The Complete Encyclopedia of Elves, Goblins, And Other Little Creatures | 9780789208781 | Text by Pierre Dubois, Illustrations by Claudine and Roland Sabatier

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The Complete Encyclopedia of Elves, Goblins, And Other Little Creatures

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Trolls --Tore Kyrkjebo and Tallak Brenna tell such lies about the Trolls! Like all the other old people from the mountains, they see them everywhere! That may have been the case in years gone by, in the wildernesses of the world, in the animal and forest milieu that must have disturbed their minds. So thought the young Endred, who hails from a large town down in the valley where these legends have lost their meaning and are no longer believed in.The Trolls -- HEIGHT: A troll can be a giant or a dwarf: the size of a mountain, or no bigger than a hare. Sometimes they are invisible. APPEARANCE: The troll is rock, mountain, glacier, moss, lichen, roots, and gnarled tree all at the same time. A Troll may be confused with mushroom stumps, with swarms of insects, or with the bestiaries of childood. They are long-haired, unkempt, and rough, with eyes like stars, brilliant stones, or like stagnant water, depending on their moods.

The Liderc --ACTIVITIES: His only goal is to exhaust [through heart sickness] his conquest to the point of death. Hungarian legends (see Magyarsáy Neprajza by Zoltán Szabolcxi) also speak of the existence of certain domestic lidercs, similar to hairy Gnomes; they offer their help to farmers, but it is dangerous to accept it, for once they have accomplished the task on the spot, they immediately demand another one, which they carry out even more swiftly. They must then be found impossible tasks, like bringing water or sand in a sieve or a colander, otherwise, once they have no more work to do, there is a risk that they will take apart the house, the outbuildings, and the entire settlement, stone by stone.

The Drac --What mystery pervades a well!The water lives so far A neighbor from another world --Emily DickinsonOne day, beautiful Janneton went down to the river to bathe. The Drac, Lord Draci, finding her to his liking, abducted her and married her in his beautiful underwater castle. After six months, seeing that she was growing bored, the king of the waves attached a gold chain to her left foot. It was as fine as a single hair, but as strong as a bar of steel, and seven hundred leagues in length. Thus she could come and go, and run about in the liquid meadows. Each evening, when the waters sky was growing dark, shed sing:The Drac has stolen me awayAnd has bound me by the footWith a gold chainDrac, pull on the chainBear me away into the depths...

The Jouroupari --HEIGHT: A little taller than a man.APPEARANCE: The Jouroupari look hideous and repulsive, like the vilest creature you might imagine rising from the blackest pool. He ha a thick, knotted mass of fibrous hair. He has a face reminiscent of a toad, with globular eyes, running nostrils, a mouth distorted by escessively fericous laughter, protruding fangs, and steaming, warty gills.

The Complete Encyclopedia of Elves, Goblins, And Other Little Creatures

Text by Pierre Dubois, Illustrations by Claudine and Roland Sabatier
Size: 9 x 12"
Cloth, 376 pages
200 full color illustrations
Published 2005
ISBN: 978-0-7892-0878-1
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$39.95

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This imaginatively illustrated and magical encyclopedia of elves, goblins, and other mysterious creatures that share our planet contains a delightful collection of folklore, histories and stories.

Note: Content may not be suitable for younger children (some adult topics, some nudity).

This giant, gorgeously illustrated encyclopedia documents the lives of elves, goblins, hobgoblins, gnomes, imps, pixies, and sprites with whimsy and wonder. The most extensive volume on the various types of little creatures and fairyfolk, The Complete Encyclopedia of Elves, Goblins and Other Little Creatures illustrates each unique species with charming, luminous, detailed drawings, and includes the folklore and fairy tales collected through extensive research.

The first half of this volume is devoted to the various species of elves, a species that has existed since the dawn of time. These creatures flourish in both the daytime and the nighttime, undoubtedly the most complex and mysterious species of the fairy world. Some of them are well-known like Sylphs, Selkies and Will-o’-the-Wisps, while other more obscure elves are revealed here for the first time.The second half leads us through a vast variety of the invisible and sometimes frightening creatures who haunt hollow and attic, forest and ocean. If you already knew about Goblins, Gnomes, Sprites, Imps, and Brownies, this book helps you discover dozens of regional and local varieties of magical creatures as well—some of them can even be found in your own attic or garden!

As a result of twenty years of patient research, the author, Pierre Dubois, has created portraits of hundreds of species. For each one, he wrote a tale starting from authentic anecdotes, spiced with spirited humor. An identification sheet presents the appearance of each variety, its morals, manners, and habits; its food and clothing; and the places and countries where they might be found. The illustrations of Roland Sabatier portray each strange and wonderful creature and the marvels and mysteries of the habitats they live in. An excellent book for a family, this encyclopedia will delight people of all ages—and all sizes.

Pierre Dubois was born in 1945 in the Ardennes region of France. He expresses his love of the fantastic through television; he is a host on France 3 Bretagne and a scenario writer of teleplays. Claudine and Roland Sabatier are very well-known illustrators for children’s books in France; they live near Paris and collaborate on textbooks and children’s fiction.