Welcome to the second Children’s Novel Club pick: Comet in Moominvalley / ムーミン谷の彗星!
Start date: February 21st
Join the Children’s Novel Club here! 
View this book on Natively!
Summary - Japanese
長い尾をひいたおそろしい彗星が地球にむかってくるというので、いつも静かなムーミン谷は大さわぎに。ムーミントロールは仲よしのスニフと遠くの天文台へ出かけ、彗星をしらべてくることに。道中、スナフキンや可憐なスノークのお嬢さんと友だちになるけれども、ぐんぐん彗星は近づいてきて……。
Summary - English
When Moomintroll learns that a comet will be passing by, he and his friend Sniff travel to a mountain observatory to consult the Professors. Along the way, they have many adventures, but the greatest adventure of all awaits them when they learn that the comet is headed straight for their home in Moominvalley.
Source: Amazon US
How it works
We create a reading schedule with a set number of pages to work through each week. Each week, we create a new discussion thread for that week’s reading. In those threads, we discuss everything from vocabulary and grammar to the characters and story.
How do I join in?
- Get yourself a copy of the book (see “Where to purchase” below)
- Click on the participation poll below to let us know you’re planning to join in
- Set this thread to “watching” so you get updates on the group (go just past the last post in this thread, click on the grey box that says “normal” or “tracking” and change this to “watching”)
Where to purchase
Physical (partial furigana): Amazon JP | CDJapan
Physical (full furigana): Amazon JP | CDJapan
Digital (partial furigana only): Bookwalker (affiliate link)
Reading Schedule
TBD
Resources and Links
- Jisho is a popular online Japanese-English dictionary.
- ichi.moe is a tool for parsing out sentences. You can type/paste in a whole sentence, and it will try to break it down into individual parts.
Discussion Rules
- Please use spoiler tags for events in the current chapter(s) and refrain from discussing content in future chapters.
- When asking for help, please mention the chapter and page number.
- Don’t be afraid to ask questions, even if they initially seem embarrassing. All of us are here to learn.
- To you lurkers out there: Join the conversation; it’s fun!
Membership
Will you be reading with us?
- Yes
- I’ll read at my own pace
- Maybe
- Not this time
- Is “book” a food?
Which version will you be reading?
9 Likes
Start Date Poll
I initially set the start date as February 14th, which would be one week after the end of the previous book. However, this start date does not include a buffer/break week. Would you rather start immediately, or have a break?
Start Date Poll
- February 14th (no break)
- February 21st (1-week break)
- No preference
Poll will remain open for a week.
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I’m very excited I haven’t experienced moomins outside of seeing merch and thinking they were cute
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Soon we’ll all be moomin experts 
I’ve read a couple of the books in English, and I watched a bit of the 90s cartoon in Japanese, so I have a bit of familiarity. (I think I actually read the comet one in English but I don’t really remember what happens, so it’s a perfect time to reread!)
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I’ve never read any Moomin but I watched the movie based on this a little while back and it was absolutely delightful.
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There used to be a Moomin tv series running when I was a child, Norwegian dub, every Saturday morning, I think. My childhood (ending theme):
Lyrics
Hvem gjemmer seg inne i magiske hatter? Jo, Mummi
Hvem møter de merkeligste små hattifnatter? Jo, Mummi
Og mamma’n og pappa’n og Mumrik og My
De tar deg med ut på en eventyrsky med Mummi, med Mummi
Nå har vi nådd slutten, her er slutt-truddelutten om Mummi
Men hold på humøret, snart får du mer høre om Mummi
Vi sier adjø helt til neste gang, og avslutter nå med vår mummitrollsang om Mummi, om Mummi, om Mummi
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Yes, this is the show I watched a bit of!! I believe it was animated by a Japanese animation studio or something, and so it ran concurrently in Japan. Maybe that helps to explain why Japan also loves Moomin!
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Seems like there was a Moomin boom, apparently 
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Intro for the Japanese version:
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I’m the exact same!! I’m excited for the book :))
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My only experience with moomin is this meme:
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I think you’re our cult leader now
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A moomin reference appeared in my unrelated manga 
Screenshot from Medalist vol 7 (Not really a spoiler)
Which reminded me. Despite having not yet consumed any moomin media, I am in fact in love with Snufkin 
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One’s Japanese pop culture education is not complete until one has studied Moomin. Come join the Moomin book club and become a true weeb.
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Fondly remember the Moomins, actually. It used to be on the telly when I was quite wee. I’ve been out of the habit of practicing my Japanese for a long time, so this should be interesting …
6 Likes
Well… Since someone 
has decided to make a perfect tie, according to the rules of this club that I just made up, I get to decide which option wins. I think we’ll start February 21st, so if anyone is reading along with the current book that gives them some extra time to finish. Plus, I still haven’t ordered my book 
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20 more days until our departure to Moominvalley
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