general

• quick summary - moomintroll wakes up one winter to find himself alone in a quiet house and snow-covered valley for the first time in his life— he then learns about the mysterious winter, the friends to be made in such times, and the new ways to play and be kind.
• themes - loneliness, contentment, friendship, adventure, family.
• fav character - little my, she's so relatable.

interests

• what i found interesting - I was not expecting the existentialist tone of the book, but I found its significance more meaningful than I expected. I did not know the plot would be as eventful as it was, although I suppose that's the moral of the story: nature is always alive, even midwinter + it was adorable to see moomintroll's discovery of the joys of winter and his growth as a character.
• fav quote - "that would take some time, but at least te decision was made. and that's always a good thing" + "so that's winter too! (...) you can even like it" + "now i've got everything. i've got the whole year. winter too. I'm the first moomin to have lived through an entire year" + "let it fight it out. I believe it's going to do still better if things aren't so easy" + so many more.

books it reminded me of

• the wind in the willows - the two books feature both cute animal characters and truthful lessons about life, although this one was a little less serious.

further reading

• follow-up context research - I am intrigued to learn about tove jansson's life; how was her upbringing and what inspired her to write the moomin books.

rating

• 4/5 - I supposed I was going to adore this book, but I actually found myself quite bored at times. I usually love children's books and their messages and I appreciate this one a lot, however there was something that simply did not work for me with this one. I am still glad I read it (especially in the quiet of the night before bed), and I think I might read some more moomin books in the summertime.