When Tove Jansson arrived in New Orleans in 1972 for an extended visit, few people knew that a celebrity was in their midst. Her stay helped shape another surprise — namely, one of the best books about summer ever written.

The tale of how all this came about is worth revisiting as another summer unfolds and Jansson’s work attracts renewed attention.

Jansson, an artist and writer from Finland, coined a comic strip and related books about the Moomins — mythical creatures, a bit like hippos, whose compassion and sense of fun made them a hit with children. By the time she visited Louisiana, Jansson’s Moomin stories had been widely translated and found audiences in many parts of the world, including America.

But in middle age, Jansson started to focus on writing for adults, and she yearned f

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