Moominpappa at Sea facts for kids
First edition
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| Author | Tove Jansson |
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| Original title | Pappan och havet |
| Country | Finland |
| Language | Swedish |
| Series | Moomins |
| Genre | Novel |
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Publication date
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1965 |
| Preceded by | Tales from Moominvalley |
| Followed by | Moominvalley in November |
Moominpappa at Sea (in Swedish, it's called Pappan och havet, which means "The father and the sea") is the seventh book in the popular Moomin series. It was written by the famous Finnish author Tove Jansson. This book mainly focuses on the character of Moominpappa.
The story was first published in 1965. Later, parts of Moominpappa at Sea were used for episodes 25 and 26 of the 1990 Moomin TV series. The book's original Swedish title is a bit like the famous novel The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway.
About the Story
Moominpappa feels bored with his life in the peaceful Moomin Valley. He wants to find a new adventure. So, he decides to move his family to a lighthouse out in the big, wide sea. He also hopes this new place will inspire him to write an exciting novel about the ocean.
When they arrive, the lighthouse island is very quiet and lonely. The only person living there is a grumpy fisherman. Moomintroll, Moominpappa's son, makes friends with some unusual characters. He becomes friends with The Groke, a mysterious and often scary creature, and also with the sea horses.
Moominmamma misses their cozy home in Moomin Valley very much. Since no flowers can grow on the rocky lighthouse island, she paints beautiful flowers on the walls of the Moominhouse to make it feel more like home. Later, the family discovers a secret: the unfriendly fisherman is actually the lighthouse keeper who ran away because he felt too lonely.
Nature and the sea are very important parts of this story. Moominpappa tries hard to understand the ocean and its many secrets. Many strange and unexplained things happen on the island, making the adventure even more exciting.
Where the Story Happens
The map at the beginning of Moominpappa at Sea shows the island in the Gulf of Finland. It even gives exact coordinates: Latitude 60° 7' 12" North and Longitude 25° 45' 50" East.
To help you imagine it, this spot is about 42 kilometers (26 miles) east of Helsinki, the capital city of Finland. It's also about 11 kilometers (7 miles) south of the Finnish coast. However, there isn't actually an island at this exact spot in real life.
It is believed that Tove Jansson used a real lighthouse as her inspiration. The Söderskär Lighthouse near Porvoo, Finland, is thought to be the model for the lighthouse island in the book.
