.
At the age of thirty, Tove still had the character of a child who suffered from the injustice and cruelty of life. At that time, she thought of creating an alternative honest and fair world for people like herself. She created it in her imagination. Once Tove recalled a small white hippo she had drawn on the wall to tease her little brother. This is how a new character of Finnish literature, the Moomin, appeared.
Her first book was published in 1946. The fantasy characters were something new for a children’s book of that time. That is why they made Tove Jansson famous overnight. Images of Moomins made in wood, china, soap and plastic spread all over the world. The first book was followed by eleven more tales of Moominland. Each new story reflected an important event in Tove’s life.
In the 1970s, Janssen started to write stories and novels for adult readers. Apart from the illustrations of children's books Tove Jansson returned to serious painting. The critics praised her pictures a lot for their colours and harmony. Tove Jansson’s most well-known works are a self-portrait and a portrait of her friend. However, she used to say that people would remember her only as the author of the Moomins, not as a painter. This made Tove Jansson feel sad.
All the Moomins tales had a happy ending. Just like her characters, Tove Jansson made her dream come true. At the end of her life she bought a small island in Finland to settle there with her mother. She arranged children’s festivals on the island and read her tales for the young audience. Her house, like the one in the Moominland, was always open to her numerous friends and readers, who often came to her island. |