The Sun Egg Book

A lovely little red-haired elf - whose dancing welcomes the returning sun in Spring, the golden leaves in Autumn, and the falling snow in Winter; and who is beloved of all the birds in the forest, because she always returns their fallen eggs to their nests - stumbles upon an unusually larger and orange egg, in this charming tale from Sweden's beloved picture-book artist, Elsa Beskow. Convinced that the egg has fallen from the sky, and belongs to the Sun, the elf soon has her friends and comrades gathered round. It falls to the chaffinch to enlighten all, as to the exact nature of the egg, and its relation to the sun, thereby setting in motion events that will take the elf on a most unexpected journey southward...

This classic Swedish picture-book, first published in 1932 as Sol-Ägget, manages to be utterly adorable and completely sweet, without ever descending into any kind of affected "cutsey-ness." The little elf is completely natural, and makes an engaging and believable heroine, while her woodland friends - from her mischievous fellow elf Larch, to the rather grouchy gnome, Crooked Root - make an appealing cast of secondary characters. Like Beskow's Children of the Forest , this delightful book is a magical celebration of the outdoor world, and all the beauties it has to offer. Recommended to young fairy-tale lovers, who always have an eye open for enchantment, and to fans of Elsa Beskow's work.