#958 of 1001 · March 16, 2023

From Evaline Ness comes our next Name of the Helper book: Tom Tit Tot. A despondent mother sits outside her house, devastated that her daughter has greedily eaten up five pies. Overheard by a passing king, the embarrassed woman claims that she was singing about the girl’s having spun five skeins. The king immediately insists upon marrying the daughter, with the proviso that she spin for him. Unable to spin, the trapped girl agrees to the help of a dark imp who soon threatens to take her away unless she can guess his name. Only by happenstance does the king himself overhear the little creature’s name: Tom Tit Tot. Ness hews close to the language of the original tale, pairing her text with energetic woodcut illustrations. A note for folklore enthusiasts: This story was first published by Joseph Jacobs in his 1890 collection English Fairy Tales. #mother #daughter #king #spin #spinning #wheel #name #book #books #childrensbooks #beautifulbooks #picturebook #picturebooks #picturebookillustration #picturebookillustrations #picturebookart #childrensbookillustration #childrensliterature #illustration #kidlit #kidsbooks #bookworm #booklover #booklovers #bibliophile #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #bookstagrammers #instabook #instabooks