The Land of the Three Elves is a book with wide appeal. Do you want a book that gets kids reading and asking for more? Then you want Grandpa Gray's stories about the elves who live inside the curve of the river. Your kids will love them and you will too. Young children will enjoy hearing these stories read aloud and older children will enjoy reading them too. Adults will find that these stories, like the classic children's literature of the past, are a satisfying good read for them as well.
The book begins with a great river running to the sea. It curves and inside the curve of the river there are elves. The Land of the Three Elves-Volume One starts you on a journey that you won't ever want to end.
The inhabitants and visitors to The Land of the Three Elves are an unforgettable cast of characters. There is the searcher, Surely Two Crows, half elf and half American Indian, whose full name is Surely Two Crows Aren't the Only Birds That Are Going To Land On That Tree.
There is Salty who lives inside the magic tree (bigger on the inside than out) and his friends, Alphonse, Sopping Wet and Popcorn. Alphonse writes poetry and is always falling in love. Sopping Wet wants to be a great healer but is distracted by his love of fishing. Pop knows more about baseball than anyone alive. There is even a rumor that he played for the 1908 Chicago Cubs the last time they won the World Series.
There is Homer, the first elf to settle in the land. There is Otto and his family and friends who arrive by boat playing their trombones and crash in the great falls and rapids. There is Landover Jampole, the proprietor of the Excelsior Inn, and his always beaming wife who makes the very best macaroons. There is TomTom, the mischievous little boy who can't avoid getting into trouble. There is Gwendolyn, the always harried housekeeper of the Excelsior Inn, and her Aunt Fancy who visits with a most delightful surprise. There is Butt Ugly the Troll who never reforms and Bart the Troll who grows sweet when he takes up beekeeping. There is Landunder the Garden Gnome who is overly fond of dandelion wine and who can tell you all about the human mountain man, Walker Updike, and the Great Troll Wars, as well as the Curse of the Seven Bells. Each of these characters has at least one good story to tell.
Despite the fact that most of the characters in the stories are elves and those who are not elves are gnomes, trolls, fairies or witches with a few humans thrown in for good measure, there is no hint of cuteness, preachiness or sentimentality anywhere. Instead there is abundant wit, a good deal of marvelous adventure and a whopping good yarn.
There is nothing wrong with children's literature that attempts to instruct and uplift. The Land of the Three Elves often offers inspiring stories that are full of good advice and necessary truths. But really, what do kids want when they settle down on a cushion and open a book? They want a rousing good story with a few scary parts and maybe some magic.
Each story in The Land of the Three Elves can be read separately and stands on its own, but with each new story more is revealed about the geography, history and mythology of the land inside the river's curve where all these people live. Someone in The Land of the Three Elves settles down by the fire with tea and toast and a good book. There is a knock on the door. Uh-oh. What's going to happen next? What happens next will knock your socks off. c
