---
title: "The Moomins: Cherished Books to Art Calendars"
description: A celebration of The Moomins – from their birth in 1945 to merchandise (such as art calendars), television series and upcoming big screen imagining.
image: https://blog.flametreepublishing.com/hs-fs/file-331058074-jpg/images/the_moomins_and_the_great_flood_the_art_of_fine_gifts.jpg
---
- [Home](https://info.flametreepublishing.com/blog) |
- [ Contact & About Us](https://blog.flametreepublishing.com/contact-us)
T H E F L A M E T R E E B L O G
# Visual & Decorative Arts Blog
# The Moomins: Cherished Books to Art Calendars
Posted by [Catherine Taylor](https://blog.flametreepublishing.com/art-of-fine-gifts/author/catherine-taylor)
- [Tweet](https://twitter.com/share)
A whole world of merchandise and media, from **art calendars** to **coffee cups and T-shirts** to an actual **theme park** ('Moomin World' in Western Finland), has built up around **children's favourites The Moomins** – our hippopotamus-like friends really are a treasure trove for the art of fine gifts. I remember watching these eclectic characters and their adventures in Moominvalley in a **cartoon series back in the 1990s**. But of course they go further back than this, back to **Tove Jansson's original novels**, the first of which was published in 1945 in Swedish by Schildts publishers.
### The Birth of The Moomins
Multi-talented Finnish-Swedish artist, illustrator and writer Jansson's first Moomin book, ***The Moomins and the Great Flood***, was written during the Second World War. The author reportedly wanted to lighten her mood by writing something **naive and innocent**. In it we meet **Moominmamma** and **Moomintroll**, who are travelling through a forest looking for **Moominpappa**, who has gone off adventuring with the strange ghostly **Hattifatteners**. They are joined by a little rodenty creature, who in later books is named as **Sniff**. However, though a wondrous introduction to Jannson's fantastical and subersive world, this book is often seen as a prequel to the subsequent titles and was not a success – in fact it was not published in English until 2005.
### A Host of Characters
The variety of creatures and characters in Jansson's books reflected her **bohemian upbringing and tolerance of diversity**. From the calm and resourceful mother and the clothes-obsessed and flirtatious **Snork Maiden**, to the mischievous tomboyish **Little My**, women alone are represented on quite a spectrum. The **philosophical concepts** raised by, for example, the distinction between the materialistic Sniff, who is forever trying to get rich quick, and the wandering **Snufkin** who cares little for private possessions and property, reveal the **depth** of Jansson's creations. The first book that really introduced this wider cast of characters and shot Jansson to fame was ***Comet in Moominland*** (1946), to be followed by **six more** main Moomin titles, ending with ***Moominvalley in November*** in 1970. There were also five Moomin **picture books** for younger children.
### More Than Books
In 1954, Jansson began a series of **newspaper comic strips** for London paper *The Evening News*, where the Moomins' adventures took on more of a **social satire** aspect, and were later created with the help of her brother **Lars Jansson**. More comic strips and books were to follow over the next decades as the Moomins' popularity grew, along with many **television series**, such as the delightful Polish-Austrian **puppet animation** series, *The Moomins*, which became popular in the UK in the 1980s, and of course the aforementioned **cartoon** – actually a Dutch-Finnish-Japanese-produced **anime** series made in Japan in 1990–91. Snork Maiden *et al.* will also be gracing the **big screen** in 2014, with ***Moomins on the Riviera***, made by Handle Productions: 'a hand-drawn animated feature film … which will appeal to adults and children alike' – all very exciting, and we will be the judge as to whether it indeed maintains 'the timeless humor, tone and pictorial quality of the Moomins'.
### Links
- Check out the cute stop-motion fuzzy felt cutout Moomins in the 1980s series [here](http://www.fuzzyfeltmoomins.co.uk).
- They're here for you on your TV – reminisce with me over the 1990s cartoon [here](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MUimRPULBKU).
- Learn all about the gifted Tove Marika Jansson and her amazing work [here](http://moomin.fi/tove/eng/perhe.html).
- Get your very own copy of the bestselling Moomin wall calendar [here](http://www.amazon.co.uk/Moomin-Family-Organiser-Wall-Calendar/dp/0857757520)
[](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/293166/b59b6fa9-d55a-4cae-a5e5-1e535026c22b)
Topics: [Moomins](https://blog.flametreepublishing.com/art-of-fine-gifts/topic/moomins), [Tove Jansson](https://blog.flametreepublishing.com/art-of-fine-gifts/topic/tove-jansson), [Art Calendars](https://blog.flametreepublishing.com/art-of-fine-gifts/topic/art-calendars)
### Subscribe for email updates
### FREE Download
[](http://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/293166/284b0214-b58c-42d7-acb5-91f1fcd82c9c)
Download a digital magazine, Flame Tree Arts, with a special edition on **Art Deco.**
****
### About us
*The Art of Fine Gifts: *from luxury notebooks, foiled journals, art calendars, iphone cases, books and illustrated ebooks FLAME TREE Combines beautiful detail and exquisite craftsmanship across a range of elegant gifts.
### Stay up to date:
### Subscribe by Email
### Posts by category
- [abstract art (5)](https://blog.flametreepublishing.com/art-of-fine-gifts/topic/abstract-art)
- [abstract expressionism (1)](https://blog.flametreepublishing.com/art-of-fine-gifts/topic/abstract-expressionism)
- [advent calendars (4)](https://blog.flametreepublishing.com/art-of-fine-gifts/topic/advent-calendars)
- [Alphonse Mucha (5)](https://blog.flametreepublishing.com/art-of-fine-gifts/topic/alphonse-mucha)
- [American art (2)](https://blog.flametreepublishing.com/art-of-fine-gifts/topic/american-art)
- [art (11)](https://blog.flametreepublishing.com/art-of-fine-gifts/topic/art)
- [Art Calendars (37)](https://blog.flametreepublishing.com/art-of-fine-gifts/topic/art-calendars)
- [Art Deco (13)](https://blog.flametreepublishing.com/art-of-fine-gifts/topic/art-deco)
- [Art Made Easy (2)](https://blog.flametreepublishing.com/art-of-fine-gifts/topic/art-made-easy)
- [Art Movements (10)](https://blog.flametreepublishing.com/art-of-fine-gifts/topic/art-movements)
- [Art Nouveau (17)](https://blog.flametreepublishing.com/art-of-fine-gifts/topic/art-nouveau)
- [art of fine gifts (11)](https://blog.flametreepublishing.com/art-of-fine-gifts/topic/art-of-fine-gifts)
- [art submissions (2)](https://blog.flametreepublishing.com/art-of-fine-gifts/topic/art-submissions)
- [Arts and Crafts (3)](https://blog.flametreepublishing.com/art-of-fine-gifts/topic/arts-and-crafts)
- [Banksy (2)](https://blog.flametreepublishing.com/art-of-fine-gifts/topic/banksy)
- [bauhaus (2)](https://blog.flametreepublishing.com/art-of-fine-gifts/topic/bauhaus)
- [blog (2)](https://blog.flametreepublishing.com/art-of-fine-gifts/topic/blog)
- [Braque (1)](https://blog.flametreepublishing.com/art-of-fine-gifts/topic/braque)
- [british art (2)](https://blog.flametreepublishing.com/art-of-fine-gifts/topic/british-art)
- [byzantine art (1)](https://blog.flametreepublishing.com/art-of-fine-gifts/topic/byzantine-art)
- [Call For Submissions (1)](https://blog.flametreepublishing.com/art-of-fine-gifts/topic/call-for-submissions)
- [Charles Rennie Mackintosh (4)](https://blog.flametreepublishing.com/art-of-fine-gifts/topic/charles-rennie-mackintosh)
- [children's books (2)](https://blog.flametreepublishing.com/art-of-fine-gifts/topic/childrens-books)
- [Claude Monet (6)](https://blog.flametreepublishing.com/art-of-fine-gifts/topic/claude-monet)
- [comic books (1)](https://blog.flametreepublishing.com/art-of-fine-gifts/topic/comic-books)
- [Constructivism (1)](https://blog.flametreepublishing.com/art-of-fine-gifts/topic/constructivism)
- [Cubism (3)](https://blog.flametreepublishing.com/art-of-fine-gifts/topic/cubism)
- [diego rivera (2)](https://blog.flametreepublishing.com/art-of-fine-gifts/topic/diego-rivera)
- [digital art (1)](https://blog.flametreepublishing.com/art-of-fine-gifts/topic/digital-art)
- [Edgar Degas (2)](https://blog.flametreepublishing.com/art-of-fine-gifts/topic/edgar-degas)
- [Edvard Munch (4)](https://blog.flametreepublishing.com/art-of-fine-gifts/topic/edvard-munch)
- [Edward Hopper (2)](https://blog.flametreepublishing.com/art-of-fine-gifts/topic/edward-hopper)
- [egon schiele (1)](https://blog.flametreepublishing.com/art-of-fine-gifts/topic/egon-schiele)
- [English Heritage (1)](https://blog.flametreepublishing.com/art-of-fine-gifts/topic/english-heritage)
- [Erte (6)](https://blog.flametreepublishing.com/art-of-fine-gifts/topic/erte)
- [expressionism (1)](https://blog.flametreepublishing.com/art-of-fine-gifts/topic/expressionism)
- [fairy art (2)](https://blog.flametreepublishing.com/art-of-fine-gifts/topic/fairy-art)
- [flame tree art (4)](https://blog.flametreepublishing.com/art-of-fine-gifts/topic/flame-tree-art)
- [Flame Tree Calendars (18)](https://blog.flametreepublishing.com/art-of-fine-gifts/topic/flame-tree-calendars)
- [Flame Tree Diaries (1)](https://blog.flametreepublishing.com/art-of-fine-gifts/topic/flame-tree-diaries)
- [Flame Tree Journals (1)](https://blog.flametreepublishing.com/art-of-fine-gifts/topic/flame-tree-journals)
- [Flame Tree Notebooks (1)](https://blog.flametreepublishing.com/art-of-fine-gifts/topic/flame-tree-notebooks)
- [Flame Tree Press (1)](https://blog.flametreepublishing.com/art-of-fine-gifts/topic/flame-tree-press)
- [frida kahlo (2)](https://blog.flametreepublishing.com/art-of-fine-gifts/topic/frida-kahlo)
- [futurism (1)](https://blog.flametreepublishing.com/art-of-fine-gifts/topic/futurism)
- [gauguin (1)](https://blog.flametreepublishing.com/art-of-fine-gifts/topic/gauguin)
- [Gothic & Fantasy Art (2)](https://blog.flametreepublishing.com/art-of-fine-gifts/topic/gothic-fantasy-art)
- [gothic and fantasy (1)](https://blog.flametreepublishing.com/art-of-fine-gifts/topic/gothic-and-fantasy)
- [Gothic Fantasy (1)](https://blog.flametreepublishing.com/art-of-fine-gifts/topic/gothic-fantasy)
- [graphic art (2)](https://blog.flametreepublishing.com/art-of-fine-gifts/topic/graphic-art)
- [great wave (1)](https://blog.flametreepublishing.com/art-of-fine-gifts/topic/great-wave)
- [Gustav Klimt (10)](https://blog.flametreepublishing.com/art-of-fine-gifts/topic/gustav-klimt)
- [heath robinson (1)](https://blog.flametreepublishing.com/art-of-fine-gifts/topic/heath-robinson)
- [hiroshige (1)](https://blog.flametreepublishing.com/art-of-fine-gifts/topic/hiroshige)
- [Hokusai (4)](https://blog.flametreepublishing.com/art-of-fine-gifts/topic/hokusai)
- [how to paint (6)](https://blog.flametreepublishing.com/art-of-fine-gifts/topic/how-to-paint)
- [illuminated manuscripts (3)](https://blog.flametreepublishing.com/art-of-fine-gifts/topic/illuminated-manuscripts)
- [illustration (1)](https://blog.flametreepublishing.com/art-of-fine-gifts/topic/illustration)
- [Impressionism (7)](https://blog.flametreepublishing.com/art-of-fine-gifts/topic/impressionism)
- [J. M. W. Turner (8)](https://blog.flametreepublishing.com/art-of-fine-gifts/topic/j-m-w-turner)
- [Jackson Pollock (1)](https://blog.flametreepublishing.com/art-of-fine-gifts/topic/jackson-pollock)
- [Jacqueline Wilson (1)](https://blog.flametreepublishing.com/art-of-fine-gifts/topic/jacqueline-wilson)
- [Japanese Woodblock Prints (10)](https://blog.flametreepublishing.com/art-of-fine-gifts/topic/japanese-woodblock-prints)
- [john singer sargent (1)](https://blog.flametreepublishing.com/art-of-fine-gifts/topic/john-singer-sargent)
- [Josephine Wall (1)](https://blog.flametreepublishing.com/art-of-fine-gifts/topic/josephine-wall)
- [Kasimir Malevich (5)](https://blog.flametreepublishing.com/art-of-fine-gifts/topic/kasimir-malevich)
- [L.S. Lowry (2)](https://blog.flametreepublishing.com/art-of-fine-gifts/topic/l-s-lowry)
- [Leonardo da Vinci (3)](https://blog.flametreepublishing.com/art-of-fine-gifts/topic/leonardo-da-vinci)
- [LGBTQ (1)](https://blog.flametreepublishing.com/art-of-fine-gifts/topic/lgbtq)
- [Louis Comfort Tiffany (4)](https://blog.flametreepublishing.com/art-of-fine-gifts/topic/louis-comfort-tiffany)
- [Manga (2)](https://blog.flametreepublishing.com/art-of-fine-gifts/topic/manga)
- [Masterpieces of Art (43)](https://blog.flametreepublishing.com/art-of-fine-gifts/topic/masterpieces-of-art)
- [Masterworks (1)](https://blog.flametreepublishing.com/art-of-fine-gifts/topic/masterworks)
- [medieval art (3)](https://blog.flametreepublishing.com/art-of-fine-gifts/topic/medieval-art)
- [Michelangelo (5)](https://blog.flametreepublishing.com/art-of-fine-gifts/topic/michelangelo)
- [Miffy (1)](https://blog.flametreepublishing.com/art-of-fine-gifts/topic/miffy)
- [Modern Art (13)](https://blog.flametreepublishing.com/art-of-fine-gifts/topic/modern-art)
- [Moomins (6)](https://blog.flametreepublishing.com/art-of-fine-gifts/topic/moomins)
- [Museums & Galleries (19)](https://blog.flametreepublishing.com/art-of-fine-gifts/topic/museums-galleries)
- [neoclassicism (1)](https://blog.flametreepublishing.com/art-of-fine-gifts/topic/neoclassicism)
- [neoplasticism (1)](https://blog.flametreepublishing.com/art-of-fine-gifts/topic/neoplasticism)
- [Octavio Ocampo (1)](https://blog.flametreepublishing.com/art-of-fine-gifts/topic/octavio-ocampo)
- [Orphism (1)](https://blog.flametreepublishing.com/art-of-fine-gifts/topic/orphism)
- [painting (2)](https://blog.flametreepublishing.com/art-of-fine-gifts/topic/painting)
- [Painting Techniques (5)](https://blog.flametreepublishing.com/art-of-fine-gifts/topic/painting-techniques)
- [paul gauguin (1)](https://blog.flametreepublishing.com/art-of-fine-gifts/topic/paul-gauguin)
- [Paul Klee (2)](https://blog.flametreepublishing.com/art-of-fine-gifts/topic/paul-klee)
- [photography (3)](https://blog.flametreepublishing.com/art-of-fine-gifts/topic/photography)
- [Picasso (2)](https://blog.flametreepublishing.com/art-of-fine-gifts/topic/picasso)
- [Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1)](https://blog.flametreepublishing.com/art-of-fine-gifts/topic/pierre-auguste-renoir)
- [Piet Mondrian (3)](https://blog.flametreepublishing.com/art-of-fine-gifts/topic/piet-mondrian)
- [pop art (1)](https://blog.flametreepublishing.com/art-of-fine-gifts/topic/pop-art)
- [Post-impressionism (4)](https://blog.flametreepublishing.com/art-of-fine-gifts/topic/post-impressionism)
- [pre-raphaelites (7)](https://blog.flametreepublishing.com/art-of-fine-gifts/topic/pre-raphaelites)
- [Propaganda Posters (1)](https://blog.flametreepublishing.com/art-of-fine-gifts/topic/propaganda-posters)
- [Purism (1)](https://blog.flametreepublishing.com/art-of-fine-gifts/topic/purism)
- [raymond loewy (1)](https://blog.flametreepublishing.com/art-of-fine-gifts/topic/raymond-loewy)
- [religious art (3)](https://blog.flametreepublishing.com/art-of-fine-gifts/topic/religious-art)
- [renaissance art (2)](https://blog.flametreepublishing.com/art-of-fine-gifts/topic/renaissance-art)
- [romanticism (3)](https://blog.flametreepublishing.com/art-of-fine-gifts/topic/romanticism)
- [Royal Academy of Arts (3)](https://blog.flametreepublishing.com/art-of-fine-gifts/topic/royal-academy-of-arts)
- [Royal Shakespeare Company (2)](https://blog.flametreepublishing.com/art-of-fine-gifts/topic/royal-shakespeare-company)
- [salvador dali (3)](https://blog.flametreepublishing.com/art-of-fine-gifts/topic/salvador-dali)
- [sf and fantasy (1)](https://blog.flametreepublishing.com/art-of-fine-gifts/topic/sf-and-fantasy)
- [sketch books (1)](https://blog.flametreepublishing.com/art-of-fine-gifts/topic/sketch-books)
- [street art (4)](https://blog.flametreepublishing.com/art-of-fine-gifts/topic/street-art)
- [submissions (2)](https://blog.flametreepublishing.com/art-of-fine-gifts/topic/submissions)
- [Suprematism (1)](https://blog.flametreepublishing.com/art-of-fine-gifts/topic/suprematism)
- [surrealism (5)](https://blog.flametreepublishing.com/art-of-fine-gifts/topic/surrealism)
- [Tamara de Lempicka (1)](https://blog.flametreepublishing.com/art-of-fine-gifts/topic/tamara-de-lempicka)
- [tempera (1)](https://blog.flametreepublishing.com/art-of-fine-gifts/topic/tempera)
- [the many facets of... (1)](https://blog.flametreepublishing.com/art-of-fine-gifts/topic/the-many-facets-of)
- [Tove Jansson (3)](https://blog.flametreepublishing.com/art-of-fine-gifts/topic/tove-jansson)
- [Tove Tansson (1)](https://blog.flametreepublishing.com/art-of-fine-gifts/topic/tove-tansson)
- [USA (1)](https://blog.flametreepublishing.com/art-of-fine-gifts/topic/usa)
- [Van Gogh Through His Own Words (1)](https://blog.flametreepublishing.com/art-of-fine-gifts/topic/van-gogh-through-his-own-words)
- [Viennese Secession (2)](https://blog.flametreepublishing.com/art-of-fine-gifts/topic/viennese-secession)
- [Vincent van Gogh (12)](https://blog.flametreepublishing.com/art-of-fine-gifts/topic/vincent-van-gogh)
- [visual arts (3)](https://blog.flametreepublishing.com/art-of-fine-gifts/topic/visual-arts)
- [Wassily Kandinsky (6)](https://blog.flametreepublishing.com/art-of-fine-gifts/topic/wassily-kandinsky)
- [water lilies (1)](https://blog.flametreepublishing.com/art-of-fine-gifts/topic/water-lilies)
- [William Blake (2)](https://blog.flametreepublishing.com/art-of-fine-gifts/topic/william-blake)
- [William Morris (4)](https://blog.flametreepublishing.com/art-of-fine-gifts/topic/william-morris)
- [Home](http://classic-migration-sandbox-293166.hs-sites.com/) | [Flame Tree Fiction](https://blog.flametreepublishing.com/fantasy-gothic) | [Gift](https://blog.flametreepublishing.com/art-of-fine-gifts) | [Podcast](https://lnk.bio/flametreepodcast) |
- [Music](https://blog.flametreepublishing.com/classic-rock-bands) |
- [Lifestyle](https://blog.flametreepublishing.com/simple-recipes) |
- [Links](https://blog.flametreepublishing.com/links/)
© 2025 FLAME TREE PUBLISHING LTD. [flametreepublishing.com](https://flametreepublishing.com)