Icelandic folklore is rife with tales of elves and hidden people that inhabited hills and rocks in the landscape. But what do those elf stories really tell us about the Iceland of old and the people who lived there? In this book, author Alda Sigmundsdóttir presents twenty translated elf stories from Icelandic folklore, along with fascinating notes on the context from which they sprung. The international media has had a particular infatuation with the Icelanders’ elf belief, generally using it to propagate some kind of “kooky Icelanders” myth. Yet Iceland’s elf folklore, at its core, reflects the plight of a nation living in abject poverty on the edge of the inhabitable world, and its people’s heroic efforts to survive, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. That is what the stories of the elves, or hidden people, are really about. In a country that was, at times, virtually uninhabitable, where poverty was endemic and death and grief a part of daily life, the Icelanders nurtured a belief in a world that existed parallel to their own. This was the world of the hidden people, which more often than not was a projection of the most fervent dreams and desires of the human population. The hidden people lived inside hillocks, cliffs, or boulders, very close to the abodes of the humans. Their homes were furnished with fine, sumptuous objects. Their clothes were luxurious, their adornments beautiful. Their livestock was better and fatter, their sheep yielded more wool than regular sheep, their crops were more bounteous. They even had supernatural powers: they could make themselves visible or invisible at will, and they could see the future. To the Icelanders, stories of elves and hidden people are an integral part of the cultural and psychological fabric of their nation. They are a part of their identity, a reflection of the struggles, hopes, resilience, and endurance of their people. What you will read about in The Little Book of the Hidden People: • The fascination in the international media: why are they so obsessed with elves? • The meaning of elf: what do hidden people stories tell us about the psyche of the Icelanders of old? • The elves' badassery—they could make or break your fortune so you’d better be nice! • The ljúflingar ... hidden men who became the lovers of mortal women • Glamorous and regal: why were the elves so damn good-looking? • The grim realities: what do scholars believe about all those children abducted by elves? ... and so much more!

The Elf Folks' Book of Cookery was created for elves, faeries and all otherkin to use to adapt to their own needs, both healthy and flavorful. All the food recipes in this book are created by elves and eaten by elves! Of course, they may also be used by anyone interested in healthy and delicious foods. The Silver Elves have eaten in their daily diet all 50+ recipes this book shares and they continue to adapt them according to their tastes, understanding of modern nutritional knowledge, and what they may have in the cupboard on a particular day. The Silver Elves trust you will do the same, making this your own book of magical elven recipes. This book is not only an elven recipe book, but also a course in how to cook and alter recipes to your health specifications. Making a healthy diet change can be difficult for anyone and the elves want to help their kin to make this important transition toward excellent health both easy and fun. Reading and using this book, you will learn how to take an old favorite food of your clan and alter it to be more nutritious and healthy, as well as delicious. While they advise the use of all organics, they have added recipes for a variety of meals, treats and tastes, for those needing both gluten-free and those who feel their bodies accept gluten whole grains. The Silver Elves have many vegetarian dishes, but also some meat and fish dishes. You will note little elven enchantments or spells here and there throughout the book that can be chanted when cooking to fill a dish with that special elfin magick. The Silver Elves cook consciously and with healing intent and using their magical spells while cooking will help you do the same. "The very best The taste supreme Will bring to us Our every dream!" -The Silver Elves

The Elf on the Shelf: A Christmas Tradition is an activity the entire family will enjoy. Based on the tradition Carol Aebersold began with her family in the 1970s, this cleverly rhymed children's book explains that Santa knows who is naughty and/or nice because he sends a scout elf to every home. During the holiday season, the elf watches children by day and reports to Santa each night. When children awake, the elf has returned from the North Pole and can be found hiding in a different location. This activity allows The Elf on the Shelf to become a delightful hide-and-seek game.

This exciting mix of poems and stories about fairies will draw the reader into the hidden world of fantasy. Find out about the many types of elves and fairies, what people believed about them, and how you should behave if you ever meet one. Discover how to escape if you are pixy-led, learn a spell to see the fairies, and much, much more. The Little Book of Elves and Fairies is illustrated throughout by the enchanting paintings and pen-and-ink drawings of Ida Rentoul Outhwaite, the forgotten painter of fairies and Fairlyland.

In Santa's Christmas village at the North Pole, the elves celebrate special days all year round. Apart from Christmas, though, nothing is more exciting to a scout elf than a birthday--and elves celebrate birthdays with a tradition that goes back thousands of years. Now, at the request of children from around the world, Santa has given his scout elves special permission to share that birthday tradition with the families they love. An elf cannot come to a celebration, though, unless it is invited.

“What an Elf Would Do: a Magical Guide to the Manners and Etiquette of the Faerie Folk” is a wry, sly, often tongue in cheek view of how elves see and interact with the world of the Normal folk as well as with Otherkind of all sorts. It is designed to help the elfin everywhere to move through the often mysterious cultures of mankind with confidence and ease.

What is the proper way to greet an elf? Where is the best place to find fairies and sprites? What's the difference between halflings and dwarves? These fantastic people and others may not be real, but what if they were? This handy field guide gives you everything you need to know about these magical people of the imagination.

This is the story of Buddy Hobbs, an elf who feels a little out of place at the North Pole. But what Buddy lacks in elfin abilities, he makes up for in Christmas cheer!

Time marches on... Santas and Elves come and go at the North Pole complex. For some the reasons they choose to leave are personal, for others it's a dismissal. Santa's annual Mission must never fail despite how each passing year adds complexity amidst a world plagued by endless wars and upheavals. The denizens of the North are not secluded from the human world's problems. The complex is not the utopia it was intended to be. Those who call this place home must come to terms with the turbulence of history and not allow personal issues to disrupt their commitments. Long before Mistletoe Green came along there was another, far sinister elf who used the marvels of the North Pole for her own agenda at the peril of both Santa and elf. Anna, Tetsu, and Hilda will each face challenges that threaten their legacies and centuries old friendships. About the series: The Magi Charter For over two thousand years the legend of Santa Claus has endured. His is a Mission of peace as outlined in the Magi Charter, given to the first Santa by the Child. From humble beginnings, following that First Christmas, the Santa lineage has been passed down through the ages. This epic adventure tells the story of those Santas from the founding of the North Pole and the origin of the ancient elves, to our modern times where the world's problems affect even those in the secluded complex of the North, and concluding in the distant future which finds Santa and the elves committed to their mission on a galactic scale where Christmas traditions are barely recognizable. In every era, those committed to the Mission must find a way to deliver that which is needed most to those most deserving.