Summary
The Gnome Lexicon is a fascinating journey into gnome lore: altogether there are more than 70 gnomes representing 59 cultures. This book is divided up into 12 chapters loosely based on where they reside, for example: Hearth & Home, Forest & Jungle, and Sea, Stream & Swamp. Details of each uniquely charming gnome are carefully chronicled. Some are well-known little people, such as the English brownie, the Norwegian nisse and, of course, the Irish leprechaun. But the book also includes more obscure gnomes such as the little egbere from Nigeria, the kakamora from the Solomon Islands, and from the hills of Appalachia, the hoo-hooey. Each page is illustrated by Nathan Vieland, a talented art graduate from Ohio University. There are also three small sections that cover other gnome essentials: ways to see a gnome, their relationship with cats and why gnomes would rather you not know their proper names.
The second section is devoted to Gnome Tales - 22 stories in all. The stories are written in the tradition of fairy tales and, though simply told, teach us that kindness, generosity, and hard work are richly compensated, and that greediness, pride and foolishness reap their own sort of reward. These lessons come to us at the hands of the mischievous trickster playfully laughing in the shadows, the cantankerous curmudgeon sourly dealing out justice, or the scholarly sage wisely instructing us in the values of virtuous behavior. Each one is illustrated by Nate Vieland and hand lettered and richly embellished by Kelly Lincoln.
So, from the far corners of the globe, on every continent and in your own back yard, all are assembled here for the first time. Come make their acquaintance!
About the Author
Marcia Lewandowski is the author of two books, Folk Mittens, published by Interweave Press in 1997, and Andean Folk Knits, published by Lark Books in 2005. She has been a gnome enthusiast since childhood and gladly sailed the seven seas and tromped over distant lands in pursuit of gnomelore. She lives in Athens, Ohio with her husband Rory, and would gladly welcome a gnome to move in and help in her garden, but to stay out of her knitting!
About the Artists
Nathan Vieland graduated from the Ohio University in 2010. This is his first book illustration effort and he wants to extend his gratitude to all the gnomes who patiently posed for him while he captured their image on paper. He currently lives and draws at the Beehive Design Collective in Machias, Maine.
Kelly Lincoln graduated with honors from the Pratt Institute of Art in Brooklyn, New York, and is at home at her Fernwood Farm & Studio in Marietta, Ohio.
