Astrid Lindgren’s Tomten Tales: The Tomten and The Tomten and the Fox

The Tomten is an old, old tomten who lives at an old, old farm deep in the forest. The Tomten watches over things at night when the human family is sleeping. The Tomten checks in on all the animals — the cows, the sheep, the horses, the chickens — but the people never see him. He always works at night when the people are sleeping, but the children see his footprints in the snow, so they leave porridge for him every day. One night a fox comes to the farm in the dark of the night. The fox is hungry, but the Tomten sees the fox and, in order to protect the chickens, shares his porridge with the fox.

Astrid Lindgren tells tales of a Scandinavian mythological character sometimes called a nisse or tomte or tomtenisse in these two stories. He is a charming character, found in much of Scandinavian folklore, who will captivate American children as well. The enchanting illustrations by Harald Wiberg will delight youngsters and make the stories truly memorable to a whole new group of children. This is a lovely introduction to the tomtenisse.