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It’s an exceptionally magical time of year. As I was pondering this the thought of my friend the “winter tomte” or “jul tomte” popped into my mind. Is there really such a thing ? Ah yes there really is such a thing as a winter tomte and this time of year especially we have many eager children waiting for the Jul Tomte to come on Christmas Eve bring sack full of presents, chocolate and good fun.

The tomte in Sweden and Nisse in Norway and Denmark is a Scandinavian myth.  Tomtes are small, bearded men who wear red colored caps and are rarely, if ever seen by humans. Since we are talking about Winter Tomte I have to also share that you’ll only see the menfolk as the women and children are home making merry and getting ready for the great celebrations ahead.

 The word tomte actually means “homestead man” and the word Nisse is the nickname for the name Nils which means Nicholas as in St. Nicholas. So a tomte is a little man who resides on the farm and on Christmas, plays the roll of St. Nick and Santa all rolled into one. 

Traditionally, tomtes live on farms, back yards, and maybe even under the pantry at your house. They stay out of sight during the day, and come out at night to do chores, and help out around the house, farm , and garden.  They help farms, gardens, and homes to prosper and be successful. We never get something for nothing, so in return they ask that the land, garden, forest and animals be treated kindly and respectfully.

One of the greatest signs of good luck is to have a tomte living at your house, in your garden or on your farm. To make sure that they stay with you, always give them a bowl of porridge topped with butter and maybe even some brown sugar on Christmas Eve. They’ll be so happy. (Recipe Below)

Warning:  

It wouldn’t be fair if I didn’t warn you though, that tomtes have very bad tempers and are very strong. If you make them angry or offend them they’ll wreak havoc around the house and farm. Things to expect are all horses and cows tails tied together. All of the cereal boxes turned upside down in the cupboard. Silverware placed in the freezer, glasses turned upside down so you can’t pour milk or water into them. If everything is going backwards at your house or it’s just in complete chaos, you may have a disgruntled tomte.

Enough of warnings…..would you like to know more about winter tomte and all of the great magic they bring ? Have a look below for some great tomte adventures.

The Winter Tomte Booklist

The Tomten by Astrid Lindgren

The tomte, who speaks the “tomter” language, is a good-natured elf-like creature who lives only on farms and is very busy during the winter while adults and children sleep. These people have never seen him, but they do see his tiny tracks in the snow. The invisible “tomten” also visits all the farm animals, speaks with them in his language, and brings them straw if they are cold.

The Tomten and the Fox by Astrid Lindgren

A beautifully illustrated tale adapted from an old Swedish poem. The Tomten, who looks after the farm at night, meets a hungry fox and agrees to share his supper with him if the fox promises to leave the hens alone. A very gentle, friendly story. It is refreshing that he understands that the fox is hungry and needs to eat – rather than the ‘nasty fox’ approach.

The Yule Tomte and the Little Rabbits: A Christmas Story for Advent by Ulf Stark

Grump the Yule Tomte lives all alone, which is exactly how he likes it! He’s waiting for Christmas to arrive when all of a sudden a gust of wind steals his mittens from the washing line and his hat from his head. That’s the last straw — he won’t be the Yule Tomte any more! Binny and Barty, the rabbit children, live with their family in the forest. They’ve never heard of Christmas, or the Yule Tomte, until the wind brings them some strange gifts…All the animals in the forest prepare for the arrival of Christmas. They make presents, bake sweet treats and even write a song. But will the Yule Tomte ever bring Christmas to the big forest? This charming and funny Christmas story of a grumpy tomte and the hopeful little rabbits is told over twenty-five chapters — one for each day of Advent — with delightful festive illustrations. Perfect for families to share together.

The Tomte’s Christmas Porridge by Sven Norquist

Every Christmas Eve, the Master puts out rice pudding for the tomtes to say thank you for their help around the house throughout the year. But recently the Master has forgotten, and Mama tomte knows he’ll forget again this year. The elves hatch a plot to steal a bowl of Christmas pudding, without being seen, so that Papa tomte doesn’t get upset. This charming story is based on an old Swedish Christmas tradition. It is illustrated with great humour and is full of delightful detail, as the tomte family scurry around their Master’s house one busy Christmas Eve.

Little Tomte’s Christmas Wish by Inkeri Karvonen

Little Tomte lives happily in his cosy house beside a beautiful tree. When winter arrives, he’s worried that Christmas won’t come — until he makes a special Christmas wish. He embarks on a candle-making plan which will help make his wish come true. A heartwarming festive tale drawn with gentle humour by acclaimed Finnish illustrator Hannu Taina.

The Christmas Tomten by Viktor Rydberg

On Christmas Eve, Vigg is invited to accompany the Christmas tomten on his rounds which include a stop at the Hall of the Mountain King.

Winter frost by Michelle Houts

An ordinary Danish Christmas turns extraordinary when a family overlooks an important folkloric tradition.

Christmas has come, and with it a sparkling white winterfrost over the countryside. But twelve-year-old Bettina’s parents have been called away unexpectedly, leaving her in charge of the house, the farm, and baby Pia. In all the confusion, Bettina’s family neglects to set out the traditional bowl of Christmas rice pudding for the tiny nisse who are rumored to look after the family and their livestock. No one besides her grandfather ever believed the nisse were real, so what harm could there be in forgetting this silly custom? But when baby Pia disappears during a nap, the magic of the nisse makes itself known. To find her sister and set things right, Bettina must venture into the miniature world of these usually helpful, but sometimes mischievous folk. A delightful winter adventure for lovers of the legendary and miraculous.

The Gnome Craft Book by Thomas and Petra Berger

In English, tomte are known as gnomes. I thought maybe, just maybe all of this reading about tomte might have you wanting to make a few of your own. This is a fantastic book with really great totes?gnomes to make and tomte/gnome crafts.

Gnome crafts offer a wealth of possibilities for activities with children, appealing to their imagination in a vivid and entertaining way. Thomas and Petra Berger show how to make gnomes out of walnuts, twigs, wool and paper, as well as from a variety of other media. There are plenty of different types of gnome to keep children amused for hours. Any of the characters in the book would be at home on a seasonal nature table. Includes instructions for making Astrid Lindgren’s classic gnome the Tomten.

A Magic Porridge Recipe

Now that you know a little more about the Winter Tomte and what magic he brings. Let’s leave him something in return for his kindness. Make sure you taste a lot of it to make sure it’s just right for our kind friend. ~God Jul~ which means Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays in Swedish.

Serves 4-6

Ingredients

• 2 cups of water
• 1 cup of arborio rice. This is a short grain rice used in Risotto. You can find it in any grocery store.
• 5 cups of milk 2% is best or whole milk.
• 2-3 tbsp of butter or margarine
• 1 tsp of salt
• 3 tbsp sugar
• Sugar, cinnamon, and milk to serve with

Directions

1. Boil water in a heavy sauce pan or large pot, add rice and salt, and boil with a lid until the rice as absorbed all the water.
2. Pour half of the milk in and simmer on low, stirring constantly for 15 minutes.
3. Continue to let simmer and add the rest of the milk, stirring every now and then to keep the porridge from sticking.
4. Mix in the butter, sugar and add salt and/or more sugar to taste if you choose.
5. After cooking between 40 and 50 minutes, the porridge is finished. Serve with cinnamon, sage and milk as each person chooses.

Jul Porridge: Remember to leave a bowl out for your Jul tomte on Christmas Eve. Don’t forget the great toppings such as cinnamon and sugar. If you’re Jul Tomte is really happy, he’ll leave one almond in the porridge pot. Whoever gets it in their bowl on Christmas morning will have great good luck and good fortune for the next year.

Review Bloggers! We Need YOU! MCCBD 2016 Review Blogger Sign-up is OPEN

It’s not too late to sign up as a review blogger for Multicultural Children’s Book Day! We have a plethora of simply amazing diversity children’s authors who are offering up a free books to bloggers who would like to do a review in honor of this January 27, 2016 online event!

The deadline to sign up is December 31st and we still have a few spots left. This is great way for bloggers to get involved in an important national initiative and gain new visitors to their site! All participating bloggers will be invited to add their book review to a Huge Linky on 1/27/16 that will ultimately become a valued resource for parents, teachers and librarians. Sign up ASAP!

The post An Exceptionally Magical Winter Tomte Booklist! appeared first on Jump Into A Book.

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Sharing something beautiful which means a great deal to you can be an awkward, even embarrassing thing to do. It can feel like going out on a limb. You take the risk of appearing sentimental and perhaps even slightly loopy.

Quite why this should be the case, I don’t know. After all, in trying to offer a special moment or experience, all the giver wants is for you to feel something of the same joy, calm, delight and warmth. But it’s a vulnerable moment, full of potential for dreams to be trampled on.

As a parent I’ve sometimes found myself in the situation where, just for a moment , I want my kids to take me seriously , to meet me as a friend and to fall in love with what I’ve fallen in love with. Don’t get me wrong, of course I want them to have their own opinions and discover their own places and times of magic. But I also want to gift them moments of golden glow inside them, serve up nuggets of warmth that will stay with them always, through bad times and good when remembering times and places that are somehow beautiful.

It happens a lot with books of course – I’ll start books I loved as a child with bated breath: What will the kids make of them? Sometimes it happens with music, and also locations with views or spaces that take my breath away or inspire excitement or awe.

And so when I opened When Dad Showed Me the Universe written by Ulf Stark, illustrated by Eva Eriksson and translated by Julia Marshall I knew the story would speak to me.

A father decides that his child is old enough to be shown the universe, and takes him on a night-time walk through the town and out into an open space far from street lights where they can watch the stars together and marvel in the sparkle and space and silence. But what does the child make of all this?

The bright intensity of beauty is made bearable with bucket loads of dead pan humour. An extra pair of socks is needed because – it turns out – the universe is pretty cold (‘“Minus 263 degrees,” Dad said‘). The universe turns out to be fairly easy to find; with echoes of Neverland “the way there was straight ahead and then to the left.” And when they finally arrive at the destination picked out by Dad, “I had a feeling I’d been here before, that this was the place where people walked their dogs.”

Indeed, there is a final twist to the story which brings everyone back from interstellar dreams to everyday reality with quite a bump, brilliantly adding a layer of laughter to a moment of intimacy and affection; Father and child do get to create a special shared memory that will stay with them all their lives, but it may not be quite that which the Dad had anticipated!

Pitch-perfect words deserve exceptional illustrations, and Eva Eriksson’s soft and dreamy pencil work only enriches Stark’s text. Muted tones predominate, with the exception of an intense blue for the night time sky, giving those spreads extra impact. The story is told as a first person narrative – the child retelling the entire experience, and the illustrations also emphasise the child’s view of the world; (s)he is often looking in a different direction to his/her father, picking up on other things of interest, whether that’s the liquorice on sale in the shop or the abandoned trike in the park, I couldn’t help smiling broadly at the different facial expressions in father and child when first they gaze at the vastness of the stars above them.

[I think it is worth noting that although some may assume the child is a boy, the text does not assert this. Indeed, given the first person narrative, there’s no need for gendered pronouns when referring to the child, who could in fact be a girl. This possibility is one of the great things about this story and translation.]

When Dad Showed Me the Universe is a very clever, moving and extremely funny book about parental love. In fact, in sharing it with you here on the blog, I feel a little like the father in this beautiful book. I so want you too to gasp in delight, smile brightly and feel that sense of magic settling on you when you read this. I can’t give you starlight, but I can wholeheartedly recommend you find a copy of When Dad Showed Me the Universe without delay.

*************

The hilarity in When Dad Showed Me the Universe has ensured that it is a book my kids have wanted to share multiple times. But already after the first reading they could see my thinking: Were they going to get to see the universe too?

First I prepared…

A perfect universe-gazing pack

A tarpaulin (to put on the ground in case it is damp)

A camping mat for each person

A sleeping bag for each person

A red torch – we used a back bike light, but you could use a normal torch with red acetate taped over or held in place using an elastic band. By using red light, your eyes will adjust more quickly to the darkness.

Hot water bottles and hats for extra cosiness

This pack was left in the garden shed whilst I kept an eye on the weather forecast for a few days, looking out for a clear night. When one came along, I was all ready to go into slightly crazy mode and tell my kids that even though they had their pyjamas on, we were going into the garden in the dark.

I didn’t take many photos as the idea was to disconnect from all the buzz we normally have going on in our lives, and just to relax watching the stars twinkling.

We were super snug and spent about 40 minutes just gazing, sometimes chatting, sometimes just being quiet.

I’m no good at night-time photography (see above). What we saw wasn’t quite like this…

…but we did all feel a sense of awe and peace in a way that took me by surprise.

We didn’t listen to any music whilst we were outside, but here is a marvellously celestial playlist:

When I Look Into the Night Sky by Lori Henriques

How Big by Eric Herman

When You Wish Upon a Star from Disney’s Pinocchio

Starlight, Starbrighy by LuLu and the TomCat

You might also like to take a look at this informative list of music (both classical and pop) inspired by astronomy, written by Andrew Franknoi.

Other activities which could go well with reading When Dad Showed Me the Universe include:

The whole variety of ideas included in the official Teaching Notes for this book, created by Gecko Press.

Watching a meteor shower. Here’s a great video on The Kid Should See This on how, where and when to do exactly this.

Asking your friends and neighbours for their tips on the most beautiful place they know nearby, and then committing to visiting it. Maybe you’ll discover new places and make new memories. I found even just asking myself (and the kids) what’s the most beautiful place near where I live got us thinking hard and engaged in quite lively and at times suprising conversation.

What’s your happiest memory from going somewhere special with a parent or a child?

Disclosure: I received a free review copy of this book from the publisher.

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Ulf Stark is an author I only discovered this summer, but what a discovery! I’m very excited that he will be here in the UK next month as part of The Children’s Bookshow, an annual tour of children’s authors and illustrators across the UK.

I recently chatted to Ulf over email about his work and here’s what he had to say…

Playing by the book: Were you a bookworm as a child? What children’s books did you especially enjoy?

Ulf Stark: I was not exactly a bookworm as a child. More like a book elephant – a sleepy one with big ears. My first contact with literature was through my mother’s voice. She sat in a chair below mine and my brother’s bed reading for us, every night. It was Pippi Longstocking, Winnie the Pooh, Biggles, books about poor dogs and the stories about Babar, the elephant. My favourite stories were some by the Swedish writer and illustrator Elsa Beskow, Burroughs’ Tarzan books and – best of all – Linklater’s The Wind on the Moon (which is still a favourite).

Playing by the book: I’ve just started reading The Wind on the Moon – what a lot of mischievous fun! I can certainly see why it’s a favourite. So you listened to lots of stories as a child, but did you always know you wanted to be a writer?

Ulf Stark: I never thought about it. I was left handed when I began school – but was forced to use my right hand. So I hated writing. And I understood that a writer has to write. So, not at all, never in my life!

I wanted to be a story listener. Or perhaps a vet, because I loved animals – especially poor dogs (another book I liked very much was Doctor Doolittle). My interest in writing began more as result of normal teenage depression (Who am I?, Why am I?, How can anyone love me?). Writing become a way of escaping from myself. And a way to be / become myself at the same time.

Playing by the book: So what about being an illustrator – you’ve illustrated a few books too. Is that something you wanted to be from an early age? And now, how do you find the process of illustrating different and/or similar to writing?

Ulf Stark: Drawing was my best subject in school. I drew caricatures of my teachers. I drew animals, bats and aeroplanes. And I tried to impress my young friends by drawing nude women, the way I thought they looked.

Playing by the book: [laughing] That sounds like a lot of fun!

On a more serious note, given that your books (at least those which are available in English) deal with themes which don’t often appear in (English) children’s books (death, sex), how do you think writing for children is different from writing for adults (which you’ve also done)?

Ulf Stark: Writing for children doesn’t differ from writing for adults with respect so much to themes. But rather it’s the perspective that’s different. I´m using language as an instrument to approach my childish experiences – my almost forgotten feelings, the way I looked at the world. And when I look back I know that I was definitely thinking a lot about death and sex among thousands of other things. I find it more joyful to write for children. Perhaps because I can write about very serious things without being too pretentious.

Playing by the book: I believe five of your books have been translated into English, Can you whistle, Johanna?, Fruitloops and Dipsticks, My friend Percy’s Magical Gym Shoes, My Friend Percy and the Sheik and My friend Percy and Buffalo Bill. You’ve said in other interviews that Can you whistle, Johanna? is perhaps your personal favourite of all the books you’ve written – you must be pleased it has been translated, but which of your other books (of which there around 50, no less!) would you like to see translated into English?

Ulf Stark: Perhaps: ”A dog named Ajax”. This is a small picture book about a dog (Ajax) who gets given a boy when he is seven years. The dog gives the boy his first sausage (from the dog plate), he teaches him his first word: Woof!, and he’s there for the boy when he takes his first steps. The boy and the dog are the best of friends. As the boy gets older, so does the dog. And now the boy gives the dog his sausages, he’s the support for the dog when the dog has problems walking. And then the dog dies. And the boy goes to the sky, trying to persuade the Master of it all to give him back the dog (who is now a star). But the Master says it’s not possible. He can however have the star’s shadow, so the boy puts this under his bed and one morning he hears the shadow bark.

Playing by the book: To what extent are the books of yours which are available in English representative / typical of your writing? What are we missing out on having so few books translated? Friendship, identity, male relationships, ageing, death, sex, – these are some of the key themes I see in your English books, but what other themes do you like to explore?

Ulf Stark: I think the books which have been translated are representative of my semi-autobiographical works. But I have also written more mythological books, for example The Angel and the blue horse [this was transformed into a play for children in the UK in 2006, and you can listen to the first part of the book (in Swedish) here/PBTB]. This is about God, an Angel and a blue horse, a book about jealousy, for there is a child-god who feels sad and angry when he looks at the angel and the horse playing together. And I have also written a book called Asmodeus about the son of the Devil – a problem child because he all he wants to be is calm, he doesn´t want to be evil at all… You could perhaps categorize it as having a religious theme, but in a very non confessional way. Perhaps another theme could be that about power, a very essential part in the life of children. I have just written a book called The Dictator, about a small dictator and his thirst for power – now conveniently translated into Belarusian.

Playing by the book: Yes, that’s rather good! I hope it does well there

Based on your books which have been translated into English it seems that you weave quite a few autobiographical details into your writing. To what extent is the Ulf in Can you whistle, Johanna?, or the My friend Percy trio of books you? What is enjoyable for you as a writer about including personal stories and details in your books?

Ulf Stark: The Ulf in the books is definitely me. He shares a lot of my feelings and early experiences, we share the same brother and have been brought up in the same house with a bakery and an old people’s home as nearest neighbours. But of course, the autobiographical details are not interesting for the readers because they are true but rather because they are interesting.

Playing by the book: In the UK if you ask someone to name a Swedish children’s author, perhaps the only person many will be able to name is Astrid Lindgren, but who else should we know about? Which other Swedish children’s authors should I be lobbying to be translated?

Ulf Stark: Barbro Lindgren, a wonderful writer. Also Ulf Nilsson and Pia Lindenbaum. In Sweden there are (as in every country) a lot of good writers and a handful of really good ones.

Playing by the book: For The Children’s Bookshow, you’ll be on stage with your English language translator Julia Marshall. Can you describe for us the process of translating your books – for example, do you get any say in how they get translated? Do you and your translator discuss passages, particular words or phrases?

Ulf Stark: Not very often. The translators work in silence. And they don´t want to disturb us unless it’s very urgent.

Playing by the book: Ah, I see! And what do you hope the children and adults attending your Bookshow event will bring with them to your event? And what do you hope they will take away, having heard you and Julia speak?

Ulf Stark: I hope they will bring their good spirits with them, and a lot of questions! And that they walk away in good mood, with a smile on their faces and a lot of more questions in their heads.

Playing by the book: I’m sure they will, Ulf!

And now, for one last question: What are your working on at the moment?

Ulf Stark: A book called The Sister from the Sea. It´s about one of the 7000 children from who were evacuated from Finland to Sweden during the Second World War. Sirrka is evacuated to a family where the daughter is longing for a dog – and is disappointed when instead she gets a ‘sister’. It´s about the way the girls who start out as enemies end up as friends.

Playing by the book: That sounds very interesting. Thank you Ulf, for taking time to answer my questions. I hope you have a a great time as part of this year’s Children’s Bookshow.

The Children’s Bookshow takes place in every autumn and coincides with Children’s Book Week. Its aim is to foster a lifelong love of literature in children by bringing them the best writers and illustrators to inspire and guide them. You can find out more on their website http://www.thechildrensbookshow.com/.

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One of the truly great discoveries for me this summer has been the Swedish author Ulf Stark. Last week I couldn’t resist telling you about his bittersweet exploration of identity, Fruitloops and Dipsticks, likely to be enjoyed most by kids in their early years at secondary school or there abouts.

Today, however, I want to tell you about a trio of books that will delight slightly younger children, all of them about a young boy, Ulf, his friendships, school and family life. Each is packed with humour and acute observations about relationships, between friends and enemies, and children and adults. They share an unpatronising approach to their readers, mirroring aspects of their own lives in a honest and yet thoughtful, nearly always funny, and sometimes heartbreaking manner. They struck me as the next step up from the naughty and adorable Nicholas books by Goscinny and Sempe – perfect for slightly older kids, who still love getting in to trouble but who can also appreciate meatier issues.

When we’re first introduced to Ulf, in My friend Percy’s Magical Gym Shoes, we soon discover he is chubby and poor at sports. But when a new boy, Percy, arrives at his school, Ulf finds someone he looks up to, someone he wants to emulate; Percy seems suave and full of self assurance, powers which apparently stem from his magical gym shoes. Ulf is determined to buy Percy’s shoes from him, so he too can be cool and confident. And indeed, once Ulf has the shoes, his life does become much more exciting as he and his new best friend get into all sorts of scrapes and japes. But these adventures are not appreciated by the adults around and Ulf starts to get a bad reputation. Does Ulf want to be known as a bad boy? Does he need to be so wild to gain the respect he wishes for from his peers? Will he and Percy manage to stay friends?

In My friend Percy & The Sheik we learn that Ulf’s father is a ham radio buff, and through his hobby has made contact with a sheik (True Fact: former King Hussein of Jordan was an amateur radio hobbyist and often chatted with ‘regular’ people all around the world). The sheik promises to visit Ulf’s father but will the trip come off? Will Ulf be the laughing stock amongst his friends? This second volume sees Ulf and Percy’s friendship cemented as they deal with bullying, a first crush, and the threat that Percy’s family will have to move away.

By the time we reach My friend Percy & Buffalo Bill the boys are 10, and 3 years into their friendship. They spend one summer together on a Swedish island at Ulf’s grandparents home and it turns out to be an amazing summer, the summer you dream of as a kid, building dens, taming wild horses, fishing and swimming around the island. But at the heart of this story is Percy and Ulf’s relationship with Ulf’s heartbroken grandfather. A curmudgeonly old so-and-so, Percy gains the grandfather’s respect by standing up to him, and gradually a friendship develops that in the end will bring tears to your eyes. I haven’t read many books which focus on male friendships that manage to be laugh out loud funny and also profoundly moving.

My friend Percy’s M

3 Comments on A triumphant trio of boy-friendly books, last added: 8/8/2012

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