Moominland Midwinter is the fifth in the series of Tove Jansson

Tove Jansson

Tove Marika Jansson was a Swedish-Finnish novelist, painter, illustrator and comic strip author. She is best known as the author of the Moomin books.- Biography :...

's Moomin

Moomin

The Moomins are the central characters in a series of books and a comic strip by Swedish-Finn illustrator and writer Tove Jansson, originally published in Swedish by Schildts in Finland. They are a family of trolls who are white and roundish, with large snouts that make them resemble hippopotamuses...

s books, published in 1957.

This book sees Jansson adopt a darker, more introspective tone compared to the earlier books that is continued in the remainder of the series.

Often in the book Moomintroll

Moomintroll

Moomintroll is the main character in the Moomin books by Tove Jansson. He lives in the Moominhouse together with his father Moominpappa and his mother Moominmamma and has a keen spirit of adventure. Moomintroll is a 'moomin' - a little white troll with a hippopotamus-like big round nose.His best...

 is either lonely, miserable, angry or scared - the result of being forced to survive in a world to which he feels he does not belong.

While preserving the charm of the previous novels, the story involves a more in-depth exploration of Moomintroll's character than before.

Moominland Midwinter forms the basis of episodes 22, 23 and 37 in the 1990 TV series.

Plot summary

While the rest of the Moomin family are in the deep slumber of their winter hibernation

Hibernation

Hibernation is a state of inactivity and metabolic depression in animals, characterized by lower body temperature, slower breathing, and lower metabolic rate. Hibernating animals conserve food, especially during winter when food supplies are limited, tapping energy reserves, body fat, at a slow rate...

, Moomintroll finds himself awake and unable to get back to sleep.

He discovers a world hitherto unknown to him, where the sun does not rise and the ground is covered with cold, white, wet powder.

Moomintroll is lonely at first but soon meets Too-ticky and his old friend Little My

Little My

Little My is a character in the Moomin series of books by Tove Jansson. She first appears in the fourth book, The Exploits of Moominpappa . She is a small, determined and fiercely independent Mymble. When she wants something done, she does it straight away...

 (who takes delight in sledging down the snowy hills on Moominmamma

Moominmamma

Moominmamma is a character in the Moomin series of books by Finnish author Tove Jansson.Moominmamma is married to Moominpappa and is the mother of Moomintroll. She very rarely gets cross and takes even the most distressing circumstances in her stride...

's silver tea tray).

The friends build a snow horse for the Lady Of The Cold and mourn the passing of an absent-minded squirrel who gazed into the Lady's eyes and froze to death. However, a squirrel is spotted alive by Moomintroll at the end of the book, and it seems that it may have come back to life.

As the haunting winter progresses, many characters (notably the Groke

The Groke

The Groke is a fictional character in the Moomin world created by Tove Jansson...

, Sorry-oo the small dog, and a boisterous skiing Hemulen) come to Moominvalley in search of warmth, shelter and Moominmamma's stores of jam.