![Tove Jansson_© Moomin CharactersT]()
- © Moomin Characters
This year the famous Finland-Swedish artist, illustrator, caricaturist and author, Tove Jansson, celebrates her 100th birthday. She became world-famous with her popular Moomin characters and stories.
Tove Jansson was born on the 9th of August 1914 in Helsinki, Finland. She grew up in an artist family: Her father was a sculptor, her mother was a graphic designer and illustrator; her younger brother worked as a photographer, author and comic-strip artist. During her childhood, her family spent the summers on a small island at the Finnish golf. This idyllic place inspired Jansson to the creation of the peaceful Moomin-valley where the Moomins live.
![Mumins_Urwald_(c) Reprodukt Verlag]()
- © Reprodukt Verlag
As early as the 1930s the first Moomin characters appeared in Jansson’s work. The first Moomin book, “The Moomins and the Great Flood“, was published in 1945. In her early work, Jansson created a childlike, naïve counterpart to the harsh war and postwar realities. Later stories were influenced by her own life experiences. Next to comics, she wrote novels, plays, and scripts for TV and film productions. Tove Jansson was not only devoted to children’s literature; she also wrote short stories and novels for adults. Here she used autobiographical material as well. In 2001, at the age of 86, she died in Helsinki.
Tove Jansson and her Moomins are a main topic of the Finnish Guest of Honour appearance at the Frankfurt Book Fair 2014.
Source: Press release press agency “Finnland.Cool”/ WBCO GmbH