The Glassblower's Children

Maria Gripe's books are treasures of international children's literature. In The Glassblower's Children she draws on old traditions of fairy tale and Norse myth to tell an exciting story with a very modern sensibility. Albert the glassblower and Sophia are the loving parents of two small children, Klas and Klara. While Albert spends time in his studio, making beautiful but impractical bowls and vases that nobody wants to buy, Sophia works in the fields, collecting flax. Every year Albert goes to the fair to sell his goods, and sometimes Sophia and Klas and Klara get to go along. The children especially like to admire the dolls and toys that the family is too poor to buy. It is at the fair that Albert and Klara meet Flutter Mildweather, a wise woman who weaves rugs that tell what the future holds. And it is at the fair that the Lord of All Wishes and his Lady first set eyes on Klas and Klara. The Lord and Lady live in a castle in a fabulously luxurious but...