Simon's Adventure in Goblinland - Unknown

Published in Western Germany, date unknown.

This book, sitting in the 'children's room' at my parents house, has a dedication inside the front cover saying it was given to my mum by her brother, obviously when both were children. It has no publication date, no author's name, and putting the title into Google doesn't provide any further information.

Quite interesting to find something so 'mysterious' in today's easy-access-to-information age.

As for the story and the layout: Simon's Adventure in Goblinland is a very accurate title for a book that tells the adventures of Simon in Goblinland. Simon, playing in the woods, rescues a trapped goblin, and in return is allowed to visit Goblinland, where he is guests at a wedding and helps save an injured animal. After this, he returns home.

It is simple and sweet, and has a large number of full-colour (and almost full-page) images that help tell the story. It comes across mildly old-fashioned (it seems to date from at least the late 1950s or early 1960s), and obviously was from a time before society had settled on the modern image of what a 'goblin' looks like: here the goblins mostly resemble happy little gnomes.

Much 'wordier' than most modern children's book, it nevertheless held Ezekiel's attention enough to get through in a single sitting.

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