by Tove Jansson
A FLYING SAUCER CRASH-LANDS IN MOOMINVALLEY AND HIJINKS ENSUE
Another classic Moomin story reworked in full color, with a kid-proof but kid-friendly size, price, and format.
Moominmamma wakes up one morning to find a flying saucer has crash-landed in her cabbage patch. There’s a strange machine dangling out of it that seems like it could be used to fix their broken radio, but when Moominpappa starts fiddling with it, he turns himself and Moomin invisible! Each knob on the machine causes strange and unlikely events to transpire, until the Martian finally recovers possession of its property. Moomin and the Martians is a lighthearted romp that reaffirms the importance of family.
Praise for Moomin and the Martians
To know the Moomins was to know Tove [Jansson]. She poured her wit, dreams and fears into the characters.
The Economist
[Tove Jansson's Moomins feature) scratchy, pen-and-ink sketches and [an] atmosphere of beneficence ... [a] mix of disaster and gentle naïveté.
New York Review of Books
Readers, it is a beautiful Montreal summer day here in ye old Canadia and we are dreaming of a Tove-inspired dip in the nearest body of water, so when one is in such fine spirits, how can they not share the newest in Moomin? Moomin and the Martians, seen here surrounded by some of our most adorable Moomin memorabilia, is a fresh addition to the Moomin Colour Collection. Let's check it out, shall we?
After hearing of a nearby martian on their recently repaired radio, Moominmamma stumbles upon a flying saucer in the family's very own vegetable garden. As is his nature, Pappa can't help but experiment, so one invisible family and a flying town later, Moomin and Moominmamma discover that the saucer contains a precocious (and slightly bratty!) martian, whom they feel compelled to help out.
Softcover. Full-colour. 40 pages. 8.5 x 6".
Published by Enfant, Drawn & Quarterly.
Nest Notes: We might recommend for 6 or 7 years and up, but it varies largely. The interpersonal and social tensions in the themes are played out and resolved in a medium that we find approachable even for young children, and our children took a keen interest already at ~4 years old in the Moomin stories, although we wouldn't always recommend them so early. It can work though if you have children of varying ages, for the younger ones to listen in and take interest too. We would paraphrase a little some lines when reading aloud for younger children.