moomin, mymble and little my

My week's worth of vintage children's book illustrations continues (after Pip's example) with Tove Jansson's The Book about Moomin, Mymble and Little My from 1952.

I read this the other night to baby bear - the story was too long and complicated but wow, at 18 months she was fascinated by the pictures, remembered the book and wanted it the next night as well. Perhaps it was the cutouts on each page so you can peek forward to the next illustration and once you've turned the page look back towards the previous (and even the one before that in places). Very graphic, strong lines and planes of colour - a wonderful book. I bought it in Finland in 1999 as a present for myself.