A whimsical grayscale children's book illustration of an old gnome, two children, and a goat-pulled sled outside a crooked house, surrounded by forest and mountains.

A whimsical hand-drawn children’s book illustration. A playful, frosty fairytale world long ago, before colors existed — everything is in shades of grey, black, and white. In the scene: Tippenissen (the great-great-great ancestor of Santa Claus), an old grey bearded gnome with a goat pulling his sled instead of reindeer. Two children appear: Jakob (a small 4-year-old boy in a big grey hat with very long hair tucked inside) and his older sister Mathilde (6 years old, also with very long hair, braided like a warm scarf). They are standing outside a tiny crooked house in the rain, looking toward distant mountains where the sun shines. Around them crawl flies, spiders, lizards, and other little creatures on the walls. Everyday life looks ancient and odd: laundry washed in a stream with a hedgehog used as a brush. The atmosphere is humorous, playful, and imaginative. Style: hand-drawn, lush and detailed linework, with a warm, sketchy, storybook feeling. See more