What do you think?
Rate this book
The Hidden Folk: Stories of Fairies, Dwarves, Selkies, and Other Secret Beings
Selkies, fairies, gnomes, hill folk, river sprites—do you believe in them? Perhaps among the flowers, beside a mountain, or near deep waters you’ve caught a glimpse, once or twice, of what you thought might be the silvery shadow of a dwarf, or a hint of a fairy’s wing, or the tail of the water horse. Or was it just the odd light of dusk or dawn playing tricks? As Lise Lunge-Larsen’s magical, timeless stories reveal and Beth Krommes’s enchanting scratchboard illustrations capture, the hidden folk are there, all right: you just have to know where—and how—to look.
72 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2004
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 43 reviews
June 11, 2010
The Hidden Folk contains short retelling of fairy tales that focus on the subject of the little folk. After a brief introduction, Lise Lunge-Larsen separates the book into eight section. Each section focuses on a specific type of hidden folk, such as gnomes, elves or dwarves, and then offers a short story or two on each type. Lunge-Larsen draws upon her knowledge of tales from northern Europe for this collection, presenting the readers with interesting tales that may be familiar or new. Some of the tales are pourquoi stories that explain why something is the way it is. For example, one story explains the origin of a specific types of flower. Other tales have a moral at the end. For example, “The Silver King” speaks of the importance of generosity. The collection is elevated to another level by it's inclusion of vibrant illustrations by Beth Krommes. Krommes colorful, textured pictures add character and charm for the book. Her illustrations of the little people and the humans they interact with are very well done, but where she shines the most is in her elaborate landscapes, which often give off an appropriately magical feel. The Hidden Folk is a satisfying collection of tales that may cause children to see a little more magic in the world around them once they are through.
Recommended Grade Level- Kindergarten through second grade
(This review was written for a class)
Recommended Grade Level- Kindergarten through second grade
(This review was written for a class)
September 11, 2022
I read this book for class and the artwork is so beautiful. Folktales were accurate, written in the standard sort of plain language. I love the little notes in the margins.
January 7, 2015
You need to understand something about me: my family is Irish, so there was always a plethora of fairy books in my house growing up. And not just books like The Complete Book of the Flower Fairies by Cecily Mary Barker, though I did read that cover to cover several times as a child, filled with happy little poems (with the exception of Nightshade, which is an exception for a good reason), but we also had books that told of other hidden folk, and they were scary. Changelings scared me to death and I'd clutch my baby doll Theresa closer and pray that the fairies wouldn't take her from me. And then there were shapeshifters and brownies and.... And this book was one that I remember because it scared me. Nisses were the behind the scratching sounds in the wall, and dark elves and their hollow backs haunted my nightmares. The selkie story made me cry.
It's a memorable book to say the least, beautifully told and illustrated. I highly recommend it, despite the fact hollow-backed night elves still scare the living daylights out of me and the illustration from this book is the image that comes to mind...
It's a memorable book to say the least, beautifully told and illustrated. I highly recommend it, despite the fact hollow-backed night elves still scare the living daylights out of me and the illustration from this book is the image that comes to mind...
December 3, 2013
The Hidden Folk: Stories of Fairies, Dwarves, Selkies, and Other Secret Beings is a story that is made up of may short stories that focus on fairytales. Once again Beth Krommes uses her scratchboard technique. I liked how she illustrated the boarder of each page. This makes the text more visually appealing to the readers eye. This is a good story to read to children because young children seen to relate to fairytales very well. Something that is unique about this book is that the illustrations and writing on each page differ from one another. They are formatted differently which is a good way to keep the audience intrigued. A good lesson to teach with this story is explaining to the children how to identify characters and setting. I hope to have this story in my classroom. I am thinking about maybe even having a section devoted to Beth Krommes illustrations.
June 22, 2011
Wonderfully illustrated storybook about gnomes, elves, fairies, trolls, selkies, and other mythological beings from Northern Europe. I so prefer reading fairy tales and mythology to Maria than I do Disney books. She really loved this, and so did I. We had to set stones in our backyard to make a safe place for the Hill Folk to live, and she is now convinced that our gnomes come to life when we are away from home and help tend our garden. Being a dad is a lot of fun.
December 3, 2013
The Hidden Folk: Stories of Fairies, Dwarves, Selkies, and Other Secret Beings is an interesting book that contains many retellings of fairytales in short stories. The book is divided into 8 sections about different types of folktales. These stories are short and easy to read for younger readers. The pages are colorful and decorated with bright colored boarders and corresponding pictures. This book is another one of my favorites that was illustrated by Beth Krommes. I loved the bright colors that she used to portray accurate representations of the folktales. The pictures are detailed but very simple for a younger reader to understand. The illustrations bring the text to life while also allowing the reader to use their imagination to understand what's going on in each story. I think this book would be great for a second grade class that are becoming familiar with setting, characters and plots because each story is short and it would be easy for students to choose one and recognize those parts about it.
January 21, 2016
Northern European tales of hidden creatures like fairies, selkies, gnomes, and river sprites. The illustrations are colorful and add to the stories so much. A lot of these stories were stories I hadn't really heard before, so they were interesting! Lots of words on each page make this book more suited for older children or young kids with longer attention spans.
December 19, 2009
Cute but not particularly interesting collection of tales/stories involving fairies, dwarves, elves etc. Unobjectionable, but doesn't add anything to the many (often better written or more complete) similar books already available.
September 11, 2017
The folklore was very interesting and entertaining, and the scratchboard illustrations by Caldecott Award winner Beth Krommes were excellent.
November 14, 2023
This is a lovely little compilation of fairy tales and stories. The pictures and language are definitely for children level and act as a good bedtime story. I have read a couple of the stories of here or at least versions of them in other books on mythological creatures. I think this is a good introduction for children to the different fantasy creatures that are out there.
February 2, 2018
I noticed that Hidden Folk was recommended for k-2nd grade. I am not sure if a kindergartner would be ready to sit still long enough to read the book, but it is defiantly a gem for upper elementary grades. Beth Krommes does a fabulous job illustrating every page or almost every page.
The book begins with an introduction and then includes a "fact page" for each story. I meant to only read a story or two but finished the entire book at once. I loved that the stories were not feminine or Disney like (even though I am a fan of Disney.)
The Hidden Folk isn't just for children. In my opinion, if an adult in your life is fascinated with magic or fairytales, this book might make a good gift.
The book begins with an introduction and then includes a "fact page" for each story. I meant to only read a story or two but finished the entire book at once. I loved that the stories were not feminine or Disney like (even though I am a fan of Disney.)
The Hidden Folk isn't just for children. In my opinion, if an adult in your life is fascinated with magic or fairytales, this book might make a good gift.
February 5, 2011
Flower fairies, Gnomes, Hill Folk, Elves, Dwarves,water horses, river sprites, and selkies all appear with explanations of their special skills and talents as well as some popular tales. A nice bunch of stories with the usual moral lesson or explanation for something's existence that usually accompanies folklore. Great dream-like illustrations.
March 22, 2012
the stories are great, but it's the illustrations that I am really in love with.
Lisa Lunge-Larsen writes the stories she heard growing up in Norway. Her introduction is priceless: an "apocryphal" story from Genesis about Eve hiding some of her unkempt children from God.... that is how the "hidden folk" came to be.
Lisa Lunge-Larsen writes the stories she heard growing up in Norway. Her introduction is priceless: an "apocryphal" story from Genesis about Eve hiding some of her unkempt children from God.... that is how the "hidden folk" came to be.
August 7, 2015
Nabbed this at the thrift store and as expected my daughter loves it. The book introduces hidden folk then introduces each type with a story about a human's experience with them. O has always loved fairy and folktales so this fits right in and we love these illustrations and own other books illustrated by Krommes (Swirl by Swirl and Blue on Blue are favorites!).
Read
November 25, 2015Awards: Minnesota Book Award for Children’s and Young Adult Nonfiction (2005)
The hidden folk is a collection of eight different folktales of fairies, dwarfs, and so much more. This is a great book than can be used to get the imaginations of children going. The rich and detailed illustrations will surely keep the children intrigued.
The hidden folk is a collection of eight different folktales of fairies, dwarfs, and so much more. This is a great book than can be used to get the imaginations of children going. The rich and detailed illustrations will surely keep the children intrigued.
December 17, 2011
This book has many little folklore stories in it that would be great to have in every classroom. A lot of stories contain some kind of message to send to students and this would be a great help in teaching the children different concepts.
January 14, 2013
This book is wonderful and magical. The stories are a good length to read in one sitting and the pictures are beautiful-the best part! I read it to my daughter while she was in my belly, after she arrived, and I look forward to reading the stories to her again and again as she grows.
July 26, 2010
Beautiful illustrations paired with stories about the hidden, wee folk.
April 10, 2011
The illustrations were my main draw to this. Bold, brightly colored and well-executed. The stories ranged from good to really weird. A definite Nordic bent to them.
October 2, 2011
This is a book about different types of faries. The students would learn about different types of magical characters during this book. They would also be able to tell the difference between them.
December 13, 2011
This is a great book about old folk tales.
February 11, 2014
Fantastic books with beautiful illustrations. The stories aren't dark, and my 5 years olds loved them. Just need to find another book with more similar stories, now.
November 30, 2014
Cute! I enjoyed the way the collection included water horses along with the all the other fay folk.
January 31, 2017
Pure inspiration.
April 7, 2017
A quick entertaining read.
October 6, 2017
A childhood favorite :0)
May 11, 2025
Norwegian-born author and storyteller Lise Lunge-Larsen explores eight different kinds of hidden folk—magical creatures existing alongside the human world—in this collection of nine tales, with each section featuring an introductory discussion of the creatures in question.
Flower Fairies: These delicate gossamer-winged flower guardians aid a knight fighting a dragon in The Ivory Cups, and punish a man who cuts down all the tulips in a garden (and create parsley in the process) in Tulips and Parsley.
Gnomes: This house guardian, known in Norway as a nisse, punishes a cocky farmhand who pokes him with a pitchfork while he is dancing, in The Nisse's Revenge.
The Hill Folk: These hillside mound-dwellers, similar to the nisse but less domestic, defend the island of Bornholm from Admiral Nelson's fleet in The Battle for Bornholm.
Elves: These oak-dwelling, meadow-dancing creatures invite the count of Saxony to join their festivities when they wake him one night, in The Wedding Feast, only for the celebration to be interrupted by dark elves.
Dwarves: These mountain-dwelling miners and metal-workers aid a man in The Silver King, after he shares his little bread with a passing traveler who happens to be a dwarf king.
Water Horses: This water spirit, appearing as a beautiful white horse, attempts to lure seven children to a death by drowning in The Long Horse.
River Sprites: This fiddle-playing, waterfall-dwelling creature exacts a terrible punishment on the fiddler who attempts to play the fourth portion of the River Sprite's Reel in Playing the Fourth Part.
Selkies: These seal people can shed their seal skins when on land, but cannot return to the sea without it, as one selkie maiden discovers when a human man steals her sealskin in The Selkie Wife.
I enjoyed Lise Lunge-Larsen's retelling of the tales in The Hidden Folk: Stories of Fairies, Dwarves, Selkies, and Other Secret Beings, and I appreciated both her general introduction, and the specific mini-introductions at the beginning of each section of the book. I also enjoyed Beth Krommes' accompanying scratchboard art illustrations, which have a lovely folk-art sensibility to them that is very appealing. That being said, l was disappointed to see that although Lunge-Larsen included a list of references at the end of the book, she didn't give the cultural origin of each story. Some were clear—The Nisse's Revenge clearly comes from Norway and The Selkie Wife from Scotland's Shetland Islands—but others were less clear. I would have preferred an approach similar to what she took in her The Troll With No Heart in His Body and other Tales of Trolls, from Norway , where each specific tale's source was given. Leaving aside that critique, this is one I would recommend to young folklore enthusiasts, and to readers who thrill at the idea of the fantastical creatures living side by side with humanity, but invisible to them.
Note: This is really a 3.5-star book for me, but I've rounded up, given my enjoyment of the artwork.
Flower Fairies: These delicate gossamer-winged flower guardians aid a knight fighting a dragon in The Ivory Cups, and punish a man who cuts down all the tulips in a garden (and create parsley in the process) in Tulips and Parsley.
Gnomes: This house guardian, known in Norway as a nisse, punishes a cocky farmhand who pokes him with a pitchfork while he is dancing, in The Nisse's Revenge.
The Hill Folk: These hillside mound-dwellers, similar to the nisse but less domestic, defend the island of Bornholm from Admiral Nelson's fleet in The Battle for Bornholm.
Elves: These oak-dwelling, meadow-dancing creatures invite the count of Saxony to join their festivities when they wake him one night, in The Wedding Feast, only for the celebration to be interrupted by dark elves.
Dwarves: These mountain-dwelling miners and metal-workers aid a man in The Silver King, after he shares his little bread with a passing traveler who happens to be a dwarf king.
Water Horses: This water spirit, appearing as a beautiful white horse, attempts to lure seven children to a death by drowning in The Long Horse.
River Sprites: This fiddle-playing, waterfall-dwelling creature exacts a terrible punishment on the fiddler who attempts to play the fourth portion of the River Sprite's Reel in Playing the Fourth Part.
Selkies: These seal people can shed their seal skins when on land, but cannot return to the sea without it, as one selkie maiden discovers when a human man steals her sealskin in The Selkie Wife.
I enjoyed Lise Lunge-Larsen's retelling of the tales in The Hidden Folk: Stories of Fairies, Dwarves, Selkies, and Other Secret Beings, and I appreciated both her general introduction, and the specific mini-introductions at the beginning of each section of the book. I also enjoyed Beth Krommes' accompanying scratchboard art illustrations, which have a lovely folk-art sensibility to them that is very appealing. That being said, l was disappointed to see that although Lunge-Larsen included a list of references at the end of the book, she didn't give the cultural origin of each story. Some were clear—The Nisse's Revenge clearly comes from Norway and The Selkie Wife from Scotland's Shetland Islands—but others were less clear. I would have preferred an approach similar to what she took in her The Troll With No Heart in His Body and other Tales of Trolls, from Norway , where each specific tale's source was given. Leaving aside that critique, this is one I would recommend to young folklore enthusiasts, and to readers who thrill at the idea of the fantastical creatures living side by side with humanity, but invisible to them.
Note: This is really a 3.5-star book for me, but I've rounded up, given my enjoyment of the artwork.
June 28, 2022
Short and sweet read, though not quite what I expected. The description I read in my library blurb made me think it would be more about fae "facts" and history, and they were actually brief descriptions with a specific story about each one. Nice, easy read though, and I did learn some things.
The illustrations are very stylized but didn't translate well to the ebook version. Even enlarging them wasn't particularly helpful, so I wasn't able to enjoy them as much as I felt I should. Judging from other reviews, they are far more impressive in the print format. In ebook, they were busy, swirling into themselves without much detail, and all too similar to each other.
The illustrations are very stylized but didn't translate well to the ebook version. Even enlarging them wasn't particularly helpful, so I wasn't able to enjoy them as much as I felt I should. Judging from other reviews, they are far more impressive in the print format. In ebook, they were busy, swirling into themselves without much detail, and all too similar to each other.
Read
May 16, 2021Once, long, long ago, my family read this book when my older son was like....2? And we loooooooved the story of the Nisse so much that we got our own nisse when we moved onto a farm shortly thereafter. We read this book over again through his early childhood--a well-loved favorite.
Then we forgot all about this book until we saw it on the library shelf last week (first time we'd gone into a library in over a year, thanks, Covid). Such a sweet trip down memory lane!
Then we forgot all about this book until we saw it on the library shelf last week (first time we'd gone into a library in over a year, thanks, Covid). Such a sweet trip down memory lane!
August 12, 2025
I really enjoyed these short stories along with beautiful illustrations, based upon folklore about "hidden" fantasy creatures such as flower Fairies, elves, dwarves, and selkies which I never heard of before.
I liked the story about how the fairies "ivory cups" turned into the flowers on the Lilies of the valley plant.
I liked the story about how the fairies "ivory cups" turned into the flowers on the Lilies of the valley plant.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 43 reviews