Product Description

A flood hits Moomin Valley and triggers a series of adventures for the Moomins.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #39167 in Books
• Brand: MPS Books
• Published on: 1992-03-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 176 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780374453107
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

From Publishers Weekly
The fanciful Moominfolk take to the stage as only they can in this series of droll escapades. Ages 7-10.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review
"It's difficult not to be drawn in by the adventures of Moomintroll and his family as they take refuge from a flood in a floating theater, get separated when Moomintroll spends a night on shore and are reunited at Moominpappa's grand amateur drama." --Publishers Weekly

"As appealing as ever." --The Horn Book
-- Review

Review

Customer Reviews

Ranks with Pooh as classic children's lit
I discovered this book while rummaging through a flea market bookshelf 5 years ago. I had never heard of Jansson or the Moomins, but was looking for something to read to my daughter, who was then 6. With nothing more than an interesting cover illustration to recommend it, I took a 10cent gamble.

Within the first 10 pages I realized that I had stumbled onto something quite remarkable, by the middle of the book both my daughter and I were engulfed in Moominland, and by the end I went out to scour bookshelves and web sites to get my hands on all the other Moomin books.

Quite simply, this series (and this book in particular) ranks with Winnie-the-Pooh and the Alice books as the truest, wisest, funniest, and most beautiful books for kids ever written. Tove Jannson has created a world populated with myriad creatures possessing a variety and depth of character unrealized in any other children's series I can think of, and rarely reached in adult fiction.

Of particular note are her numerous and varied female characters, unheard of in American and English children's lit...Little My is brash, determined, unrepentant, and spoiling for a good fight. Moominmamma is warm and nurturing without ever being sappy or sentimental. Long sufering Misabel looks only at the bluer side of life and relishes a good cry. The Snork Maiden is vain and frivolous. Emma is cantankerous, crochety, and uninterested in changing to suit anyone else's agenda. How many other books can you read to a young girl with that variety of female characters? And that's just the beginning of the list. The male characters are equally as varied, fallible, goofy, and complex.

Character aside, Jansson's sense of adventure, wild imagination, bleak Scandinavian humor, and peaceful world view make these books a marvel to read. Her illustrations are gorgeous, plentiful, and a perfect compliment to her writing.

My daughter is 11 now and doesn't require a parent to read to her anymore, yet she still asks to hear the Moomin books read aloud.

My advice...give Harry Potter a rest, and treat yourself and family to real classic children's lit. You won't be sorry. And if you like this one, Moominland Midwinter and Comet in Moominland are great next choices.

One of the best Moomin books...
I received this book as a Christmas present in the early 50s from a Finnish family whom my mother helped through the hard times of WWII and after with her version of CARE packages.

Moominsummer Madness became my favorite of all my books--read until the red hardboard cover faded to pink and the binding frayed. My personal favorite interaction is Moomintroll and the Fillyjonk at her hut in the spruce forest on Midsummer's Eve. When I first read it, I didn't have a clue what Midsummer was or what a spruce tree looked like, but I immediately resolved to have a life full of both as soon as I could escape from Eisenhowerian Oklahoma.

And I did just that.

Great book - shame about the translation
I am reading this book to my kids aged 5 and 7. We already read "Finn Family Moomintroll" which I read and adored as a child. My criticism of "Moominsummer Madness" lies in its translation. I don't remember finding anything strange or difficult in "Finn Family..." but here I find that the English is often awkward, or unnecessarily difficult words are used. This is a shame! If you are looking for a Moomin book to read to your kids, maybe you should look first to those translated by Elizabeth Portch....