My aunt created The Moomins

The first Moomins story about a family of nature-loving white round trolls was published in 1945 during World War Two. The Moomins and the Great Flood was created by writer and artist Tove Jansson as a source of comfort during bleak times.

It highlighted the struggles of those who’d been displaced by war introducing readers into the lives of Moomintroll, Moominmamma and Moominpappa.

Tove's tales and illustrations, featuring the cuddly creatures with smooth round snouts, are loved the world over and have been published in more than 60 languages.

She was born in Finland but her first language was Swedish, which the original Moomins books were published in. Tove's niece Sophia Jansson, speaks to Reena Stanton-Sharma about growing up in a family surrounded by creativity and nature.

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(Photo: Tove Jansson and the Moomins. Credit: © Moomin Characters™)