Tove Jansson
‘In a children’s book there must be a path were the author stands still and the child walks on, a threat or a wonder that is never explained, a face that never shows itself entirely.’On August the 9th 1914 in Helsinki Finland, Tove Marika Jansson was born to her mother and father Signe Hammersten-Jansson and Viktor Jansson.Tove also had two other brothers Perolov and Lars Jansson.
Tove was born into an artistic family, her mother was a graphic designer and illustrator her father was a sculptor her brother Perolov became a photographer and Lars an author and cartoonist.
Tove was an artist, painter, illustrator, novelist and comic strip author, she never had any children. as well as her very own Mommin books she has also illustrated some other classics like ‘The Hobbit’ and ‘Alice in Wonderland’.
Although she had a studio in Helsinki,Tove lived most of her life on a small island called Klovharu, one of the Pellinki Islands near the town of Porvoo. She lived with her female partner, a graphic artist called Tuulikki Pietila.
The Mommins are a family of trolls, who are white, round and furry with large snouts that make them look very similar to hippopotamuses, there is even a Mommin theme park called ‘Mommin World in Naantali’.The first ever Mommin book was called ‘ The Mommin’s and the Great Flood’it was written in 1945.Tove had also worked for the Swedish language Satirical as an illustrator and cartoonist.One of her political cartoons claimed some fame, she drew Aldolf Hitler as a crying baby in a diaper!
The name ‘Mommintroll’ comes from her uncle, Einer Hammersten. When Tove was in Stokholm ( the capital of Sweden), living with her swedish side of the family, her uncle tried to stop her sneaking bits of food by telling her that there was a ‘Mommintroll’ lived in the kitchen pantry and breathed cold air down peoples necks!
After ‘Momminvalley in November’ Tove stopped writing about the Mommins and started writing for adults.
In 1966 she won the Hans Christian Andersen award for her contribution to children’s literature. Jansson’s Mommin books, were originally written in Swedish and have been translated into 33 different languages. Tove died aged 86 years old on the 27th of June 2001, she was missed.
By Lola
