How wonderfully playful and creatively inspiring a schoolbook can be! When the future Nobel Prize winner Selma Lagerlöf was commissioned in 1901 to write a reading book for teaching in Swedish schools, she quickly invented the world-famous story of the rebellious and cheeky Nils Holgersson: As punishment for a mischievous prank, he is transformed into a gnome and joins a group of wild geese on the back of the tame gander Martin. After numerous adventures, he is rewarded with the joy of true friendship. Lagerlöf's children's book classic remains a delightful reading pleasure for young and old alike to this day.