shelidonDecember 20, 2021Leave a Comment

Do you remember the Italian illustrator and author who went by Tony Wolf? I already showed you some pictures and told you the story of when the Woodland folks, particularly a couple of mice-ladies, came together in order to weave a winter coat for a couple of deers.

The next book in the series follows a flood (why is there always a flood, in children’s books?) and our Woodland friends find themselves in a strange realm, where there be gnomes. The gnomes become a part of the narrative and this second book, just like the first, follows a seasonal cycle of episodes and winter features a couple of them, particularly the one in which the doctor catches a cold and the one in which an expedition to gather berries gets lots in the snow.

My favourite is the second one, because it has adventure, mystery, danger, and a need for berries that are probably used to make schnapps or something.
A group of very desperate gnomes decides to go out anyway, regardless of the bad weather, because they really really really need berries and of course they prove themselves unable to come back. When they see that their friends are not returning, the a rescue team is called and we’re super lucky that they’re using birds who do not migrate.

They find the merry group camped out in the woods and of course the outcome is that they are saved and they are warmed up with what the author later tells us is “apple juice” (but we all know better, don’t we?). The rescue sledge originally featured a red cross but was later redrawn with a green four-leave clover. It’s only one of the many edits of this story, although the absolute worst came in the fairy book. But that’s a story for another time.