Product Description

Who Will Comfort Toffle? A tale of Moomin Valley sees Toffle driven from his home by the frightening noises of the forest. Too shy, at first, to approach the many colourful Moomin characters he passes along the way, he gains confidence by discovering a scared and lonely Miffle who needs his help. Toffle's quest to save Miffle from the dreadful Groke is an inspiring tale that every child (and many adults) are sure to identify with.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #639031 in Books
• Published on: 2003-10-02
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 32 pages

Review
"In a children's book there must be a path where the author stands still and the child walks on. A threat or a wonder that is never explained. A face that never shows itself entire." (Tove Jansson)

Language Notes
Text: English, Swedish (translation)

About the Author
The writer and artist Tove Jansson (1914-2001) is a Scandinavian national treasure: she has a museum dedicated to her work in her native Finland, and the Moomin characters adorn everything from mugs to schoolbags. Elsewhere, Moomin stories have been published in 35 languages.

Customer Reviews

Wistfully beautiful story of adversity overcome
Tove Jansson's Moomin books are a treasure trove of wistful, slightly introspective fantasy characters for readers 8-14 years old. "Toffle" is an ideal introduction, combining some of the same characters (and Jansson's trademark sense of childhood's strange dislocating tenor) with beautiful, wild fullpage illustrations. The story is told in rhyme that (in translation anyway) sometimes slips into mere singsong.

Toffle runs away from home but finds his own bravery when a bottle washes up on shore with a plea for help from another child, Miffle. There is a happy ending, of course, but what stays with you is Toffle's alienation from the adult world and his overcoming of those fears.

Miniature Magic
Toffle is small, he's scared and the world is big. But there is always someone somewhere who is (or feels) smaller and who needs you.
I read this book as a child (in original Swedish) and just thinking of it (I'm 40 by now) brings tears in my eyes and warmth into my heart. This book will be a lifetime companion to any person, adult or child,who has ever felt small, alone and frightened.

My favourite story
From all great stories by Finnish author Tove Jansson Who will comfort Toffle? is my all-time favourite. I was given this wonderfully illustrated book as a liitle child and I was immediately surrounded by its magic. It is originally written in Swedish but for me a Finnish version is the true one - making such a big impact on me. Reason is clear: in Finnish language there is not separate words like she and he, and Toffle was mistaken as a woman searching for another woman by me already as a child. Actually the book has been dedicated to another woman, life companion of Tove Jansson, so my interpretation is not far from the truth. I would say that this book is a must in every lesbian's book shelf. It is the present I give to everybody I love anythere in the world. It is translated also into French, but I have a dream of having it translated it into Spanish in my life time. The English version is not out of print. I just recently sent it to a friend in Australia.