> They come through it wiser and more in touch with themselves.

Are you sure? Or is this just projecting the ideals we think childrens books are supposed to have? How is Moominmamma changed after the ordeal on the lonely island? - we don’t know, because the next book is about missing her and about how her absence affects the characters left behind.

The darker threads in the Moomin books are not hidden. It is all in plain view.

Like the squirrel which is too absent minded to seek shelter when the hard frost hits. Guess what - it freezes to death. They give it a nice burial though.