Moomins and the Great Flood, The (HB)

A beautiful new edition of the first ever Moomin tale. 'At last they came to a small valley, that was more beautiful than any they had seen that day. And there, in the midst of the meadow, stood a house that almost looked like a tall stove, very elegant and painted blue.' And so Tove Jansson offers us, in her first ever Moomin story, a glimpse of Moominvalley and the iconic Moominhouse – a house where the door will always be open to any stranger who wishes to join the kind and inclusive Moomins. Published in Finland in 1945, The Moomins and the Great Flood follows Moomintroll, Moominmamma and Sniff as they journey through forest and flood searching for long lost Moominpappa and a place to call home. Along the way, in a series of delightful adventures, they encounter Hemulens, stranded kittens and the blue-haired Tulippa. In the run-up to Moomins eightieth anniversary (2025) the spotlight is on The Moomins and The Great Flood and the first glimpse it offers of Moomin Valley. Tove Jansson wrote this first ever Moomin story in 1945, in the wake of World War II, and although a children's tale, it vividly evokes the displacement of refugees throughout Europe at the time. A global Moomin.com campaign will celebrate the eighty years of the Moomins with the slogan 'the door is always open', emphasising Jansson's timely message of kindness and inclusiveness towards those forced to flee to safety. This new format edition includes an introduction by much loved author Frank Cottrell-Boyce and a full colour fold-out 'Moomin history' poster.