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
You can't be a picture book lover and see this book and not fall instantly in love. As sonon as I saw this featured on Vintage Kids' Books My Kid Loves (one of the best children lit blogs out there, btw!) I knew I *had* to have it. Problem is, at the time it was out of print and quite hard to get ahold of. And then, lo and behold, one day I just came across it in my endless used bookshop ramblings. Who says addiction and obsessive compulsive behavior doesn't pay??
The illustrations are MIND BLOWING. I'd say something trite like, 'They just don't make 'em like this anymore', but the truth is that I really don't believe that. There are lots of fabulous picture still book being made these days. But there is *something* about this style of illustration that does seem to bit of a lost art. I'm not up on my terminology so I don't even know what to call it.
This is the kind of book that a certain child will pore over and love for years and years. It's just one of *those* books. Having said all that, I think D'Aulaires' Book of Trolls is *slightly* better on the topic of trolls (it flows better and the stories are a little more engaging), but you really can't have too many books about Trolls, right? So funny too because I am distinctly *not* a Berenstain fan. At least, I thought I wasn't...