Based on Swedish folklore, The Tomten, by Astrid Lindgren, is a quiet little story of a quiet little troll whose nocturnal visits to a small farm help care for the animals that live there, and give the inhabitants hope for spring. Told in gentle, thoughtful tones with illustrations that depict the hushed nighttime atmosphere of a Nordic winter night. After reading this book as a child, I'd greet any snowy morning with eager excitement, hoping to see the Tomten's footprints outside our windows.

 

Publisher's description:

At a lonely old farm house, deep in the forest on a crisp winter's night, everyone sleeps. All but one . . . the old Tomten, a little troll whom no human being has ever seen. In the moonlight, he moves about the farm, comforting the animals in a silent little language.