winter – Book Craic

*Written by Jonathan Freedland*
*Illustrated by Emily Sutton*
*Published by Pushkin Children’s Books*

King Winter’s Birthday is an absolutely stunning hardback picture book – a beautifully told fairy tale which celebrates the four seasons and their importance in keeping balance in nature.

King Winter is celebrating his birthday and he wants to make it really special so he invites his brothers and sisters to attend. They are none other than: Queen Spring, King Summer and Queen Autumn. Despite being warned by the sun and winds, the leaves and trees, that this is not a good idea, King Winter is determined to celebrate with them in order to make his party the greatest ever.

But when his siblings arrive at the Winter Palace, something strange happens outside as the seasons become mingled together, upsetting the delicate balance of nature … will the seasonal siblings be able to bring an end to this imbalance before it is too late?

This story has a wonderfully warm message of the importance of balance in nature, but also of the warmth engendered by joyful memories – even when this is all we have left.

The illustrations throughout are absolutely gorgeous from the trees through the seasons on the end pages to the stunning, intricate internal illustrations which depict the personification of the Seasons in all their natural resplendence. The colour palette used to depict each season is just perfect from the crisp blues and whites of winter to the browns and golds of autumn, the yellows and greens of spring and the vibrant rainbow of summer colours. These images are full of energy and life and I have no doubt that, just like me, young readers will enjoy exploring them.

This story is inspired by a story with the same title written by Ulrich Alexander Boschwitz, a German Jew, whilst he was interned on the Isle of Man during the Second World War as an ‘enemy alien’. Information about Ulrich is included at the end of the book – and makes for a heartbreaking read!

A captivating, beautifully illustrated fairy tale that will make a treasured addition to any child’s book collection, and a perfect winter gift for young readers.

Thank you to the Publisher, Pushkin Children’s Books for sending me a copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

The Ice Children is a magical, mesmerising, wintery read with a timely underlying ecological message, and is a story that completely captured me.

Five-year-old Finn Albedo is found frozen in the city rose garden with his feet encased in a pedestal of ice. Although he cannot be awoken, his heart is still beating, but can he be saved by the love of his older sister, Bianca, as she determines to investigate what has happened to him – and the other children who are appearing frozen. Could it be something to do with a mysterious silver book and a group of strangers who rely on the coming of winter for their existence? Bianca, using all her ingenuity and courage, finds herself in a beautiful and dangerous winter wonderland where she endeavours to save the ice children, and winter, before time runs out …

This is a stunning adventure – a modern fairytale – drawing on well-known tales including The Snow Queen and The Selfish Giant but with a fresh twist to include an important and timely ecological message. I loved the setting of Winterton with its snow queen fortress, fairground, circus and companion creatures, especially the reindeer, Pordis. Like all fairytales, the magic has an underlying darkness, but there is also hope that there can be a better future when action is taken.

I found Bianca an incredibly sympathetic character who clearly loves her little brother and desperately wants him back home with her and their parents. She is courageous, determined and empathetic and comes to understand that the ice children are not the only ones in danger of no longer existing in our world. She shows kindness and understanding and brings hope when it appears to be lost. I also loved that she believes in the power of stories to change the world!

The illustrations are absolutely stunning and add to the magical quality of the storytelling perfectly.

This is a truly mesmerising, magical modern fairytale that is just perfect for young children to enjoy this winter, hopefully whilst the snow swirls outside.