In midnight visits clothed in mystery, a pair of elves restore a poor shoemaker and his wife to prosperity. Here is the classic tale of elfin magic that generations of children have loved, made new by internationally acclaimed artist, Jim LaMarche. His stunning paintings tell a tale not only of midnight enchantment, but of generosity and virtue rewarded.

The Elves and the Shoemaker has been one of my favorite stories since I was a kid, so when my editor called one day with a "great idea" for my next book and it was Elves, I was quite surprised. I'd been about to call her with the same idea. And I already had the perfect artist's model for the shoemaker—a retired tailor I had met at the local lap pool. Stanley not only looked the part, but like the shoemaker he was a skilled artisan who had worked with his hands. When I needed him to model the scene of the shoemaker cutting out the leather patterns, he proudly brought out an enormous pair of scissors he had used for years in his profession as a tailor. And Stanley's real-life wife, Margaret, just happened to be the perfect model for the shoemaker's wife. And of course they are perfectly sweet to each other too, just like the shoemaker and his wife.

Most of the books I have illustrated—The Rainbabies, The Raft, Albert—have some element of magic in them, but they're part reality too. That's the thing about "magic"—it grows out of reality, it can't exist without it. Whether it's the reality of longing for a child, as in The Rainbabies, or the reality of hard times, as in The Elves and the Shoemaker, those sorts of realities are timeless—they take place here and now just as they took place a hundred years ago and a thousand miles away.

I've heard some people express the opinion that fairy tales aren't as relevant to today's children as other types of stories. I disagree. I think that now, more than ever, kids need some magic in their lives, some hope, some belief in possibilities. We may not see a lot of elves around these days, but The Elves and the Shoemaker is about more than elf magic, it's about doing good and acting with kindness. And in today's world, what could be more relevant than that?"

—Jim LaMarche

Jim LaMarche is the award-winning illustrator of 12 picture books (including The Rainbabies by Laura Krauss Melmed) and the author-illustrator of two (The Raft and The Elves and the Shoemaker). He grew up in Kewaskum, Wisconsin, and now lives in California with his wife and three sons.