The Hidden Folk

These very brief tales offer insight and warning: where you might find the hidden folk, how to treat them, and what might happen if you use them badly. From the flower fairies, readers learn how lily of the valley came to be, the uses of tulips and why parsley is bitter. A boy who mistreats the farm gnome called a "nisse" learns, tossed and muddied, why this is not a good idea. River sprites behind waterfalls teach fiddle-playing, but with a catch, and the selkie story is a familiar one to those who have seen The Secret of Roan Inish. These small, delightful tales are fabulously illustrated by Krommes's scratchboard pictures. She fills the linear patterns inherent in scratchboard design with rich and brilliant color, at once cozy and majestic. It's very easy to see elves, gnomes, and dwarves being comfortable in such places. (source note, references) (Folktales. 5-9)