Swedish children's literature other appreciated books; most of them were filmed, some with good results that have led to them being continuously rerun on Swedish television. One of the few fantasy writers in Swedish literature was Tove Jansson (1914–2001), who wrote her stories of the Moomins in nine books and four picture books between 1946 and 1993. Jansson was from Finland's Swedish-speaking minority, and wrote in Swedish. The Moomins are trolls that live in an economically and politically independent state, without any material necessities. Perhaps this explains the vast popularity the Moomins have enjoyed in many different countries. The Moomin books have been
Tove Jansson her father, Viktor Jansson, was a sculptor, and her mother, Signe Hammarsten-Jansson, was a Swedish-born graphic designer and illustrator. Tove's siblings also became artists: Per Olov Jansson became a photographer and Lars Jansson an author and cartoonist. Whilst their home was in Helsinki, the family spent many of their summers in a rented cottage on an island near Borgå, 50 km east of Helsinki. Jansson studied at University College of Arts, Crafts and Design, in Stockholm in 1930–33, the Graphic School of the Finnish Academy of Fine Arts in 1933–1937, and finally at L'École d'Adrien Holy and L'École des Beaux-Arts