Mumin e la Vita in Famiglia by Tove Jansson

Mumin e la Vita in Famiglia or in english Mumin and the Family-Life by Tove Jansson published by Iperborea, tells in this book created in comic strips the story of a family of trolls Mumin, so nice, cute, sweet and distant from the common imagine we all have of trolls that I am more than sure you and your children will fall in love for them all! and their eccentric friends and relatives.
There is a mother Mumin, a dad Mumin, a son Mumin, a girlfriend of Son Mumin. There is Tobacco a traveler-friend and a profound connoisseur of the world, Sniff, Shadow, a philosopher called Joint, and many other funny characters.

The creative mother of Mumin is Tove Jansson. Born in 1914 in Finland, she grew up in Helsinki and in a little Finnish island. Her dad was a sculptor and her mother an illustrator. Tove became with the time a painter, illustrator and cartoonist like also writer for children's books paying attention also at literature for adult people.

She won with Mumin the Prize Andersen and an endless fame. She disappeared on 2001.

At first in Italy these books were proposed largely in 1958 by Vallecchi and later by Salani (the italian publishing house of Harry Potter) while these comic strips appeared for the first time on the magazine Linus at the end of 1960s.

Well what can we say of this comic strips book? That it is very funny!!! 21 comic books strips in this one  a lot of funny situations that will let you laugh  but that also defines the problematic lived in and by a common family.

At first Son Mumin is lost and thinks that maybe is better, not having a family giving up with life but then he meets his parents again and he remembers them and the meaning of family and  he thinks that after all living a plenty life is better than giving up.

Mumins are characterized for being friendly, nice, opened with everyone and they create special connections with every creature they meet without difficulty because they are socials.

They're excited by the novelties and Mumin Dad a bit tired of the common life sometimes. Ahem, these comic strips were written when the world was not yet living so many abnormalities and when normality could be boring :-) Just, my little point of view.

Mumin family would want to live some exciting adventures, maybe becoming criminals for some hours.

At the same time they discover while in the sea with an adventure lived with Tobacco a chest. At first Mumin family imagines that maybe it contains whisky, but no...Oh God, just rude words. What to do with rude words? Mumins don't want them...Mmmm, maybe the best solution is sending them all at aunt Joan, a lady pretty rude with them and so who knows? Maybe in grade to appreciate them. They prepare a special package for the not so beloved relative and send it promptly.
Without to ruin the surprise we will see that aunt Joan will arrive  pretty quickly at Mumin's house with the intention of clarifying this story. That gift not accepted at all.

Enjoy and enjoy Mumin! for you and your children, it will be a tender adventure where everyone can recognize some part of himself/herself.




Anna Maria Polidori

Greta Grintosa by Astrid Lindgren illustrated by Ingrid Vang Nyman and Eva Billow

Greta Grintosa  or Gritty Greta by Astrid Lindgren illustrated by Ingrid Vang Nyman and Eva Billow published with great success by the publishing italian house Iperborea is a children's book that you and your children will love so badly because in some cases you will be transported in magical worlds as it happens for Goran and his sick leg. A magical friend will let him discover every night a wonderful world where it's possible the impossible and where he can enjoys to walk because there, nothing cares and that one is not a problem.

The book opens with Greta (that will also give the title at all these short tales) a solid little kid of 7 years and her sick granny. She loves her sick granny and now, look, she is sick close to Christmas' Time. What to do? Greta will sort out everything with success.

In another story a little bird hidden in a magical clock will help two children to buying gifts with its gold eggs keeping them company.

The story I loved the most maybe the one of Albin and Stig. That two babies, later toddlers, later kids, later teen-agers spent a real hell during their life thanks to the competition started by their respective parents about their own abilities. So each parent pretended that the child had to be like the other one and vice-versa. An incident lived by the two ones will let them discover the silly situation in which they were been catapulted by their parents for all the existence, still brief, understanding that each person is unique and rich of potentialities and can't be a copy of another one.

He was a joyous and peaceful animal Adam Engelbrekt a bull of great respect, surrounded by a lot of cows, but nothing to do, one day he becomes crazy, aggressive. Just the sweetness of someone will fix this problem.

There is another wonderful tale this time involving a princess all alone surrounded by all possible games but unhappy. She doesn't want to play with anything and she is always unsatisfied and unhappy.
Only the discovery of a new kid, with which she can plays, chats, will let her discover the joy of playing.
In this tale we notice many important aspects: the discovery of a place plenty of things in grade to present solitude. Company, friendship, real precious gifts that two parents can donates to her daughter; precious material things sometimes are not the most beautiful ones (they can keep the Princess in solitude), the importance of a life shared with others is the answer. Friends in grade to make happy the Princess are priceless although they are poor as in the case of this kid, accepted by all Princess' family.

The adventure of Nils Karlsson will be great you will see.
He is very little, like a thumb, and he lives in a mouse's house. The mouse-house is in the bedroom where Bertil a kid stays, and one day he materializes his presence. Bertil is alone and doesn't have a lot of company and friends so he is more than happy not only to discover that he has a new little friend but to become part of the magic. This fairy-tale is beautiful because it talks of friendship, sharing, donating, giving, playing, having fun, spending time together. One of the best fairy-tales of this book.

Samuel August is a very poor kid. In his dreams he imagines to start to breed rabbits. Two white rabbits.
He doesn't have money for this dream. He lives in a very poor house, but one day he met along the road a very rich man and thanks to a work he does for this man he receives a pay in grade to cover the cost of the rabbits.

Eva's tale is very sad because her mom is sick and she must stay with that two disgusting aunts. Another tale will treat the thematic of death.

All these fairy-tales are beautiful and they have as you will see profound meanings.

I highly suggest to everyone this book because it is spectacularly funny,  and at the same time it will permit to your children some moments of escapism without forgetting the important lessons that these tales wants to share with the readers of all ages.

I thank Iperborea for the physical copy of this beautiful book!

Anna Maria Polidori

Danish Fairy-Tales

Danish Fairy-Tales  in italian Fiabe Danesi is a book published by the italian publishing house Iperborea specialized in North European literature.  Let me add, I loved to read it so badly.
When I was little I was a voracious readers of fables and fairy-tales.
I remain of the idea that the mental structure of a good kid, his/her character, the good brain and the ethicity he/she will develop is a work done by parents thanks to imagination, dream, reality, and good fairy-tales and books as well.

Fables and fairy-tales are crucial for children because  they speak to the heart going deep in the soul and working in the morality and conscience of any individual little or adult.
A fairy-tale won't pass once it is told but will remain impressed as a tattoo in the soul of any person and with the time, when the kid will be adult in grade to let him show, in less creative ways, reality, ethical behaviors, the paradoxical side of life, constricting him to confront his life with our modern ogres, witches, terrible creatures in general. It's possible to be these characters as well because life is long and situations change of course and we are not angels all the times. At the same time, if during the childhood the kid has discovered the world of fairy-tales he will be in grade to sort out problems with more creativity. In moment of desperation fairy-tales will be helpful to find a good solution to the problems.
What it is sure is that a strong morality is waiting the kid or the adult behind each fairy-tale.

In this book created by Iperborea the attention is focused on the various most known Danish fairy-tales.
First of all I want to re-assure everyone. They have all a wonderful happy-end!

What I noticed is that they're all very ethical and the scheme is similar: good people will win against sly, dishonest, cruel men or creatures that they meet along their way.

Not only: there is great respect for old ones. Sometimes old people are seen as people in grade to sort out the problems of the youngest ones, because wise.

In general it's a fairy "buried, hidden" in a body of an old woman for seeing if the person in front of her is someone in grade to prove respect, decency for the old person. In this case, only in this case they will present him joy and happiness in this life, but the message is clear: being compassionate and educated pay always.

Sometimes we speak of a little elf in grade to being helpful.

What I found extremely interesting has been the connection of two beautiful fairy-tales connected with St. John's day a very important pagan feast as well. It's a very famous feast in our little corner of the world where we love to celebrate as well. On St.John's Day's Eve we pick up perfumed wild flowers, some walnuts leaves, three kind of waters, leaving the perfumed water outside for being blessed by St.John. The day of St.John we love to wash our body with this blessed perfumed water.

Said that, in these two fairy-tales St.John's day is lived as a day in which a field destructed by someone every year. A boy will discover that substantially three girls danced all the time in the field because once they lived there...It's a wonderful fairy-tale, you will see. The boy will break the curse.
Then there is the story of a gold flower captured by a bird with beautiful gold feathers...

There is blessed money ended in good hands, but also money ended in bad hands like in the fairy-tale of the little coin of luck. You know: sometimes you must preserve the littlest and most "insignificant" coin that you keep in your pocket, because that one could make the difference.

I found absolutely hilarious the fairy-tale of the wife, the cow and the husband. This cow was sold at the market. Three people paid the cow like if it would have been a goat. Everyone repeated to that poor lady that her cow was a goat and after all she started to believe it.
The husband of this wife not happy for the pay, but he will be in grade to recuperate all his money and much more. I laughed a lot reading it.
The box of desires is suggestive, like also the two tales of the sheet, and in the second fairy-tale the knapsack is included.

What also I loved so badly is that people portrayed in these fairy-tales are very good. Good people live a good life, bad people live a bad life.
If a treasure is discovered there is loyalty and people will divide money or will tell them that there is this money.
No one will do anything if not ethical and nothing against other people for damaging them apart witches, evil spirits etc. It's a very important message. Just for this reason these fairy-tales should be read and re-read considering the historical moment we are living in.

I found so sweet and beauty the tale of the three little pink pigs. The nephew was instructed by his old granny of selling the cow, but he returned home with three little pink pigs. He met in fact along his way an old lady and he "sold" her the cow for these three little pink pigs.
Although his granny at first very upset and desperate, she will discover that these three little pink pigs could make their fortune!

Go for this book if you have a kid and you want to tell him/her wonderful, serious, beautiful, sometimes scaring fairy-tales. And go for that ones as well. They won't sleep once, but then they will be fearless. Go for this book if, adult, you search for a beautiful world where at the end good people will win against bad people, for once :-)

Highly recommended.

I surely thank Iperborea for this wonderful fairy-tale book! I returned a little kid for some while! Thanks a lot!


Anna Maria Polidori