The creator of such beautifully-illustrated original fairy-tales as Children of the Forest and The Sun Egg, Elsa Beskow is one of Sweden's most beloved picture-book artists, something borne out by the fact that Sweden's annual award for the best illustrated children's book is named in her honor. This charming title, with its simple narrative and lovely illustrations, is probably not her most famous book, but it happens to be the first one I was able to lay hands on, in my effort to become better acquainted with her work.

The repetitive text here - in which a little, little old woman milks her cow, sets out the milk, and steps away, only to find it lapped up by her naughty kitten when she returns - reminded me a bit of the traditional English ghost story of The Teeny-Tiny Woman, with everything being "little, little," rather than "teeny-tiny." The artwork had a wonderful old-fashioned style, with a distinctive folk sensibility. I particularly liked that each page's illustration was contained inside a large circle, with plenty of white space (an unusual page layout in this day and age, when picture-book visuals are usually far more "busy") around.

I did worry, as a cat-lover, at what I thought was a rather harsh conclusion to the story, until I saw the "little, little" final line, and then I chuckled! Overall, this is a delightful little book, well-suited to younger picture-book audiences (pre-school, I would think). As for me, I can't wait to try some more Beskow! ( )

1.小さな小さなおばあさんの周りは、すべて小さな小さなものばかり。
テーブルに置いたミルクを猫に飲まれてしまい、追い払ったら木の上に逃げ、戻って来ませんでした。
話とイラストは右のページの丸の中に描かれ、丸は植物で飾られ、絵がとてもステキです。
ストーリーより、イラストに惹かれました。

2.But maybe she came home in the end．．．
（なぜかこの文章だけ、丸の外に書かれています）

3.150字

4.3分 ( )

Rather bittersweet for a picture book- Beskow had to add a line at the end as kids got so upset over it. The pictures a revery charming, though. ( )

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