Unseen Moomin art to open in London
Previously unseen drawings by Moomins author Tove Jansson to go on show in London
Wednesday, 16 September 2026
Warm-up
- What story characters did you love as a child?
- Have you visited an art exhibition? Where?
- Do you prefer books with pictures? Why or why not?
Vocabulary
- exhibition
- a public show of art or other objects
- illustration
- a picture made for a book or story
- sketch
- a quick drawing with simple lines
- draft
- a first version of a text or picture
- curator
- a person who plans and looks after a show in a gallery
- translate
- to change words from one language to another
- theme
- the main idea in a book, film or artwork
- remote
- far from towns or people; hard to reach
Reading
Unseen drawings by Finnish artist and writer Tove Jansson will go on show in London. The exhibition Tove Jansson and her Families opens in November at the Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration. It is billed as the UK's first to focus on her illustrations.
More than 100 items will be displayed, including sketches, photographs, films and letters. Original art from her first Moomins book, The Moomins and the Great Flood, will appear in the show. Early booklets she made at age seven will also be on display.
A new sketch shows Moominpappa with a giant shell. It was a draft cover for Moominpappa at Sea, when the family moves to a remote island. Guest curator Paul Gravett and Jansson's niece, Sophia Jansson, say the themes speak to children and adults.
Her Moomin books, made between 1945 and 1977, have sold up to 30 million. They have been translated into more than 60 languages and inspired many films and shows. Fans can see how her ideas grew from simple drawings into famous stories.
Comprehension
- Where will the exhibition open?
- When does the exhibition open?
- How many items will be shown?
- Which first Moomins book will show original art?
- What does the new sketch of Moominpappa show?
Grammar focus
How questions
Use How + helping verb + subject + main verb to ask about the way something happens. Put How first, then a helping word (do/did/will), then the person or thing. (Examples constructed.)
- Children asked, "**How did the artist draw** the Moomin sketches?"
- Visitors wondered, "**How will the drawings be shown** at the centre?"
Grammar exercise
Choose the correct option in each question.
- Yesterday, (How did fans / Fans did how) find the booklets?
- Last week, (Visitors did how / How did visitors) see the sketches?
- In 1945, (How did she / She did how) make the first Moomin?
- In November, (How will visitors / Visitors will how) view the show?
- At school, (How do children / Children do how) learn about Moomins?
Discussion
- Why do people still enjoy the Moomins today?
- Which theme in the books do you like most? Why?
- Would you visit this exhibition? What would you seek first?
- Should children and adults share the same stories?
Vocabulary, reading, and exercises with instant feedback