Eyewitness Natural World Book

Hob is a house sprite who tidies away troubles such as leftover bad feelings, soothes unquiet ghosts and teething babies, keeps the cream fresh, the curtains from being tired and encourages the teakettle to sing. So when he finds a new family, he knows what to do. But he discovers the house has bigger secrets than he thinks he can handle. He hears the distant music approaching from the land of faerie and when un-childlike neighborhood children named Dew and Rag come over to play with his house's children he is certain evil is coming his way.

Based on British folklore, Mayne's story both charms and terrifies. Hob will be familiar to readers of The Shoemaker and the Elves. They, like Hob, are free of further responsibility for their household when given clothes; they depart without further thought. They enjoy living life in the moment until their clothes finally have disintegrated and, unclothed, they must find another house to tend. So too with Hob who, at just the wrong moment, seizes the opportunity to leave.

Hob, a charming naif, is amazed by simple machines and speaks of himself in the third person. Yet there is more to him than appearances would suggest. But is it enough to thwart the evil that is coming as surely as winter? (140 p.)
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