Book Recommendation: The Moomins Series by Tove Jansson

The co-creator of this blog is probably going to laugh when she sees this post, but I would nevertheless like to recommend a series of children's books that is very near and dear to me. The Moomins series was begun in 1945 by a Swedish-speaking Finnish woman. The series details the often quite whimsical adventures of a family of hippopotamus-shaped creatures who live in a fictional place in Northern Finland called Moominvalley.

I would recommend this series primarily to elementary school students and older students struggling with reading comprehension; however, the Moomin books are written so that they can be enjoyed by people of all ages. I know of adults living in Scandinavia and in Finland who often revisit the beloved stories they enjoyed as children. I myself didn't discover the Moomins until my junior year of high school, but I found them rewarding nevertheless.

The Moomins series can teach American children a lot about Nordic culture and also serve as a gentle reminder to respect all of Earth's living creatures, from plants to animals to the waters and forests they call home. The prose is also quite beautiful, and often evokes vivid mental images of glowing sunsets and magical nights. For a better idea of what I'm talking about, see the quotes I've included below.


“Now dusk fell again. It spread very slowly and carefully, to give the day ample time to go to bed. Small clouds were strewn all over the western sky like dabs of pink whipped cream. They were reflected on the ocean, which rested calm and smooth and looked quite harmless.” - Moominpappa’s Memoirs

“The sun had set, but now in June there was of course no darkness to speak of. The night was pale and dreamy and full of magic.” - Moominsummer Madness. 

“The sand was raked into smooth little ripples under the clear, green water, and the rocks were warm in the sunshine. The wind had gone home to sleep, and there was no horizon to be seen, only a great transparency of light.” - Moominpappa’s Memoirs

“One evening the western sky was on fire with the most beautiful sunset she had ever seen. It was a tumult of red, orange, pink, and yellow flames, filling the clouds above the dark and stormy sea with smoldering colors. The wind was blowing from the south-west towards the island from the sharp, coal-black line of the horizon.

  

As she gazed at the sky, the evening light crept up the wall, lighting up the flowers in her garden. They seemed to be alive and shining. The garden opened out, and the gravel path with its curious perspective suddenly seemed quite right and to lead straight to the verandah. Moominmamma put her paws round the truck of the tree; it was warm with sunshine and she felt that the lilac was in bloom.” - Moominpappa at Sea.

Reading List: France, A Love Story and My Favorite French Blog

Alright, so the dream, or at least it's abbreviated version, went something like this: I was going to live in a modest little house in Southern France, near Provence when I grew up, and it was going to be amazing.

The pursuit of the dream went a little something like this: I dedicated myself to learning all about France, its language, its culture, and its history for about a year. I dreamt of the house, and came up with floor plans, and started zeroing in on the city I'd want to live in. (I never quite decided.)

How the dream began, and how it ended, has to do with a series of pastel-colored books with really horrible pictures on the front. The series is about different countries. I started with the Canada book, which had an unflattering picture of an industrial plant somewhere in Quebec, and made my way through the France book, whose picture I can't quite recall. I started to fall in love somewhere between the History and Culture chapters, and the deal was sealed during the People chapter. The dream ended, or at least faded into something better, somewhere between the end of the Sweden book and the start of the Finland book.

In any case, here are some of the amazing books and resources I found on that leg of the journey:

France, A Love Story: This taught me a lot about French culture and the people of France. http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/124791.France_A_Love_Story

French Word A Day: This blog also taught me a lot about French culture, and about French language. http://french-word-a-day.typepad.com/

I wish you success on your journey into French! Click on the foreign language tag for more language-learning resources, and be sure to check out the Learning About Culture segment of our blog for more about other peoples, nations, and cultures.

Learning About Culture: Native Americans and First Nation Peoples

It is important to learn about Native Americans and First Nation Peoples because they were living in North America before European settlers ever set eyes on North America. They taught the first settlers of the Americans everything they knew about farming and surviving in the North American winters.

Native peoples took from the land but never abused the land. Native peoples worshipped the land, the stars, and the Earth. They gave thanks for their food and everything they took from the land. Native Americans originally lived all over North America, but now unfortunately live mainly on reservations and in the northern parts of Canada due to the many injustices done unto them by earlier generations.

Native American culture is fascinating. My grandmother loves Native American culture because she "woke up one day and went to a Pow Wow. I went there and I saw the dancing, I saw the paintings. I listened to the stories and I began to love the culture. I began to read up on their culture, traditions, and customs and made friends in the Pow Wow circuit, including Johnny Tiger Jr. and Ken Rainbow Cougar Edwards."

Here are some links so you can learn more about the beautiful cultures of Native peoples:

History.com: http://www.history.com/topics/native-american-history/native-american-cultures

Native American Heritage Month official site: http://nativeamericanheritagemonth.gov/

First Nations people in Canada: https://www.aadnc-aandc.gc.ca/eng/1307460755710/1307460872523

First Peoples of Canada site: http://firstpeoplesofcanada.com/fp_groups/fp_groups_overview.html

First Nations Development Institute: http://www.firstnations.org/

Learning About Culture Spotlight: Western Europe

Western Europe has the distinction of being one of the most influential, if not the most influential, political body in the recent history of humanity. From the Roman Empire, to the British Empire, to the region's involvement in some of the most devastating wars ever to be waged across the surface of our planet, Western Europe is a region undoubtedly rich in both historical heritage and future potential.

Here are some sites where you can learn more about this intriguing part of the world:

(Please note that definitions of what is 'Western Europe' vary widely. The narrowest include only the United Kingdom, France, Ireland, the Netherlands, and Belgium, while the most inclusive count eastern nations like Greece and Turkey.)

Germany: https://www.deutschland.de/en

United Kingdom: http://www.bbc.com/

France: http://www.france.fr/en.html

Belgium: http://www.belgium.be/en/

Ireland: http://www.ireland.com/en-us and http://www.discoverireland.ie/

The Netherlands/Holland: http://www.government.nl/ and http://www.holland.com/us/tourism.htm

Austria: http://www.austria.info/uk and http://www.bka.gv.at/site/3327/Default.aspx

Switzerland: http://www.myswitzerland.com/en-us/home.html and http://www.admin.ch/index.html?lang=en&

Italy: http://www.italia.it/en/home.html

Portugal: http://www.portugal.gov.pt/en.aspx and http://www.visitportugal.com/en

Learning about Culture Spotlight: The Nordic Nations

The five Nordic nations consist of Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Iceland, and Finland and all of their corresponding territories and land holdings. The Nordic countries lead the world charts in categories like education and gender equality. The world has a lot to learn from these five spectacular nations.

Here are links to their official sites, where you can learn more about each:

Denmark: http://denmark.dk/

Sweden: http://sweden.se/

Norway: http://www.norway.org/

Iceland: http://www.iceland.is/

Finland: http://finland.fi/Public/default.aspx?