Born in 1914 in Helsinki, Finland, Tove Jansson, the daughter of a sculptor and a designer, studied painting in Finland, Sweden, and France. In addition to her success as an artist, jansson wrote and illustrated many children's books as well as comic strips, plays, and books for adults. Known worldwide as the creator of the Moomin books, a series that echoes Scandinavian folklore, Jansson was awarded the Hans Christian Andersen Medal in 1966. Her books have been translated into more than thirty languages. She died in 2001.