A WORLD FULL OF WINTER STORIES: 50 Folk Tales and Legends from Around the World

A WORLD FULL OF WINTER STORIES: 50 Folk Tales and Legends from Around the World
ANGELA McALLISTER (illus. Olga Baumert)
Frances Lincoln Children's Books
$24.99 hardcover, available now

Rating: 4.5* of five

The Publisher Says: Get ready for winter with this treasury of 50 frosty stories from around the globe.

Curl up beside the fire and uncover stories from all over the world with this rich resource of wintery folk tales, myths and legends. Featuring stories of Norse gods; hibernating bears; Christmas feasts and wicked witches, there is something for everyone in this collection of winter inspired stories.

The perfect anthology for Christmas, or any time you want to uncover chilly tales from lands near and far. Collected and retold by award-winning author Angela McAllister, with enchanting illustrations by Olga Baumert, this is an anthology to be read when the weather turns colder and the nights draw in.

Stories

The Spider and the Christmas Tree (Ukraine)

Mother Holle (Germany)

Shingebiss (Ojibwe, North America)

The First Rabbits (Japan)

The Girl and the Winter Whirlwinds (Bulgaria)

The First Evergreens (Mongolia)

The Snow Man (Denmark)

Why the Bear Sleeps All Winter (North America)

The Wind, the Clouds and the Snow (China)

I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA EDELWEISS+. THANK YOU.

My Review: As usual, a beautiful book filled with lovely art. Frances Lincoln, a UK-based imprint dedicated to aesthetic appreciation of beautiful artwork, gives us here a selection of winter-themed stories that neither focus on nor ignore the Western winter holidays. We're celebrating the season, as usual, with gifting. The need for stories to keep our young readers of school age entertained and challenged in the evening before the big gifts get opened is well served with this book:

I take off a half-star for one thing: I found the stories a bit saccharine, far too unchallenging, for eight-year-olds and certainly older than that. I don't think that does most readers that age a good turn. Better to make them stretch, fo all of me; but many others do not agree. Some readers more challenged by complexity will enjoy the stories. The artwork is technically irreproachable, if uninspiring to my jaded eye; again, perfect for a reader whose preferences aren't served by challenge.

A good gift indeed for the right reader.