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Brownies, aside from being cameras, cookies, Girl Scouts, and "points" (as in "Brownie points"), are actually gnomes. In fact, the brownie gnome is much older than these other things. As long ago as the 17th Century, the great German doctor, Paracelsus, listed the Brownie as an "Earth Elemental." This brownie was thought to abide in hollow tree trunks (trees were its speciality). beneath forest leaves and brush, and sometimes even in houses. Perhaps real brownies lived with writer/illustrator Palmer Cox in his octagonal-towered manor house he called "Brownie Castle," and where he settled in the early 1900's after he had made the Brownie famous. Perhaps he saw their tiny shadows, heard their footsteps or, out of the corner of his eye, saw them dart across the floor. We have imagined that he did. And what if the brownies came back to Brownie Castle (which is still there, in Granby, Quebec) long after Palmer Cox was gone?
The Return of the Brownies, Book One of The Gate Between The Worlds, is a classic modern fairytale about the Brownies and the elemental worlds that lie just beyond our sight. A curious nine-year-old can see the Brownies and other elementals for he has been blessed with second sight. In Book One, with the help of the elementals, the boy defeats the meeneemons, evil toys who have overpopulated the Earth. In Book Two: Who Killed The Flowers, Brownies, boys, wizards, and fairies journey to the World of Water to meet the dreadful King Slimebottom. and a strange assortment of mermaids and fish. In Book Three Sparkalot and The Red Stone, they meet a salamander prince, Sparkalot, and Fearwing, a terrible dragon.
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"The Return of the Brownies is the book for you if you like magical places, weird characters and strange happenings. The plot is definitely not usual and has plenty of action and dialogue. The Return of the Brownies is not like any other story. It is a good read for anyone who will take the time. The Return of the Brownies will keep you interested from cover to cover and beyond."....
Bob Koch's twelve year old grandson, for "Bob on Books," WXXI, Rochester Public Radio
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