MOOMINPAPPA'S MEMOIRS

by Tore Jansson ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 1, 1994

Jansson's (Sun City, 1976, etc.) little Moomin creatures return in this most recently translated addition to her classic series. Sick in bed, Moominpappa takes the opportunity to record the fascinating history of his life. Moominpappa was not always the comfortable patriarch of Moominvalley he is today. In fact, he began life on the doorstep of the Moomin Foundling Home, where he spent a short period before the austerity of the place drove him to run away. In the forest he encountered Hodgkins, who would become his closest crony. The two of them -- along with Hodgkins's nephew, Muddler, and his unkempt friend Joxter -- travel away on Hodgkins's boat, the Oshun Oxtra. (The name should have been the Ocean Orchestra, but Muddler found that rather hard to spell.) The little Moomin has breathtaking adventures, meets exciting people. Then who should come finally riding in on an enormous wave, clutching her pocketbook, but Moominmamma? The rest is, of course, Moominhistory. In Jansson's epilogue, Hodgkins returns, and the entire Moominfamily leaves on the Oshun Oxtra for more adventures. Moominpappa's memoir is charming, his self-consciously formal language a delight. Completely winning.

Pub Date: Oct. 1, 1994

ISBN: 0374350353

Page Count: 162

Publisher: FSG

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 1994

Categories: CHILDREN'S