Read this when
The Invisible Child (in Tales from Moominvalley)
Ninny went invisible because someone was cold to her for too long. 🫥 She got her face back the day she got angry. Moomins understood boundaries.
Who it's for
The Invisible Child is a short fable that makes emotional neglect literal: Ninny has faded away because her caretaker was cold and ironic.
Feelings it meets
What it is
'The Invisible Child' is a short story in Tove Jansson's 1962 collection Tales from Moominvalley. Too-ticky brings Ninny, a girl who has become invisible after being frightened by her former caretaker, to the Moomin family. With Moominmamma's remedy and patient warmth, Ninny gradually becomes visible again as she learns to play and assert herself.
Where to find it
Tales from Moominvalley is in print in English and at libraries; audiobook editions exist. Picture-book retellings of Moomin stories exist for younger readers; check your library.
Before you start
Heads up: Emotional neglect by a caregiver.
Age: Ages 6+
And if it is a fear you would dispel, the seat of that fear is in your heart and not in the hand of the feared.Kahlil Gibran, The Prophet, “On Freedom”
