Tomten

In 1960, the Swedish publishing house Raben & Sjogren published a separate edition of the poem "Tomten" by the Swedish writer and poet Viktor Rydberg with illustrations by Harald Wiberg. Astrid Lindgren subsequently wrote a short story of the same name based on the poem, doing this especially for foreign publishers who wanted to publish this book with a free prose translation of Rydberg's poem. Five years later, Astrid Lindgren wrote another short story about the same character for the same purpose, this time based on the poem "Tomten and the Fox" by the Swedish writer and poet Karl Erik Forslund, which was also published as a separate edition with illustrations by the same artist. Both books have been reprinted many times in various languages ​​and have become classics of children's literature; they are being published in Russian for the first time.
Brownies, gnomes, nisse... Who is a tomten?
Tomten, tomte or tomtenisse (from Swedish tomt - a plot of land, a piece of land) is a fairy-tale character of Scandinavian folklore, guarding a certain plot of land (a farm, hamlet or estate) and everyone who lives or works on it. In this way, tomten differs from the Slavic domovoy (house guardian), although in other respects these fairy-tale creatures are very similar.
Unlike gnomes, who usually live underground (the word "gnome" comes from the Latin genomos - "underground dweller") and are known as greedy, selfish and even insidious creatures, tomtens are docile and unpretentious creatures, caring and hardworking assistants, kind guardians of the earth and all who live on it.
Astrid Lindgren's book "Tomten" was recognized as the best children's book of 2016 according to the online magazine "Papmambook" in the nomination "Best picture book".

Recommended reader age: 5+

Author: Astrid Lindgren
Artist: Wiberg Harald
Year of release: 2019
Publisher: Dobraya kniga
Pages: 32
Cover type: Hardcover
Dimensions: 205x265x8 mm
ISBN: 978-5-98124-685-2