The Moomins and the Great Flood by Tove Jansson

This was the first of the Moomin books to be published, but it's more of a prelude to the main series of stories that start with Comet in Moominland. The artwork is somewhat different, but equally charming, and the story is a simpler narrative tale of Moomintroll and his Moomninmamma searching for the wayward Moominpappa through a series of strange and slightly surreal adventures before ending up in the place that would later be better known as Moominvalley.

I hadn't previously read this book, and was delighted to receive this lovely 80th anniversary edition as a Christmas present. It's a short read but a satisfying one, and it also includes an introductory foreword from Frank Cottrell-Boyce and some of Tove Jansson's original character notes.