The Tomten and the Fox

Astrid Lindgren classic!

This product was so great! We got it as a gift as our friends' son's birthday present! We wanted to keep it somewhat 'Swedish' since my husband is originally from Sweden so a book by Astrid was the ideal! The story told true to the translation in Swedish and the graphics were great!

I give this book to someone every year. I love that the fox is not a "bad guy" but a creature that also has to eat. The Tomten redirects him from the hen house but understands he's hungry too and feeds him porridge. As relatively recent converts from lifelong carnivores, I love that it demonstrates all creatures deserve to live and be cared for, without hurting each other, as it was in the Garden of Eden, where even all of the animals were vegetarian...check it out in Genesis. What a revelation to me! Animals were not killed by humans until later, even after the sin and they wore skins, they were provided b y God, Adam and Eve didn't have to hurt another creature. This is a sweet beautful book any child will love...it of course doesn't make the Genesis comparison, just love for the fox while protecting the chickens. Re the difficulty level, as a certified reading specialist I don't like to rate quality picture books based on readability, rather by appropriate content. Picture books are meant to be read to children not read BY them. There are plenty of books with controlled vocabulary and phonics for reading practice. Read alouds are for bonding and enjoyment. I give this to teacher friends and friends with children or grandchildren at K-2 grade.That said, when I taught sixth grade I ALWAYS ready to my students. One chapter of a chapter books but ALWAYS an additional picture book to discuss the theme. I highly recommend Leo Lionni books, that have very primary level themes "It's Mine," to more sophisticated ones like Frederick that is an updated version of Aesops grasshopper and the ant (In this one the mouse that wouldn't work wrote poetry and was honored for his work that entertained them during the winter months). The art work in his books is wonderful cut and tear and paste. John Muth is wonderful for discussion too as are so many.

This book is lovely. The illustrations are gorgeous, and the story introduces children to Scandinavian folklore. What's especially nice is that the story gives two perspectives... one from the Tomten who protects a family farm, and one from a hungry fox looking to get a meal from the henhouse. The guilty look on the fox's face is priceless when the Tomten catches him sticking his nose in the henhouse! Since we live on a farm and deal with chickens and foxes regularly, this is especially perfect for our family. My children love reading both this book and THE TOMTEN and never seem to tire of them. I love the bit of old magic that they add to our lives.

thank you

My dad had a copy of this book (as well as the original "The Tomten"). He would read them to my kids when they were little. The books disappeared when my parents passed away. I was excited to see them available on Amazon!

For years my mother used to read The Tomten, by Astrid Lindgren to her elementary school classes, and they loved it. When she retired, she gave the book to my family. My children fell in love with the book as well, and attributed all things unexplainable in our house to the Tomten. My husband, especially loved the book and declared it as one of his all time favorites. When I found that there were more Tomten books, my children ordered this one to give to their father this Christmas. He was delighted! While the verbage is simple and repetitive, the children listen and laugh while we read it. The real beauty and fantasy is in the artwork, which makes the book memorable. You will find that you embellish the story in your mind, long after the reading is finished. The plot is sweet and charming, and sure to become a family favorite to read every winter!

I bought this along with the first book “The Tomten.” I love the dreamy illustrations. In a review I wrote about “the Tomten” I mentioned that these stories are not for you if you prefer Grimm fairy tales with heavy lessons on morality. These books are playful and light and very dreamy. You will love these books if you love animals and nature.

This book will always speak to you and you will always want to look and listen. There's the quietness of people asleep and a farm in the night and freezing white snow on the ground. There's a hungry fox and flustered hens and quiet slow cows and a little Tomte watching over animals and humans alike. The vigilant Tomte is gentle with the fox. The fox doesn't know where to look, caught in the act. But the Tomte knows what it's like to be hungry. There's a bowl of porridge for the fox, and a promise of more on other hungry nights. Peace returns. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Here's a comment about the small Puffin edition on sale here. I returned it. I have other hardback copies, old and new. I know that the colours in this edition are washed out and give no idea of the original illustrations. Also, I love paperbacks. Many are perfect. However, size does count. It's possible to reduce the most beautiful book to mean dimensions. This particular Puffin edition is so very small and so flimsy that the power of the pictures is lost. Something went very wrong both at the planning stage and at the printing stage, that's obvious. Please buy a full size edition with decent reproductions of the illustrations. Look for a used copy or borrow it from the library if your budget is limited.

Gefällt mir auf deutsch und auf englisch. Der Text und die Bilder sind eine tolle Einheit. Nicht umsonst seit vielen Jahren ein Klassiker. Genug Möglichkeit in den Bildern viel zu entdecken, wenn man genau hinsieht, aber nicht überladen. Genau das Richtige für die dunkle Jahreszeit!

A sweet charming Scandinavian folktale! I bought this for my grandchildren. I love the traditional farmyard and homestead.

The Tomten is watching over the farm at night when a hungry fox creeps towards the henhouse. It a cute, short and sweet story that will delight younger kids and introduce them to a traditional Swedish mythical character, the tomten, who is the cousin of the "Nisse" in Norway.

bonito libro infantil con unas ilustraciones perfectas , se lo regale a un niño de 6 años y le gusto mucho