The first of these wonderful old tales is ‘The Little Old Lady from Around the Bend’. She is known by this name because that’s where she lives, and she’s a little crazy. Many years ago, when she was very young, she was poor and had no mum or dad. One day, on her way to collect water from the nearby stream, she met a turtle who was blocking her way. The turtle very kindly moved for her when asked, but that meant she owed the turtle a favour. Little did she know that the turtle was a troll!

A few months later an old man (who was really a young man – trolls are tricky, aren’t they?) came to visit her. He said it was time for her to return the favour. He asked her to come and help his wife, who was sick with a bellyache. And he said she would be very well paid. How could she refuse? But a troll is a troll – and not to be trusted.

The second story, ‘The Golden Ball of Yarn’, is set high up in the mountains in a land far away, where an old man is felling trees for a living. When he stops to rest for a moment, an amazing thing happens. A ball of yarn as golden as the sun comes rolling down the mountainside and stops at his feet. Looking up at the mountain, he sees a lovely young girl who asks him to bring her yarn back. Her voice is so sweet that he cannot help but oblige. But, on returning down the mountainside and looking back, the girl has vanished. Maybe, he thinks, she is one of the hidden folk – a huldra – and maybe he shouldn’t have touched that magic golden ball.

There is so much more to these two stories that I can tell you in this short review. But I can say that this book, with its magical and sumptuous illustrations, is one of the best and most exciting I have read from this publisher.

Reviewed by Merle Morcom

Age Guide 5+