talk

Yesterday I gave a talk at Simon Fraser University on book design and publishing practices — while I was researching I found a new moomin app. Of course there are moomin apps, why didn't I think of it! 

Today I'll be at the Alcuin Society's symposium on the printed and the electronic book called The New/Old Book. Chipp Kidd and Marian Bantjes will be speaking. It's been a while since I took a day off for professional practices.

This time last year I gave a small talk on the same topic at the Adobe Max Education Summit in LA. It's an interesting time in publishing. Although I personally prefer simple, tangible print books I completely see the value in electronic books. I think there will need to be a lot of new content created to develop the form of the electronic book, rather than just adapting traditional books to the screen. This is a good time to be a student, I think. Confusing, but fun.

Snufkin hats

Snufkin, the vagabond and philosopher, arrives each spring to Moominvalley to set up camp, fish, and comfort the small creatures of Moominvalley. He is always wearing a green hat, sometimes decorated with flowers and sometimes with feathers.

If you would like to make your own Snufkin hat, you can use this Pilgrim's hat template, using green paper instead of black. Then decorate. Instead of gluing the headband, we cut notches like this.

Hello, Summer

Moomin e-cards

Hm, I was looking for something else and stumbled on some free moomin e-cards. Lucky duck.

November in Moominvalley

Today's November week post: a whole book about November. And it's fantastic!

November

It's November. The days are shorter, the mornings are darker. Hallowe'en's over. Christmas isn't quite yet here (and we have an advent calendar craft coming up soon). But there is still fun to be had.

Instead of one Saturday post, let's do 7 short ones, one for each day this week to celebrate this most serious of months.

(Drawing by Tove Jansson).

The Summer Book

We love the stories and illustrations of Tove Jansson, and we were lucky enough to grow up reading her Moomin tales.

This week on BBC 7, you can listen to her 1972 novel The Summer Book. The program will be available for seven days after the initial broadcast. However, the best way to experience the book is to read it.

The Summer Book is not a children's book. It's about a young girl and her grandmother spending a summer together on a small island in Finland. This is a good summary and review: Together they amble over coastline and forest in easy companionship, build boats from bark, create a miniature Venice, write a fanciful study of local bugs. They discuss things that matter to young and old alike: life, death, the nature of God and of love. It's a very beautiful book. This much-loved copy is a Christmas present from Judith to Robin.