Liselott and the Goloff

Liselott and the Goloff by Hans Peterson, Illustrated by Paul Galdone

Copyright 1963, First American Edition published 1964 by Coward-McCann, Inc. New York, NY

Liselott and the Goloff, written by Hans Peterson, and first published in Sweden in 1963, is the story of a young girl, Liselott and her little sister Pirret. Liselott, Pirret and their mother have moved to a new village in the Swedish countryside, and Liselott has left her old schoolmates and her best friend Birgitta behind in their old home. The new village can be a little lonely and a little scary for a new resident — all the other children grew up there, and they already know all about each other, and are already fast friends. Liselott is on her own, with only Pirret and her mother as companions.

But then, one day, Liselott finds the Goloff waiting for her in the woods above her house. The Goloff also feels lonesome and needs someone to talk to, just like Liselott. Soon she comes to live with Liselott, Pirret and their mother in a handmade stable in their backyard, and over the summer she keeps Liselott company while she meets her neighbors, makes new friends, and settles into life in her new home.

I bought this book at a library book sale when I was seven or eight years old, and I have always loved it. It is a very sweet story about a little girl with a very active imagination and a great inner gusto, who nevertheless needs a little help to get acclimated to the brand new surroundings in which she finds herself.

In addition to the challenges of moving to a new and unfamiliar town and making new friends, Liselott is also a child with a physical challenge described by the author as “one bad foot.” Little is made of this throughout the story. It is only mentioned on one or two occasions where the story line demands it, and then it is acknowledged in the most straightforward of ways, and is never dwelt upon.

As a reader who also grew up with “one bad foot”, I have always been delighted by Hans Peterson's ability to make Liselott’s experience a very simple part of the everyday background of this lovely book.