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

Book excerpt: 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 humour. 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. AUTHORS 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 ILLUSTRATIONS 400 colour *