Z Books

This book is so useful, even for Grandmas like me. There is always more to learn about raising a child and these times are so much more complex than the 70s when I did my Mommying. Dr. Jenn makes everything clear and even adds a touch of humor. The separate chapters make it possible to address just one question or you can read it through. I'd recommend this book to everyone who has a child or grandchild in their life or one on the way.

As a psychotherapist, I read many books and often make recommendations to clients. This book is at the top of my list. Dr. Berman has done a wonderful job summarizing some of the most important things parents need to know so as to raise happy, healthy, confident kids. I enthusiastically recommend this magnificent, practical, fun, interesting, and easy-to-read book to any parent. It really is a must read!

I have a ten month old daughter. I want nothing more for this beautiful little girl, than to be happy and confident. Kids are cruel, school can be brutal, and I'm hoping to get her off on the right foot with some self esteem. This book didn't really provide great advice on how to help her achieve that.

This book is more of a comprehensive guide to parenting. Much of the content is things I would have done anyway, sort of common sense parenting to those of us who care enough to read a parenting book. Many of the topics, while relavent to parenting, fail to relate back to the confidence issue I was looking for.

Having said that, there are a few good nuggets. My opinion is that this is a book that would best be checked out from a library, and not necessarily purchased for ones frequent reference.

Dr. Jenn's "A to Z Guide to Raising Happy, Confident Kids" is a must read for parents and of course soon to be parents! I have given this book to four new moms, and they all have loved it, and have felt their anxiety about becoming a parent has lessoned after reading Dr. Jenn's insightful, encouraging and practical words. I also highly recommend this book to anyone who works with children and families! I look forward to reading more by Dr. Jenn!

The author really knows her stuff. I love the short readable chapters that are packed with valuable information for parents. This is my new favorite shower gift.

I enjoy this book because it has so many plants in it, even plants we don't usually consider herbs. It gives a lot of info about each plant listed. Very good!

Although I preferred the older verison this is great for the beginner and advnce alike.

Wish this was back in print in one volume but glad I was able to pick this up. One of the most invaluble resources I have give tons of wonderful information very comprehensive...love it. Only wish the pics of the plants were with each description instead of in their own lil groups.

I received my book in excellent condition and in very short order. I am pleased to add it to my library and am sure it will be well-used.

Ma Grieve is one of the best reference herbals around. Not only does it give information on each European plant, but also folklore stories. A must for your herbal library!!!!

We checked "Alpha Oops!" out at our local library on a whim and my 2 year old daughter loves it! She actually runs around the house reciting lines from it, like "Fair and Equal Turns for All!" and "U is for Unique!" I had to read this book to her every night for weeks and even though we've returned it she's still talking about it. The best part about this book though for grownups is the adult humor that is interspersed and the smart illustrations. You've got to love a book about the alphabet in which the letter Z prevents the letter V from taking a second turn by dragging him away and the letter G observes "Oooooh...V is for Violence."

This book is SO hilarious! Very silly and clever. I got it when my son was four and now he's five. It's one of our many favorites. The letters come in all out of order and they argue about who should go next, and at the end on the last page they are still all jumbled up. The story ends and then we play the game we invented of "find the letters in order." It takes a few minutes because the illustrations are really detailed. We won't get tired of this one any time soon.

This book is very clever and a lot of fun. We have two small children and continue to read it over and over (and over and over and over). Especially for our two-year-old, who only recently mastered the alphabet, finding the letters out of order has proved to be a treat. He delights in trying to explain to us where the letters should really be. Also, the word pairings are fresh and unique. Everyone knows A Is For Apple. This book gives you stuff like "B is for big beautiful balloons blowing briskly in the breeze above a bevy of bright blue bouncing balls." The illustrations are also wonderful. Highly recommended.

I bought this book for my youngest nephew's birthday, and I almost kept it for myself. I love the way that each letter has its own character that comes through in the text and illustrations. It really is a fun way to teach kids the alphabet - "A" doesn't always have to go first!

This is the type of book I wish was available to me when I was learning letters. The concept of giving each individual letter it's own personality is brilliant. Finally, someone has made the process of learning letters fun and interesting. Thank you, Ms. Kontis! Looking forward to more from you in the future...

If you have a child age 4 - 10 years-old get this book now. Do not wait. The world could be coming to an end. What is that thing in the sky anyway?

Adventures abound while above the comet looms. The characters are filled with foibles and nobility. Moomintroll and the Snork Maiden are one of the world's greatest couples, even if they are about 11 years-old and completely asexual. Love does not conquer all, but it sure takes the sting out.

Hurry! Moominmamma, Fillijonks, the Snork Maiden, Little My, Hemulens and Groks are all waiting to meet you. You do not want to miss them, but more importantly you do not want your child to grow up without them.

I too grew up reading these books, then bought them for my own children to read, and now still enjoy reading them from time to time - sure it is an easy read for an adult, but what better way to spend a dark, rainy day then to curl up with a fun book that brings back all those warm and happy thoughts of childhood?!

I am so delighted to find that these are still available today and recommend them to everyone, young and old alike.

If you're intrested in more great Scandinavian literature, I highly recommend Kay Nielsen, who published a book by the name of "East of The Sun, West Of The Moon" filled with fantastically magical Scandinavian folk/fairy tales and his stunning artwork! I am not sure if it is still available to buy but should be in your local library. If not if you request it they can probably send for a copy.

Hope this was helpful!!:-)

~Most Happy~
¸.·' .·'¨¨))
((¸¸.·' ..·' -:¦:- ~Lady Anne~
-:¦:- ((¸¸.·'

Wonderful book for both children and adults. I fell in love with moomin adventures as a kid and wanted to share it with my child. He loved it too.The charm of the Moomin Valley never fades.
The shipping was fast and the book was in mint condition, I am very pleased with this purchase.

Large astronomical objects blow up everything, even trolls.


So what is a young moomin to do when threatened with extinction by big space rock smooshing? Set out to save the world of course, preferably with a bunch of friends. If you make some new ones on the way, then that is perfectly fine as well. How exactly a short funny looking little guy can have his own astronomical impact requires a bit of invention.

Tove Jansson, Comet in Moominland (Ernest Benn Ltd., 1946)

It is one of the great travesties of literature in translation that of the fourteen legendary Moomin books written by Tove Jansson, three of them have, as far as I have been able to tell, weathered over half a century without being translated into English, despite the great success of the other eleven. It's a twist of the knife that The Little Trolls and the Big Flood, the first of the series, is one of the three. (Note: the book has, in fact, been recently translated, but it only available, as of this writing, in Finland.) Thus, for over fifty years, English children delving into the Moomin books (and they have been legion) have started their journey here, with the second book, Comet in Moominland. And while it's a decent book, it's not the highlight of the series by a long shot. Would it be better if we had access to the first? I've no idea. I hope to find out eventually.

Moomintroll and Sniff are young, and they do love a good adventure. During a wild storm, they meet the Muskrat, a philosopher who foretells the end of the world. Sure enough, not long after, astronomers spy a comet rushing towards the earth, and Moomintroll, Sniff, and their new friend the Silk-Monkey head off to find astronomers to consult with. A grand adventure, indeed.

Back when I was a kid devouring the Moomin books, Comet in Moominland was my least favorite of the series. I'm not terribly sure why, rereading it, now, because it's got pretty much everything a kid could want-- fantastic creatures, grand adventure, the fate of the world hanging in the balance, all that stuff. I really did like it a great deal this time round. If I find the rest of the series that much better in rereads as I did thirty-odd years ago, I'm in for a wonderful series of re-reads. This is great stuff. *** ½

This book is just as most of the reviews have said. Fantastic pictures and stories of the original DOGTOWN Z-BOYS in their heyday. I don't understand how the previous reviewer can say it was "not what she expected" ? THE STORIES AND PROFILES IN THIS BOOK ARE WHAT MADE THE Z-BOYS! It's all about the Z-Boys and the cult that surrounded them, and no one else, so she is mistaken when she says it's not about the Z-Boys, she just must not have taken the time to actually look at the book. It is the ultimate resource on the Z-Boys. There was never anything as important as these stories and pictures to "The Legend" that showed the world what these guys did, who they were, and where they came from. And C.R. Stecyks's words go far beyond what you would expect! Top notch story telling and social commentary. The Glen E. Friedman photos alone, in the second half of the book, are worth it's price. All the photography is so colorful, literally and figuratively. This is true 1970's Southern California Americana at it's best. A must for ANY Z-Boys, Skateboarding, or 70's Pop-cuture fan.

If you love creative non-fiction, you'll love this book. Even if you have no emotional attachment to skateboarding, even if you hate skateboarding. The photographs could do all the talking, but once you read the words of CR Stecyk, you'll be a skateboard enthusiast even if you've never seen a half-pipe.

Journalist Stecyk and photographer Friedman grew up in the creative 1970s California coast atmosphere in which their friends pioneer skateboarders, the Z-boys, reinvented their sport. They lived amongst them, they were them. They utelized their artistic talents to chronicle the birth of the Santa Monica surf-skate culture, and their exploits are compiled in this book, a tangible, more-comprehensive version of Peralta's documentary "Dogtown and Z-boys." See the film, get the book, you'll be hooked.

If you were around when Dogtown was the thing, or are just interested in this era of skateboarding, don't miss out on this book! It's got tons of great photos, and of course, the original articles that were in "Skateboarder" magazine. This book is very well constructed; hard-bound glossy pages, all for less than half the price of an old Skateboarder issue on e-bay. Totally worth the money!

I'm not into skating but my 17 year old nephew Stephen is. He is hard to shop for and when I saw this book I knew it was for him. Let me tell you it was a HUGE hit on Christmas morning! The pictures are great and anything that gets kids interested in reading these days gets my vote.

When I bought this book I expected a biography-type book, like the story of the Z-Boys. That's not really what this is. It's just a collection of articles written about skateboarding during their time. It also has some interviews with Stacy Peralta, Tony Alva, and Jay, but the book is mostly about skateboarding during this time, not really about the Z-boys.

It does have a really good amount of photos of them though. So, if you are a skateboarder, this would be a good book, but for a fan of the Z-Boys, this might just be a disapointment.

The work of Hakim Bey is well-known in that other american world, the "underground" society, the one of subculture, silent resistance and anarchy. But slowly it has been bubbling to the surface, often in unexpected places. The novel and film Fight Club, surely shows an affection for poetic terrorism, an idea rooted in Bey's ontological anarchism and closely related to the situationist tactic of detornement. T.A.Z. is not the property of any philosophy but chaos and elegant disorder. Sure, there are aspects of anarchism, chaos thinking, situationist leanings, but that is just a symptom of the spectacle and is such precisely because of it. These essays all point to a way out of this spectacular society, but the first step comes with the mere recognition of it. This is harder than it sounds, or perhaps easier. TV and the media are always easy components to recognize, the real challenge is to recognize how the spectacle, i.e., the prefabricated, artificial, consumerist milieu penetrates, influences and shapes even our most intimate thoughts--which we often mistake for our own desires, wants and needs. In T.A.Z. Bey offers suggestions on how we can extricate ourselves from this structure and start creating our own temporary autonomous zones, within this system of economic, social and cultural oppression. Immediatism, Poetic Terrorism, and the embrace of Chaos are just a few of the strategies that he advises, all of which presuppose a new dialectic with reality.

This is only an outline, a mere review, I leave discerning and interpreting the details to you...Get this book today (also available in spoken word from axiom records).

TAZ is an amazing book. I personally see it as a philosophy and a self-improvement book. Hakim Bey presents his ideas about how the universe should be, chaotic. If you are into chaos magic or discordianism you will find this book very appealing and its a book that must be in your collection.

TAZ is a virus, it spreads through all the self-created walls that hold you down with the promise of true freedom. Suddenly you will become chaos.

Assume nothing.

I am surprised that the sort of people attracted to such a work--to guess from previous reviews--are still apparently apt to want to swallow the thing wholly, assertions that "they lied to you, sold you ideas" and all. Personally i reckon that we are in the midst of a conspiracy, yes...but most likely an unconscious one--the aggregate of fear & complacency & ignorance & such things, that is, resulting insidiously in the effects of a sort of conspiracy. What sort of result, for example, would one really expect from blowing up a transmission tower? A sudden enlightenment of the populace? No: most people would likely become even more reactionary when faced with causes for alarm.

Essentially this book, in spite of its claims to the contrary, seems to me a variety of art movement and not the "ultimate" anything, but as with anything so incendiary and beautiful its value can still hardly be overestimated. Who can resist Poetic Terrorism or Bey's felicity with language (eg. Chaote art)? The language and imagery are colourful and bursting full. Imagine a feast laid out on a table with barely enough room for the feasters' plates--and certainly not enough for their elbows--and everyone seated around it wearing purple plumage or velvet saris or nothing at all & laughing with food in their mouths.

I'll take what i need and leave the rest, as it goes. Implicit in most of the writing is criticism of those who would reject any part of the "freedom" described, but who's afraid of Hakim Bey? I'm glad he wrote even if i won't be taking all of what he wrote to heart.

Have a couple of dictionaries standing by, or be sure to have a few dozen bookmarked online while reading this, for if you're to appreciate Bey's prose, you're likely to need 'em. He writes in a strange way, obviously highly intelligent, but rambling, and if you're not quite sure what he's on about, it's just going to seem worse.

There are a lot of ideas in here, based on things I'm not very familiar with, such as Sufism and dadism - some of which are at least partially explained, but this is one of those books you need to read, and then come back to later and see how it compares. Certainly on the first go struggling somewhat to get a feel for how his mind works on paper.

It's a very inspiring work, which he may loathe to hear, but I intend to do something about it. I recommend reading it to anyone interested in expanding their interests and testing the limits of one's mind. Agreeing with everything he presents isn't necessary, but thinking about it is - doing even better. Highly recommended reading.

This is one of those pieces of literature that you simply cannot afford to miss. It's like discovering Marge Piercy at the tender, malleable age of 12, or finding Clarissa Pinkola Estes' book, worn and well-loved, after a ten-year marriage filled with abuse. Except, TAZ doesn't require you to be at any particular phase of your life to change it. It just does. Sometimes, it's not immediate. Sometimes it sits quietly in the back of your mind, bubbling up curt replies to oppressive corporate and societal forces that occasionally - tragically infrequently, to begin with - with issue forth from your mouth and cause bank tellers to go pale with shock.

Temporary Autonomous Zones are nets of co-conspirators, ready to take the mass of over-bearing government and the thin veneer of so-called civilization down, not through bloody revolution, but rather through obsolescence. If we do not respect the right to control us, if we have our own power back to do our own work, only then are we our own people. And moreover, in "Ontological Anarchism", we find the suggestion that we do not have to define ourselves by ANYTHING other than what WE feel we are. We are "supposed" to be productive, civilized, friendly, codependent, well-dressed, well-paid, well-fed and easily coddled. But humans are NOT that - we are animals, base creatures of a triple nature, as gods are, as goddesses are. And in each as our own deity, we cannot be truly shaped by anyone else but our own ineffable nature.

And that's just the beginning....

i grew up watching the anime so i had no problem getting into this. it is a very creative story and the characters grow on you. give it a chance its not a bad read at all.

Okay, while Dragon Ball isn't my favorite manga, it is probable the most well-known and most celebrated manga to date. And for good reason.

Volume 1 tells the story of when Bulma first met Goku, and they decide to hunt down the dragon balls. Goku's grandfather has died, and he is living alone in the wilderness, so he really has nothing to lose. The stories in this volume leave you wondering about Goku's origin (Bulma is constantly suprised by his mysterious monkey-tail), laughing at Goku's innocence, Oolong the pigs diarrhea, and Yamcha's shy perversion. Dragon Ball is a great manga. It will have you laughing and marveling at Akira Toriyama's unique artwork. If you're a fan of shonen manga but have not read Dragon Ball, do yourself a favor and try it out.

On a side note, Dragon Ball: Volume 1 is rated T for teen (ages 13 and over). I have heard that there are censored versions of the book as well as uncensored ones, and I'm not sure if this is true, but I know that I own an uncensored book. Uncensored, Dragon Ball contains some mild language, some mild violence (a cartoonish monster is decapitated),many sexual jokes (Goku is often "patting" strangers out of curiosity to whether they are male or female), and a generous amount of nudity (Son Goku is seen completely nude, Bulma has a shower scene where breasts and bottom are exposed, etc.) I'd recommend Dragon Ball for those ages 16 and over, despite the teen rating it received.

Akira Toriyama's 1984 manga series "Dragonball" has got to be one of my favorites. While a lot of people in America think (negatively) of Dragonball as Dragonball Z or GT (manga/anime), I think of the classic Dragonball that has entertained me for the last couple years.

I first found Dragonball when browsing through manga at my local bookstore. The dragon on the cover was just one of the things that caught my eye. Inside, there was a whole world to be explored! I fell in love with Toriyama's detailed art, the ironic and entertaining storyline, the characters, the jokes...everything has made it a wonderful manga for me.

While it has its good things, it also has its bad. I would not reccomend Dragonball for people younger than 14, or to people who don't like manga, or even can't take a joke. Dragonball contains some violence (but no blood), crude humor, and sexual references.

In conclusion, Dragonball is just one of my favorite manga series, but perhaps my most valued. I hope you will like Dragonball, too!

I got my copy four years ago,first printing,cause I wanted to read Goku's childhood since I always missed the show on cartoon network.I was thinking,okay I'll buy all 16 volumes of dragonball since shonen jump was publishing the later half better known in the US as DBZ.Boy, was I wrong,after half way reading the first chapter I was hooked and sayed to myself I'll buy all the volumes 1 through 42.Right now I am in volume 27(DBZ vol. 11)

I've been a long time manga fan, but Dragonball Z was the one series I never could get into. There was just too much testosterone and muscles and screaming for my liking, and it tainted my view on Akira Toriyama himself.
Little did i know the Dragon Ball, the prequel to DragonBallZ, is in fact very different. I read it at my school library and was very pleasantly surprised, what I found was a fun adventure series that is often very racey but always hilarious.
Akira Toriyama has a fabulous gift for characterisation, and the ones he presents in this manga are extremely fun. Goku is a little monkey-tailed, uncivilized kid who has never seen other people before, and is somewhat shameless, Bulma is rather superficial and full of herself but tries to keep Goku in check, and Oolong the shape shifting pig is comedy gold.
As the other reviews can probably tell you, this isnt for the kiddies, but I myself was laughing my head off at some of the 'inappropriate' humour, such as Goku asking Bulma why she has 'a butt on her chest', and his horror-struck realistation that girls are different from boys as they have...'parts missing'.
The reason I give this book 3 stars however, is because of VIZ's english release. I do not like their habit of replacing the original japanese SFX with english, I feel it ruins the art. Aside from that, some of the speech was a little iffy, characters like Goku and Chi-chi were given oddly accented voices which didnt sound right to me. I am glad that for once VIZ DIDNT tone down any sexual jokes or censored any nudity as they have done in other Shonen Jump titles.

I enjoy the adventure in all these books and particularly like the fact that there is a series of books and they have the same characters.

A famous writer is coming to Green Lawn, but after the writer doesn't show up for a book signing event in the Book Nook, Dink, Josh and Ruth Rose are worried.
Later in Dink's letter it says the the writer was probly kidnapped.
SO they started investingation, was the auther really kidnapped and by whom?
You need to read the book and find out!

My eight year old grandson is avid reader. He reads 2 years ahead of his grade level in school. I always think of books for my grandkids as gifts. When his birthday was coming, I came looking for books. I found this series. They are called the A-Z mysteries. I bought the first ten books A-J and they were such a success. He loves everyone of them. I am going to buy more of them to use as gifts for good report cards, etc. I think that books are the most important gift that you can give to a child and these books are great.

I like everything about the kidnapping stuff. I like Dink, Josh and Ruth Rose. I think the pictures should be in color.
It was a good mystery.

I wanted to get a beginner's chapter book for my almost 6-year-old daughter. I thought about Junie B. Jones or the Magic Tree House series, but I was turned off by Junie's poor grammar (or at least the author's attempt to make her sound like a "real" 6-year-old), and by the Magic Tree House's female character being "dreamy" while her brother was "logical". This book managed to avoid those caveats, while still being an entertaining read for my daughter. I wasn't sure at first if she could follow a chapter book on her own, with illustrations only appearing every 3 pages or so, so I read her the first two chapters last night. This morning, the first thing she reached for was that book. Instead of getting up and watching Saturday morning cartoons, she sat in bed, ate a banana, and finished her new book. I couldn't ask for anything better.

I was getting to know a song by Charles Trenet, one about a rained-out fairground populated by semi-human monsters, and it flashed on me that it reminded me of one of the Moomintroll stories that had made a fine, somewhat creepy, impression in childhood. Turned out I was remembering "The Hemulen Who Loved Silence" from "Tales from Moomin Valley". That story, proved to have indeed featured a rained-out fairground -- well, not just rained out but spectacularly destroyed by flooding, something that happens frequently in Tove Jansson's books. that story proved to be just as great as I'd remembered, and maybe better as it had psychological insight and satirical wit that I suspect I didn't entirely grasp as a kid. I soon found myself reading one Moomin book after another.

They all have wickedly funny moments, they're all fanciful, they're all subtle in some way. But some of them are really aimed at kids and, despite their considerable charms, can wear thin at times.

Moominpappa at Sea is a really great one for the adult reader. Yes, it has all the fancy and fun of a children's book, but....good lord! it is wonderfully complex. very funny, psychologically perceptive, at times very creepy. Where, say, Moominvalley Midwinter is a series of loosely connected episodes, everything in Moominpappa at Sea fits together very cleverly, from the first sentence to the last.

the plot hinges on Moominpappa's vain, poignant quest to have his family feel like they still need him. Moomintroll on the other hand is making some kind of adolescent transition, getting away from the family, bonding in the dark on the beach with a strange creature.

Jansson is one of the only authors I've ever read, for either child or adult, who can so deftly put her fingers on life as we experience it - the mood shifts, the disappointments and inner worlds and longings, the quirks and kindnesses, the tangible atmosphere of the seasons and the weather and the seaside... by God, she's got it, and with a few flicks of the pen, she can realize them fully and make us feel them too (even when her protagonists are fictional, round little "Moomintrolls" off for a month on a mysterious windswept lighthouse island.) Astonishing. A book to read and reread by anyone in grade 4 and up, especially in August and September (though anytime will do.)

My parents used to read the Moominbooks when to us when we were young, and they made a lasting impression on me. For me, Moominpappa at Sea was probably my favourite, along with Comet in Moominland.

Given that the books were originally written in Finnish the translator has done a fantastic job to make the stories incredibly readable and finely nuanced in English. It's possible that the books appealed to us kids so much because they come out of a European culture quite distinctly different from most of the English and American stories we were used to.

The chapters are the right length to read aloud one at a time to kids. (Good for bedtime stories in the summer holidays, I seem to recall!)

I was fortunate enough a couple of years ago to take a ferry across the Gulf of Finland from Stockholm in Sweden to Turku in Finland, and the little rocky islands in the Gulf are almost exactly as I imagined them from the book...

I first discovered this book at the age of about 12 or 13, already older than the average moomin reader, but having read most of the others. It was obvious that this was no ordinary moomin book, and neither was it strictly a children's book. In fact it is a masterly observation of family dynamics, mid life crises and the human condition, but mixed with a mysterious and fantastic magic that leads to spine tingling excitement and making one question how we know what is real.

Every psychology student has something to analyse in every character, and anyone who ever had a moment of doubt about the meaning of their life has something to ponder. What father with a teenage family would not relate to Moominpappa's melancholy, feeling that his life is without purpose now his family appear to be independent, his urge to be needed, to be able to protect them? What homesick traveller could not understand Moominmamma's longing for her garden, (and its magical transformation which you will have to read for yourselves). The description of her homesickness brings tears to the eyes. And what put-upon mother could not identify with her delight in being able to disappear from her family just long enough to stop them taking her for granted? The glimpses of the fond, but no longer passionate relationship between Moominmamma and Moominpappa, and Moominmamma's endless patience for Pappa's foibles, their need for their own roles, and his inability to understand her own needs says more about the maried state than plenty of far more learned texts. We will all be able to identify the same dynamics in our own families and relationships.

Meanwhile Moomintroll's adolescent emotional awakening must bring nostalgic memories of first love to we adult readers, but must surely mystify the average 8 year old. Younger children do not usually have a developed enough sense of other people's individuality to understand the complexities of what is driving the Moomin family to their peculiar dispersal.

The allegory of the frozen Groke could represent so much - I feel a thesis coming on - but I think represents how people get into a vicious cycle;cut off emotionally because no one interacts with them, and becoming ever more reclusive and antisocialin a vicious cycle. She makes us think about how we subconciously excuse ourselves for avoiding the lonely, scared, mentally ill, etc among us, for fear we may be "tainted" them.

Although I'm sure children will enjoy it at one level I recommend it highly to everyone, particularly if you are in a life crisis. I have lent it to nearly all my close friends and no one has yet not enjoyed it thoroughly.

Anyone who enjoyed this book should also enjoy Moominvalley in November with a similar selection of odd characters who we will all recognize among our own aquaintance.

The good news is you don't have to be a child to be enchanted by the Moomins. The bad news (for me) is missing out on these delightful stories when a child. I always try to begin the Moomin tales in the middle of the day because I know I won't stop until the end of the story.

Moominpappa decides they all need an adventure, and he is most desirous of "taking care" of everyone so Moominmamma can rest and all can be safe and protected. They set sail on an evening in late August to a small island in the Gulf of Finland planning to live in a wonderful lighthouse. The island is strange, bleak and barren. The lighthouse appears abandoned and is locked. The Moomin family consisting of Mamma, Papa, little son Troll, and Little My all go about practical tasks of settling in, first a search to locate a key. The living quarters in the lighthouse are at the very top only to be reached by a rickety spiral staircase. Much to Pappa's dismay, the light is out, and he cannot make it work. The fall storms begin (Pappa never explains why he didn't begin his adventure in the spring) and the life on the island becomes terrifying as well as bleak.

Though the Moomins get angry at one another, they are unfailingly polite and cooperative with the exception of Little My who is a cheerful, cynical pragmatist. Mamma & Pappa are very permissive parents, but always interested in what Troll and Little My are thinking and doing. The author very gently shows how perhaps there is a downside to sleeping and eating when you want, sleeping where your fancy takes you, and going on any adventure that occurs to you. There is delightful comedy where the Moomins throw a birthday party for The Fisherman, and he discovers all his "presents" belonged to him in the first place.

Come, enter the world of the Moomins! You might want to stay!