Harold the Elf
Los Angeles: Sunflower Publishing, 2000. First Edition [stated], presumed first printing. Spiral bound wraps. [2], 32, [2] pages. Decorative front cover. Illustrations. Signed by presenter inside front cover. Transmittal letter from presenter laid in. For centuries, the magic of believing has kept the enchanted barrier around the North Pole strong against the freezing cold and wind that threaten its borders. Traveling from Elfin Lodge to the Balfour house and back, Harold must now help strengthen the magical divider that protects Santa, the elves, and -- of course -- the reindeer before another elf disappears for good! Inspired by every child's question: "Does Santa Claus Really exist?" Join mischievous elf Harold as he sets off on an adventure to prove to children of all ages that Santa is as real as they believe him to be. An elf (pl: elves) is a type of humanoid supernatural being in Germanic mythology and folklore. In medieval Germanic-speaking cultures, elves generally seem to have been thought of as beings with magical powers and supernatural beauty, ambivalent towards everyday people and capable of either helping or hindering them. The word elf is found throughout the Germanic languages and seems originally to have meant 'white being'. However, reconstructing the early concept of an elf depends largely on texts written by Christians, in Old and Middle English, medieval German, and Old Norse. These associate elves variously with the gods of Norse mythology, with magic, and with beauty. Beliefs in elves persisted in the early modern period, particularly in Scotland and Scandinavia, where elves were thought of as magically powerful people living, usually invisibly, alongside everyday human communities. With urbanization and industrialization in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, beliefs in elves declined rapidly. However, elves started to be prominent in the literature and art of educated elites from the early modern period onwards. These literary elves were imagined as tiny, playful beings, with William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream being a key development of this idea. In the eighteenth century, German Romantic writers were influenced by this notion of the elf and re-imported the English word elf into the German language. From the Romantic idea of elves came the elves of popular culture that emerged in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The "Christmas elves" of contemporary popular culture are a relatively recent creation, popularized during the late nineteenth century in the United States. Elves entered the twentieth-century high fantasy genre in the wake of works published by authors such as J. R. R. Tolkien; these re-popularized the idea of elves as human-sized and humanlike beings. Condition: Very good / No dust jacket issued.
Keywords: Christmas, Short Story, Elf, Santa Claus, Belief, Children's Literature, Emma Balfour Randall
[Book #85051]
Price: $35.00