Gnomes

In 1976 a delightful book was published in the Netherlands. It was titled "Leven en werken van de Kabouter". Luckily for us, the Abrams publishing company found this book and translated it to the english version, titled "Gnomes", in 1977. Twenty five years later, a special edition has been released to the public.

For the art lover, this book is filled with wonderful illustrations! It was illustrated by Rien Poortvliet, and I will be doing an article on him later, for those who are interested.

This book is a must have for any fantasy lover. It is formatted as a diary of Gnome facts and sightings. Many of the illustrations are accompanied by hand-written notes. The book covers all aspects of Gnome life, from birth to marriage, and on to death. Each subject is carefully organized, and written about fully!

The book also briefly covers other mythological figures, of a more sinister nature. They discuss the conection that gnomes have with these creatures of darkness.

At the end of the book are a few fairy tales about gnomes, these brought back many fond memories of my father reading them to me before bed time!

One small note of caution; there is some nudity, and some graphic images of injuries, so I would not reccommend this book for small children. Parents, use your own judgement and preview before purchasing!

I love this book. The illustrations are absolutely
beautiful, and the facts and small entries
throughout the book are fantastic.
From how they live, to different types,
this book tells everything you could want
to know about gnomes. Some parts of the book
are so well written you get a glimmer
of hope in your heart that maybe they really
do exist. I would reccomend this
book to anyone. This is so much more
than a childrens book.

I absolutely love this book. I want every morsel of it to be fact, rather than fiction. I want it to be real. It's beautiful, well written... and makes a great story time for children. I really love this book!!

I was fortunate enough to get a mint-condition copy of this out-of-print book, a sequal to the New York Times #1 bestseller masterpiece GNOMES. While that book was more of an encyclopedia format, this is an actual storybook (though still complete with pages and pages of informarion on Gnomes' lives), and a damned good one at that. In fact, this is on my Top Three list of favorite books of all time. The illustrations are what would probably attract most people, as they easily rival the best of Alan Lee and Brian Froud. But take time to actually (and throughly) read it; you will be stunned at it's ability to make you think a great deal. One of the few books I have ever read to truly deserve the word "magical".

If you own the first book of Gnomes by these talented authors and illustrators, then you really do need to find a copy of this one. It has the same magic and attention to detail, but gives you a greater insight into the lives of these little busy creatures, with just the right amount of whimsy.

There is more focus on different tales from various parts of the world, and certainly more of the fabulous drawings. Again this book is worth the purchase for the illustrations alone.

This is a wonderful book that I read when I managed to locate a copy in my public Library. I'd give a nut to actually acquire my own copy. If I don't find one soon you can be damn sure that I'll pinch the library's copy

This unique and eye opening saga into the history of Vernor's, reveals a facinating evolution from a doctor prescribed tummy soother, to "Detroit's Drink". Lawerence L. Rouch is an increadible writer who brings to life the colorful and amazing history of more than just a soft drink, but of the city of Detroit itself. From "The Original Ginger Ale's" post civil war beginings to its current position in the highly competive soft drink market of today, the Vernor story truly is one of a kind.

This is a super book, intelligent and attractive as well. As a child, I loved Vernor's Ginger Ale, and I enjoyed reading this book tremendously! The history of the company is well written and interesting, and the numerous illustrations are varied and delightful. I especially appreciated the chronology and bibliography that balance the cool graphics with authoritative research. Well done!!

Wow! This book takes me back to my childhood in MI. It's so richly illustrated & so fun to read! I love it. I am going to buy it for all my friends and family for XMAS. What a great Michigan read!

"The Gnome's Engine," sequel to "Goblin Moon," returns us to the pseudo-18th century world where "Enlightenment" beliefs hold sway, and "magic" is magnetics. Sera, Eliste and Jed have gone to New Imbria to escape the Duchess, little realising that another adventure has just begun. Incorporating some dangling threads (that due to her tight writing did not seem to dangle) from its predecessor, "The Gnome's Engine" takes the reader through several separate plots: the Duchess' revenge, the slave trade in Orania, the mystery of the hobgoblins, and of course the mystery of the engine itself. The tone of the work varies slightly from "Goblin Moon" in its freshness, apropos to the freshness of New Imbria (the Americas). Readers will be glad to see the dashing cavalier Lord Francis Love Skelbrooke in full flair as well - and may even learn the true colour of his hair! All in all an excellent sequel from an excellent author.

Edgerton follows the story line from Goblin Moon in this volume. The plot is a little weird sometimes, and you're not always sure of what is going on, but her incredible style is still very good and makes up for all the faults of the plot. Read it, please

This 96 page d20 sourcebook is chock full of goodies with the latest version of Dungeons and Dragons. The game manual presents several cultures for Gnomes, as well as subraces where each of those cultures may be applied to.

Unlike those little lawn gnomes that always end up in the wrong spot... Gnomes: Masters of Illusion, the second product in the City Guide Cultures series is yours to take home now!

Unlike the stature of the race in question, this is not a small product. Following in our line started with Moon Elves, this product provides 3 cultures to explore the Gnomes, with wonderous bits of magic and mundane details.

Imperial Gnomes - Korean/Chinese flavored gnomes. (No soy sauce jokes here). Fit for intergration in any Asian campaign, or dropped fully into your normal campaign world.
Mountain Gnomes - tinkering gnomes (although not to the point of some well known tinkers.)
Hill Gnomes - these gnomes are more in line with the classic gaming image of illusionist/prankster gnomes.

Numerous Subrace combinations, and rules to design your own;Dozens of Illusion (Glamer) spells;Magical Pipes;Hordes of new mundane equipment, including many alchemical creations;8 Prestige Classes;Over 50 spells;diseases;A full pantheon of sample gnome deities to use, abuse, or disapprove.
No pointy red hats here!

I own a copy of this book and think it is awesome. Once I started reading it, I couldn't stop. I like the way Johnny made jokes- I understood them. I also liked how the book took place near where I live- every one else thought it was cool too. Me and my friends have already gone looking for gnomes. Sometimes, I would read it during silent reading in class, and I would burst out laughing. Then, everyone would turn around and look at me. Some of my friends have already borrowed the book from me and say that it is way cool. Everyone should read this book because it is way funny and you will laugh for hours. This is an awesome book that I am going to read FOREVER!!! Thank You For Writing This Book- Your favorite reader

I thought Johnny And The Gnome was fabulous. It was a humorous adventure that was hard to lay down. It was superbly written. I especially liked the way it showed a "normal" family life; with sibling rivalry. I think everyone should read it.

Once you enter the land of the Gnome, you'll be lost in it! Using the Gnome as a vehicle, the author delivers a plethora of clever epigrams on myriad topics. All of these quotable quotes are an insightful look at life's little ironies. Whether you read the book for entertainment value, or you want ideas when giving a celebratory toast, "Little Gnome Facts" is a source for connecting to your creative side. There is definitely something here for everyone.

Anyone who likes clever quotes on a plethora of subjects will love this gnome tome. The main character, a gnome, is just the author's vehicle for delivering these insightful thoughts on life's little ironies. There's an epigram on almost any topic of the day. Whether you seek to be quotable or just want to sound erudite giving a toast, there's a wealth of material lurking in Gnome Man's Land. Once you go there, I guarantee you'll be lost in it.

It is with the Shroud of the Gnome that Tate seems to have matured-- here is the blending of his poignant early voice and the talent of the later comic linguist. In the poem "Smart" he employs imaginatively catchy opening lines: "I had a theory for a while, but I had to let it go. / It was wasting away in captivity. / It sat there in the cage of my brain and wouldn't eat." This is Tate's gift for rare, humorous metaphor once more. Slightly off-center and yet understandable enough that you can identify the image as that of a poem never fully written or realized.

In "Dream On" he calls to the poet and the poetry lover alike: "Some people go their whole lives / without ever writing a single poem. / Extraordinary people who don't hesitate / to cut somebody's heart or skull open." In "At the Days End Motel" he reflects on life in lines like: "Down the road, about a quarter of a mile, a tractor trailer / jackknifed and took a station wagon and a minibus / with it straight to hell where they had some / remarkably good carrot cake." Here Tate is again the thought provoking poet. Surreal and abstract language create dense imagery that enhances the already edgy substance of Tate's language.

Tate has been called a standup comic of poetry, yet this is, to me, wherein his genius lies. If he can make us look closer at our world, our limitations and our potentials and at the same time tease us with a fresh look at our own language, then he deserves our attention.

Trying to live without this book is like trying to walk in shoes without your feet in them. Meaning, each poem is like a little exhortation to fall asleep at crucial intersections. Dream replacement therapy. You will absolutely love this book, or we'll come and stuff you full of numinal cheesecake.

I just recieved this book for Christmas and have found it to be the most complete and extensive book I've seen on folklore characters and various other entities from history. I highly recommend it to those who want to learn more about the legends and mysteries of 'The Little People'.

A MARVELOUS work! This book not only gives a definition, and most times a physical description of nearly every supernatural creature you could shake a stick at! Don't be fooled by the title, not only does the book give a definition of every single type of little people you could think of...hold on, how about "menehune"?...Yep! Got those little Hawaiian elves too! But it also gives descriptions for everything from succubus to angels! What it mainly doesn't have are the large mythical animals ie. Dragons, Griffins, Hippogriffs, Lindorms, and Wyverns. Furthermore, it also does great on specific creatures, you know, finding them by name. Lastly, there is a complete, and I mean COMPLETE appendix at the end of the book cross-referencing EVERYTHING in the book at least twice! On a final note, if you're reading the "Harry Potter" Books, you can find anything that Professor Lupin has taught about.

This book was originally published in 1880 and is an excellent history of the shaping of Faerie. It starts with the origin of the term and then documents the development of the ideas and tales of Fairies in many cultures. This book is full of summaries of stories, portions of text in their original language (some of which also appear translated), footnotes to naming conventions, pronunciations, criticisms, etc. I agree with the other reviewer that this book is not for everyone and in many cases is a tough read, but it is well worth it. In short, this would be a great textbook for a class on the history of Faerie.

This book explores fairies and other fantastic characters in different folklore like german and english, but also in different times, from Persia to Middle-Age.
It has few black and white illustrations, but the point of this book is not to be pictorical but informative.
It's like taking a tour through different times and cultures viewing the roles fantasy characters have been playing in folklore.