Tove Jansson

Tove Marika Jansson (1914-2001) was a Swedish-speaking Finnish author, painter, illustrator, and comic strip artist. She grew up in Helsinki, Finland. Jansson received numerous awards for her work, including the prestigious Hans Christian Andersen Award, which was presented to her in 1966 by IBBY for her contributions to children's literature, as well as two gold medals from the Swedish Academy. Her "Moomins," originally written in Swedish, have been translated into 42 languages and have captured the hearts of both young and old around the world. Jansson passed away in 2001 at the age of eighty-six.