Tove Jansson's 'Great Cold' and the warmth of midwinter literature

As adult readers, we could easily - and rashly - dismiss books written for children as whimsical and slight. Yet winter in children's literature is more often dangerous than cosy, whether in The Box of Delights, The Dark is Rising or The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. Tove Jansson's Midwinter Moominland is no exception. What does her work tell us about winters, literal and metaphorical, and how can we, as Katherine May asks, teach ourselves to winter?

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