Who Will Comfort Toffle: A Tale of Moomin Valley

Toffle is small, he's scared and the world is big. But there is always someone somewhere who is (or feels) smaller and who needs you. I read this book as a child (in original Swedish) and just thinking of it (I'm 40 by now) brings tears in my eyes and warmth into my heart. This book will be a lifetime companion to any person, adult or child,who has ever felt small, alone and frightened.

The shortest book by Tove Jansson constitutes a minor item in Her bibliography, but as they say, "small is beautiful". This miniature is poetry in its shining best. One of the best love stories I have ever read. Snip: (...)

From all great stories by Finnish author Tove Jansson Who will comfort Toffle? is my all-time favourite. I was given this wonderfully illustrated book as a liitle child and I was immediately surrounded by its magic. It is originally written in Swedish but for me a Finnish version is the true one - making such a big impact on me. Reason is clear: in Finnish language there is not separate words like she and he, and Toffle was mistaken as a woman searching for another woman by me already as a child. Actually the book has been dedicated to another woman, life companion of Tove Jansson, so my interpretation is not far from the truth. I would say that this book is a must in every lesbian's book shelf. It is the present I give to everybody I love anythere in the world. It is translated also into French, but I have a dream of having it translated it into Spanish in my life time. The English version is not out of print. I just recently sent it to a friend in Australia.

Tove Jansson's Moomin books are a treasure trove of wistful, slightly introspective fantasy characters for readers 8-14 years old. "Toffle" is an ideal introduction, combining some of the same characters (and Jansson's trademark sense of childhood's strange dislocating tenor) with beautiful, wild fullpage illustrations. The story is told in rhyme that (in translation anyway) sometimes slips into mere singsong.Toffle runs away from home but finds his own bravery when a bottle washes up on shore with a plea for help from another child, Miffle. There is a happy ending, of course, but what stays with you is Toffle's alienation from the adult world and his overcoming of those fears.