I purchased this book and fell in love with these wonderful garden gnomes. I loved them so much that I just had to have one for my flower garden. I searched for statue on the internet and found a retailer and walla I now have one! My grand kids love seeing the gnome in the flowers. Such joy.

Everyone should own this book - it is utterly irresistable! It has magical characters, magnificent finely drawn illustrations, and presents an overall philosophy of life that we could all learn lessons from. Please don't be fooled into thinking that it is just a children's book - it is a wonderful addition to any library.

It has a believable and detailed discussion of the food is are most loved by gnomes, how they raise their children, when they marry, where they live, what sorts of pets they have (cute mice in little baskets!) and how they tend to animals in the wild. The section which shows a cut away of their house is worth the purchase price alone - the imagination and thought that has gone into this book is amazing.

So if you want a little whimsy in your library, or on your coffee table, this is the book for you. If you want a book with magnificently detailed ilustrations, this is a book for you. Overall I think it is a book for everyone who is young at heart, or who likes a little magic in their everyday lives.

In 1976 a delightful book was published in the Netherlands. It was titled "Leven en werken van de Kabouter". Luckily for us, the Abrams publishing company found this book and translated it to the english version, titled "Gnomes", in 1977. Twenty five years later, a special edition has been released to the public.

For the art lover, this book is filled with wonderful illustrations! It was illustrated by Rien Poortvliet, and I will be doing an article on him later, for those who are interested.

This book is a must have for any fantasy lover. It is formatted as a diary of Gnome facts and sightings. Many of the illustrations are accompanied by hand-written notes. The book covers all aspects of Gnome life, from birth to marriage, and on to death. Each subject is carefully organized, and written about fully!

The book also briefly covers other mythological figures, of a more sinister nature. They discuss the conection that gnomes have with these creatures of darkness.

At the end of the book are a few fairy tales about gnomes, these brought back many fond memories of my father reading them to me before bed time!

One small note of caution; there is some nudity, and some graphic images of injuries, so I would not reccommend this book for small children. Parents, use your own judgement and preview before purchasing!

I have purchased three of these books for myself and friends. I am awed by the beautiful artwork and the wonderful way Mr. Poortvliet told the entire biblical history of Noah. It is wonderful to just pour over the illustrations and little side comments throughout this book. Just Wonderful!!!

I was introduced to this wonderful book a few years ago by our pastor. I was awestruck by the wonderful illustrations. The text is very interesting and thought provoking, leading me to an even deeper amazement of God's incredible creation. I have purchased this book for our family and will be giving it as a gift to my 2 sons when they marry and/or have children. I am an avid book reader and of all the books I have, this ranks second only to the Bible. I recommend it to everyone.

Rien Poortvliet takes you on a journey of imagination and helps you wonder why god created the world the way he did. If you read carefull, you will see he never questions the existence of god, but still he would never want to force his religion on you.
What remains, is a unexpected travel through time and the adventures Noah must have faced.
Besides that Rien will show you how odd all these diferent animals could have looked, if only a tiger would have had the coat of a cow, or a cow would have been created like a snake. The idea seems odd, but somehow it does seem to come natural in this great picture book.

WOW, POWERFUL!!!
The emotions that these pictures capture are amazing. My spirit just wept as I read this book. It brings to life the story of CHRIST in a way a child can comprehend, yet an adult will read over and over.
It is amazing how the simple text can pile such truth about the story of CHRIST. It is alive and real.
These pictures are a gift... one that takes you to the time HE was crucified.
I highly recommend this book for parents, teachers to read to their class or children.

Only after you have read it will you understand the gift that this book is to the truth of our salvation.

I love it. What I find most illuminating is that it reflects Jesus in the faces of the people around Him. He still has that effect today.

I'm thinking about buying a copy for our church library.

This is the story of Jesus' life captured in exquisite pictorial vignettes of events from His birth to His death and resurrection. The brief text which capture the essence of each story are tied to Bible reference in the back of the book. The characters shown are defintiely from the Middle East and not sentimentalized Hollywood faces. The reader is plunged into the time of Jesus with emotional and visual impact which provoke thoughtful meditation. An outstanding book of its genre.

I am a crazy dog lady. I admit it. I can't pass a dachshound without stooping to say hi. My husband and I have even been known to park our car down the block so that we can casually stroll down the street and "accidentally" make the acquaintance of a sprightly-looking corgi or retreiver. Pathetic, we are, completely pathetic, but we absolutely don't care.

Anyway-- this is The Pathetic Portland Pooch Lady's favorite dog book ever. You won't believe the illustrations until you see them. It's done like a sketchbook-- dozens of different images all crowding together with occasional splash pages or portraits. On a single page, you might see: a dachshund skeleton next to a wolf skeleton; a dachshund in a snowy landscape bravely facing down a boar; the same dachshund being carried off by the boar; and a light pencil sketch of the dachshund staring at a hedgehog-- "the only game I ever saw him corner," according to Poortvliet.

The book's other great strength is its honesty. It's screamingly funny at times, and of course, some of the pictures are real heart-melters, but there's nothing posed or plastic about it. Poortvliet gets all his laughs, and all his tears, from dedicated and truthful observation, and from mastery the arts of storytelling and illustration.

In other words, buy this book. It's a treasure.

This is a wonderful, heart warming story for all dog and animal lovers. The art work is beautiful, worthy of framing. The authors connection with dogs comes through loud and clear as you read the story of losing a fur covered child to finding another companion, not to replace but to continue lifes journey with. Great book for all the right reasons.

The drawings tells you that the author has many wonderful feelings for his models persons, animals and simple living in the countryside. Just great, it even sometimes makes you feel like crying.

I have bought five copies of this lovely art book. Each one I have ended up giving as a special gift to a horse lover. I am ordering one as a wedding gift now...that will make six purchases. Someday, I'll have supplied all those lucky people with one and keep one for myself.

Experience this book through your imagination.The illustrations tell more of the story than the written words.This book was given to me by my horse's first veterinarian who knows, that from time to time I need a 'horse fix'. I lost my best friend in '97. This book brings back memories of him. If you show a horse a kind hand, you will have a friend for life and this book proves it.

This amazing book arrived today, and I sat down and read it from cover to cover completely, happily transfixed. If you know horses and love them or know a friend who does, give this book to yourself or your friend. The illustrations are simply breathtaking and the text filled with humor, wonder and love

If you own the first book of Gnomes by these talented authors and illustrators, then you really do need to find a copy of this one. It has the same magic and attention to detail, but gives you a greater insight into the lives of these little busy creatures, with just the right amount of whimsy.

There is more focus on different tales from various parts of the world, and certainly more of the fabulous drawings. Again this book is worth the purchase for the illustrations alone.

This is a wonderful book that I read when I managed to locate a copy in my public Library. I'd give a nut to actually acquire my own copy. If I don't find one soon you can be damn sure that I'll pinch the library's copy

This a great continuation, with better illustrations than the first book, Gnomes, the autors became gnomes, and went to the world of these small criatures. If you have the first book, you must have this one!

Actually the title of this book in Dutch is: "Along the garden path of my forefathers" ! and this book is probably the best!! It tells a story, in word, and much more in picture, how people lived (Rien's ancestors) in the Netherlands during the last three centuries. The illustrations are superb, beautiful, done with a great sensitivity that portrays accurately how people were living in these times: their home life, work, school, their times in distress, death, sickness, as well as the more joyfull days; it shows what clothes they wore, the interiors of their dwellings, the furniture they had, utensils, tools, the trades the men had, how children amused themselves. The faces of the people, children included, their bodies, actions, are depicted with such naturalness,that the book becomes alive and one can read the emotions of life on their faces which will touch you deeply. The artwork was done in gouache, watercolour, maybe an oil here or there, charcoal and pencil. The artwork is truly beautiful and delightful but depicting the truth of those times.

Once upon a time I stumbled across this book in a book store and could not believe my eyes. This is absolutely one of the most beautiful books I've ever owned and it is totally relevant to my life. I am Dutch descent and some of my ancestors come from Zeeland, and Poortvliet focuses on life in Zeeland over a two hundred year period, so you can imagine how thrilled I was to discover a beautifully illustrated book by a Dutch artist whose ancestors came from a village not far from my own.

Poortvliet tells his story with illustrations. There is little text, and it is mostly captions for his illustrations. He begins his book with his own father's life, and moves back through time telling about his grandfather's life, then his great-grandfather's life, then his great-great grandfather's story in pictures. Only an artist could vividly bring the past to life in this manner.

If you are of Dutch descent, you must see this book. At the least check it out of the library, but I think you may want to own it. I am sad to see that it is out of print because next to the geneology chart on your family, this is the best way to get in touch with the lives of your Dutch ancestors.

Dutch illustrator Rien Poortvliet has done an outstanding job with this work, depicting in a series of illustrations the modern and Ice Age wildlife of the Netherlands. Beginning in the present with deer and rabbits seen from his treestand, he goes further and further back in time, showing more and more exotic wildlife. Soon he shows pheasants, partrides, foxes, deer, and wild boars, as well as bringing us to early modern and medieval Holland. Eventually the work progresses all the way back to the Pleistocene, with wonderful illustrations of early man and such long vanished animals as Irish elk, woolly rhinos, and his crowning acheivement, the woolly mammoth.

Though the modern animals are well depicted, the main reason to buy this lavishly illustrated book are for its Ice Age fauna. In addition to extinct mammals, animals no longer found wild in the Netherlands such as wolves, horses, lions, bears, and elk are well covered as well.

This book is again extremely beautiful; many of the paintings have a very haunting quality. The way he takes you back in time really shows a unity of theme and makes the Ice Age fauna that much more real, showing they were as natural a part of the landscape as trees or rabbits, and look all the more real for being depicted in landscape still around today.

The book is not only on wildlife and landscape, as he shows a great deal of the life of peasants, farmers, fishermen, hunters, and eventually primitive early Man in Holland. He shows the building of ancient burial mounds, the dolmens. Poortvliet takes you on an Ice Age hunt for reindeer, then back to the village to show how the skins were prepared for clothing. He richly depicts a medieval hunt, complete with peasant drivers pressed into service, magnificent hounds, and the deadly last stand of the wild boar that was often the subject of the great hunt. A good number of pages are depicted to the interaction of wolves and humans in the Netherlands, showing wolf attacks and the campaign to wipe them out in response.

Sorry if I ramble in this review but there is just so much to take in with this magnificent work, it is like a concentrated blast of Dutch natural and human history, rich with wonderfully depicted landscapes, wildlife, human interest, and magnificent Ice Age fauna. Truly a rare book. A great book to get lost in, a great coffee table book, just a great book.

Rien Poortvliet's Journey Into the Ice Age offers an excellent and illustrative insight into the natural history of Europe. He begins the story from his modern-day perch built into a tree for the purposes of viewing wildlife in their most relaxed state, and continues as a virtual daydream which illustrates to the reader with both personal reflection and visual images how the wildlife of earlier days may have appeared had he been in the same perch hundreds or thousands of years ago. His illustrations are very detailed and anatomically perfect, and his handwritten notes add a very personal touch to this aesthetically as well as literally pleasing work of art. I enjoy reading the book to my children and leave it on the coffee table for guests to thumb through as well. I will definitely seek other titles from this author

I first ran across this book in a discount bin at the local bookstore. The exquisite illustrations are what caught my eye. Every page is illustrated with some of the most beautiful artwork I have ever seen. It inspires your love of fanstasy and at the same time takes you back to a time when you used to believe in the sandman. I have used this wonderfully captivating book to interest my own son in literature and art while simultaneously helping him learn his alphabet. This is the book that began my love for Poortvliet's work. This is a must have for any lover of the Fanstasy.

The Complete Gnomes, by Wil Huygen, is amazing. Not only does this book include information, but pictures and stories as well. The way the book is compiled is also very good. The pages are very easy to follow and well explained. The pictures are also very good. Overall, this book deserves 5 star's.