Tove and the Island with No Address

Soloy (A Tulip in Winter) doesn’t so much directly recount an episode from the life of Moomin creator Tove Jansson (1914–2001) as contemplate Jansson’s world, a place that here seems to morph between the real and the imaginary. When Tove is seven, she, her parents, and her baby sibling voyage to the island “with no address” where they summer every year. “There were very few people on the island but no shortage of things to do. Dangerous things, boring things, digging things, exploring things....” Digital spreads in stormy earth tones employ splashes of red for Tove’s boots and startling yellow for her hair. The first morning, she awakens early to visit her secret friend, a small, hairy, grotto-dwelling creature whose five obstreperous, shell-size daughters cause endless trouble. Tove takes the five onionlike beings to the beach, but they’re almost immediately blown away in a gale. The adventure channels the darkly mischievous tone for which Jansson’s works are beloved (“She tucked the girls into her pocket, where they couldn’t bite her”) and re-creates the strange, wild atmosphere of the island in this windblown tribute to the creator’s artistry and sensibility. Ages 4–7. Agent: Jackie Kaiser, Westwood Creative Artists. (Oct.)