Introduction to Tove Jansson: The soul behind Moominvalley is its author, a famous Finnish female writer and illustrator, winner of the 1966 Sixth International Hans Christian Andersen Children's Literature Award - Tove Jansson Tove Jansson (1914-2001). Her father is a sculptor and her mother is a painter. Perhaps it was this unique family environment that led her to embark on the path of art.