A selection of children's books that feature LGTBQIA+ characters and themes on a yellow background with multicoloured shadows

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Children's reading lists

17 of the best LGBTQIA+ books for kids

A bright, colourful image showing the Henry James quote, “Summer afternoon – summer afternoon; to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language.”

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Features

The best literary quotes about summer

An image of eight books from the Moomin series on a light purple background

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11 life lessons from the Moomins

A picture of several children's books that are perfect for fans of Disney's Frozen on a pink and blue ombre background with snowflakes

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Reading lists

Books for kids who are obsessed with Disney’s Frozen

A silhouette of a moomin in a red heart, surrounded by a rainbow border, against a backdrop of floating hearts.

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The unlikely queer family at the heart of the Moomins

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The Moomins have never been more popular; 75 years later, their origins reveal why

Moomin, Where Are You?

Discover the magical world of Moomins in this chunky lift-the-flap book with a surprise pop-up ending! 
 
It's time for a very special picnic in Moominvalley. But where is Moomintroll? Join Little My, Moominmappa and more marvellous Moomin characters as they join in the hunt to find Moomin! 
 
Based on Tove Jansson's original characters and artwork, this interactive board book is perfect for little readers and the youngest Moomin fans! 
 
Discover more magical Moomin books: 
Moomin's First 100 Words 
Moomin: The Very BIG Moominhouse Lift-the-Flap Book 
Moomin's Peekaboo Night Night: A Lift-and-Find Book 
My First Moomin: Best Friends 
My First Moomin: Goodnight Moomin 
My First Moomin: Be Brave, Moomin 
Moomin's Pancake Picnic Peep-Inside

Tove Jansson was born in Finland in 1914. She began her career as a cartoonist and went on to write and illustrate many books for adults and children. She drew her first Moomin in the 1930s, just for fun, and in 1945 he became a character in a children's story. Tove became world-famous for her Moomin books, which began with The Moomins and the Great Flood in 1945, closely followed by Comet in Moominland in 1946, Finn Family Moomintroll in 1948 and six more Moomin adventures. During the winter months Tove lived and worked in Helsinki, but in the summertime she stayed on a beautiful remote island in the Gulf of Finland with her long-term partner, the artist Tuulikki Pietilä. Tove Jansson received many prestigious awards during her lifetime, including the international Hans Christian Andersen Medal. She died in 2001, aged eighty-six.

Moominvalley in November

A series of children's modern classic novels by renowned 20th century children's writers. All the titles in this series have the A Puffin Book logo, contemporary-style covers, and child-friendly endnotes.

Meet the Moomins - all 8 magical adventures relaunched in a stunning new package. Celebrating 80 years since the first Moomin book was published! 
 
Rediscover the A Puffin Book series and bring the best-loved classics to a new generation - including this magical edition of Moominvalley in November complete with a charming new cover design. 
 
'They can't have moved away without saying a word!' Winter is coming, and the Fillyjonk, the Hemulen, Toft, and Mymble, are all waiting in Moominvalley to see the Moomins return home. Winter doesn't seem right without them . . . 
 
They seem to grow in wisdom and delight every time I read them - Philip Pullman

Beautiful words. Anarchic illustrations. Tove Jansson is a genius.

It's not just Tove Jansson's wonderfully strange fairytale world that so appeals but also her beautiful line work and exquisite sense of design.

Tove Jansson was born in Finland in 1914. She began her career as a cartoonist and went on to write and illustrate many books for adults and children. She drew her first Moomin in the 1930s, just for fun, and in 1945 he became a character in a children's story. Tove became world-famous for her Moomin books, which began with The Moomins and the Great Flood in 1945, closely followed by Comet in Moominland in 1946, Finn Family Moomintroll in 1948 and six more Moomin adventures. During the winter months Tove lived and worked in Helsinki, but in the summertime she stayed on a beautiful remote island in the Gulf of Finland with her long-term partner, the artist Tuulikki Pietilä. Tove Jansson received many prestigious awards during her lifetime, including the international Hans Christian Andersen Medal. She died in 2001, aged eighty-seven.

Rediscover the A Puffin Book series and bring the best-loved classics to a new generation - including this magical edition of Moominvalley in November complete with a charming new cover design. 
 
'They can't have moved away without saying a word!' Winter is coming, and the Fillyjonk, the Hemulen, Toft, and Mymble, are all waiting in Moominvalley to see the Moomins return home. Winter doesn't seem right without them . . . 
 
They seem to grow in wisdom and delight every time I read them - Philip Pullman

Tales from Moominvalley

Meet the Moomins - all 8 magical adventures relaunched in a stunning new package. Celebrating 80 years since the first Moomin book was published! 
 
Rediscover the A Puffin Book series and bring the best-loved classics to a new generation - including this magical edition of Tales from Moominvalley complete with a charming new cover design. 
 
If you found a tiny golden dragon would you know what to do with it? Moomintroll thinks he does, but when he takes his new-found pet home, things don't quite go to plan. And suppose Too-ticky brought you an invisible child, would you know how to make her visible again? Meet new and delightful characters and re-encounter old friends, such as Snufkin and Little My in this entertaining collection of stories about life in Moominvalley. There are some new characters to meet, such as the Fillyjonk and the Hattifatteners, as well as old friends, namely Snufkin and Little My - and not to mention dear Moominpappa, Moominmamma and Moomintroll of course! 
 
They seem to grow in wisdom and delight every time I read them - Philip Pullman

Rediscover the A Puffin Book series and bring the best-loved classics to a new generation - including this magical edition of Tales from Moominvalley complete with a charming new cover design. 
 
If you found a tiny golden dragon would you know what to do with it? Moomintroll thinks he does, but when he takes his new-found pet home, things don't quite go to plan. And suppose Too-ticky brought you an invisible child, would you know how to make her visible again? Meet new and delightful characters and re-encounter old friends, such as Snufkin and Little My in this entertaining collection of stories about life in Moominvalley. There are some new characters to meet, such as the Fillyjonk and the Hattifatteners, as well as old friends, namely Snufkin and Little My - and not to mention dear Moominpappa, Moominmamma and Moomintroll of course! 
 
They seem to grow in wisdom and delight every time I read them - Philip Pullman

Moominsummer Madness

Meet the Moomins - all 8 magical adventures relaunched in a stunning new package. Celebrating 80 years since the first Moomin book was published! 
 Rediscover the A Puffin Book series and bring the best-loved classics to a new generation - including this magical edition of Moominsummer Madness complete with a charming new cover design. 
 
It all begins on a hot day in June, and a volcano dropping black ash on Moominmamma's washing. A crack appears in the ground, and Moomintroll's toothbrush slips straight down into it! When a great flood wave comes crashing through Moomin Valley, the Moomins find themselves in a brand new home . . . 
 
They seem to grow in wisdom and delight every time I read them - Philip Pullman

Rediscover the A Puffin Book series and bring the best-loved classics to a new generation - including this magical edition of Moominsummer Madness complete with a charming new cover design. 
 
It all begins on a hot day in June, and a volcano dropping black ash on Moominmamma's washing. A crack appears in the ground, and Moomintroll's toothbrush slips straight down into it! When a great flood wave comes crashing through Moomin Valley, the Moomins find themselves in a brand new home . . . 
 
They seem to grow in wisdom and delight every time I read them - Philip Pullman

Finn Family Moomintroll

Meet the Moomins - all 8 magical adventures relaunched in a stunning new package. Celebrating 80 years since the first Moomin book was published! 
 
Rediscover the A Puffin Book series and bring the best-loved classics to a new generation - including this magical edition of Finn Family Moomintroll complete with a charming new cover design. 
 
Cheerful Moomintroll lives in the magical Moominvalley with his mother, Moominmamma, his father, Moominpappa and all of their friends. One spring he wakes up to find a big hat - a magical Hobgoblin hat, no less, that mysteriously transforms anyone or anything that falls into it. . . 
 
They seem to grow in wisdom and delight every time I read them - Philip Pullman

Rediscover the A Puffin Book series and bring the best-loved classics to a new generation - including this magical edition of Finn Family Moomintroll complete with a charming new cover design. 
 
Cheerful Moomintroll lives in the magical Moominvalley with his mother, Moominmamma, his father, Moominpappa and all of their friends. One spring he wakes up to find a big hat - a magical Hobgoblin hat, no less, that mysteriously transforms anyone or anything that falls into it. . . 
 
They seem to grow in wisdom and delight every time I read them - Philip Pullman

The Exploits of Moominpappa

Meet the Moomins - all 8 magical adventures relaunched in a stunning new package. Celebrating 80 years since the first Moomin book was published! 
 
Rediscover the A Puffin Book series and bring the best-loved classics to a new generation - including this magical edition of The Exploits of Moominpappa complete with a charming new cover design. 
 
Here is Moominpappa's promised life story - from the days when he was abandoned in a newspaper parcel on the doorstep of a Moomin orphanage, to when he ran away to see the world and met Moominmamma. 
 
They seem to grow in wisdom and delight every time I read them - Philip Pullman

It's not just Tove Jansson's wonderfully strange fairytale world that so appeals but also her beautiful line work and exquisite sense of design

Rediscover the A Puffin Book series and bring the best-loved classics to a new generation - including this magical edition of The Exploits of Moominpappa complete with a charming new cover design. 
 
Here is Moominpappa's promised life story - from the days when he was abandoned in a newspaper parcel on the doorstep of a Moomin orphanage, to when he ran away to see the world and met Moominmamma. 
 
They seem to grow in wisdom and delight every time I read them - Philip Pullman

Tove Jansson

Meet Moomintroll and his friends in this reassuring story about a very first night away from home. 
 
Moomintroll and his friend Sniff are going to camp out in the treehouse overnight. It'll be their very first sleepover and the two friends are excited! But when night falls, they discover that they miss their cosy home. Will it take something spectacular to reassure Moomin and Sniff that sleeping somewhere new can be a great adventure after all? 
 
With gorgeous illustrations and a soothing story, this latest addition to the My First Moomin series is the perfect book for talking to little ones about spending a night away from home. 
 
Discover more marvellous Moomin stories: 
My First Moomin: Goodnight Moomin 
My First Moomin: Best Friends 
My First Moomin: Be Brave, Moomin 
Moomin's First 100 Words: A lift-the-flap book 
Moomin: The Very BIG Moominhouse Lift-the-Flap Book 
Moomin's Peekaboo Night Night: A Lift-and-FInd Book

Tove Jansson

Books by Tove Jansson

Series by Tove Jansson

A Puffin Book118 Books

MOOMIN6 Books

Moomins Fiction10 Books

Articles featuring Tove Jansson

17 of the best LGBTQIA+ books for kids

The best literary quotes about summer

11 life lessons from the Moomins

Books for kids who are obsessed with Disney’s Frozen

The unlikely queer family at the heart of the Moomins

The Moomins have never been more popular; 75 years later, their origins reveal why

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