Read this one to face my childhood fear of the Moomins, haha. Beautifully illustrated with a gorgeous cover, this is a quaint story about Moomintroll waking up during hibernation to experience his first winter. Love Little My! ( )

Love the whole series, but this one in particular is just amazing. ( )

This book has the best footnotes.

A displaced hedgehog is a hedgehog that has been removed from its home against its will and not even had time to pack its toothbrush.

And a bit later on, when we are so sad because squirrel is dead, the most comforting footnote I've ever read:

In case the reader feels like having a cry, please take a quick look at p. 126.

( )

This is better than 2-4. I’m feeling it. ( )

So after reading a couple of real downers for novels—downers in the sense of having somewhat depressing subject matter; the books themselves were interesting and well written—I took up more Moomin books. I had, however, followed my spouse's advice, finally, and read The Wind in the Willows so as to get a perspective, as she would have it anyway, on superior literature for young people. I dunno, it seems to me the Moomins aren't far below the dwellers by the river. Anyway, on to this Moomin book.

Normally, everyone in the Moomin household naps during the long winters. But for some reason, Moomintroll wakes up and can't get back to sleep. So he heads outside to wait for Snuffkin's reappearance from his wanderings to the south. Snuffkin always returns with the spring. Moomintroll finds it cold and very lonely outside in the winter.

Then, he encounters a new being, Too-Ticky. Too-Ticky has taken up residence in the boat house. Little My also appears to be awake and gambols around in the snow and cold. Eventually other creatures, Creeps and such, show up and Moomintroll struggles between being hospitable to them and protecting his family's things from being taken over.

As in all things Moomin that I've experienced so far, we have another great story. I'm not sure I'd noticed in the previous four Moomin books that I'd read how good the writing is. Jansson has a great gift for poetic description, almost like Thomas Hardy. ( )