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Tove Jansson and the Crossover Continuum
- The Lion and the Unicorn
- Johns Hopkins University Press
- Volume 33, Number 3, September 2009
- pp. 362-375
- 10.1353/uni.0.0472
- Article
- Additional Information
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This article contributes to developing research on crossover literature by investigating Finland’s Tove Jansson as a cross-writer. Harju identifes complex themes in her work that may draw and link an all-ages audience—existential queries, expositions on the mystery of time and death, and journeys to self-discovery—and discuss the parallels Jansson explores between children’s and adult’s experiences in two works: a novel “for children,” Moominpappa at Sea, and an “adult” novel, The Summer Book. Both texts reflect “the crossover continuum,” a philosophy of continuance between children’s and adult experiences that encourages intergenerational connections.