STORIES OF A SWEDISH ELF featuring Gus the Tomte

OH GUS! He has made a mess of things again!

The Swedish tomte (tom-teh) has a job to do: the care of all animals. How can this possibly go wrong? Wanting to be 'the Greatest Tomte of all Time, ' but . . .

SKIPPING MAGIC LESSONS, the very thing legends are made of, might be a problem!

Follow the Misadventures of Gus- a tomte-in-training.

A blend of SWEDISH FOLKTALES, recipes, and hilarious lessons.

Gus struggles to control invisibility, use a Snow Globe Communicator and read maps.

But then he:

- challenges a THUNDERSNOW STORM,

- gets caught upside down in a Christmas tree,

- has a SNOWBALL FIGHT with three kids,

- takes on Nordic TROLLS, Finnish HIISI Queen

- and SHIPWRECKS his human friend Sven and himself on an uncharted volcanic island,

with PIRATES on the other side! OH GUS!!!

So much fantasy for Gus to learn! Gus, an eleven-year-old tomte, grandson of the famous Gustaff the Adventurer, feels he is all on his own, yet determined to learn all the magic he can to become a somebody. He struggles with being seen as odd, because he loves to read, and he is a goner for the smell of fresh baked cardamom bread. So, he makes an adventure out of learning human magic, like maps and coordinates, following a recipes (included), writing in his journal, then learns his grandfather had written stories, gave them to Mormor, who sent them in letters to her granddaughters Darcy and Dawn, mere humans! Maybe friendship is not in his future, or maybe . . .

Fun for all ages!

Debby grew up as a middle kid, in the suburbs of Los Angeles, yearning for something beyond what she knew. Once she finished college, she and her own young family sought a simple, exciting life living in different states. Now she loves being part of a blended family, grandmother of twenty-one, and the family researcher and historian, happily living in the State of Washington. Her lighthearted, funny stories are to encourage middle-graders to enjoy being different, use their imaginations, and explore a world bigger than the one they live in.Her stories are brought to life by her eldest son/illustrator Ryan Francis Peirce and a comical website built by middle son Jeffrey Peirce.