The Story of the Snow Children
by Sibylle von Olfers
In this classic fairytale with original illustrations from the author, we explore the kingdom of snow. Poppy looks out her window to see dozens of snow children dancing through the air as falling snow. They invite her to visit the snow kingdom and meet the Snow Queen and her little Princess. Poppy plays all day with Princess. They have a birthday tea, visit the frozen flower garden, and dance with the other snow children. The Princess begs Poppy to stay forever, but the wise Snow Queen knows that Poppy must return home to the world of humans. A sleigh drawn by snow bears takes her home where she tells all her adventures to her mother.
I love the simple charm of this story! There is something so old-fashioned and enchanting about the story. There are no villains or terrible adventures, but it captures your interest from the very first page. Such a peaceful story, perfect for bedtime on a wintery night.
The illustrations are so beautiful and delicate. I love the art nouveau style and the pretty designs for the snow kingdom!
There is a short biography of the author/illustrator at the back of the book, along with a list of her other fairytales. So lovely! Now I want to read them all!
Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher/author in exchange for a free and honest review. All the opinions stated here are my own true thoughts, and are not influenced by anyone.
One Christmas in Our Building: A Very Merry Mystery
by Johanna Lindemann, Andrea Stegmaier (Illustrator)
The turkey is too big to fit in the fridge, so the family place it out in the hallway of their apartment building to stay cool until the next morning. But on Christmas morning, the turkey is gone! Who would steal a turkey? They ask each of their neighbors, but no one has seen the missing turkey. It’s a Christmas mystery that may never be solved.
I was interested to see little clues hidden in the illustrations of each page. There are little hints about the neighbors too as we get to see inside each of their homes. There is a gay couple who have a picture of Oscar Wilde on their wall. There is an Indian family with their home decorated with elephants and tigers, and some kind of Hindu god in a frame. Everyone comes together in the end to celebrate and play together.
I love the art style and the cute designs for the characters!
Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher/author in exchange for a free and honest review. All the opinions stated here are my own true thoughts, and are not influenced by anyone.
The Christmas Angels
by Else Wenz-Viëtor
First published in 1933, this old-fashioned counting book follows ten little angels who go around the world doing good on Christmas night. An angel brings food to the hungry animals. A child is lost, and an angel guides it home. An angel sings a lullaby to calm a crying baby. A seamstress works so hard that she falls asleep at her table, so the angel finishes her sewing for her. An angel helps Santa Claus to carry large bundles of gifts. An angel warns Julianna not to eat so many sweets.
The illustrations are delightfully old-fashioned and sweet! There are cut-outs of each little angel at the top of the page. When you first open the book, the angels are all facing away, and then as you turn each page, you can see each angel’s face. Such a clever design!
This book is so adorable!
Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher/author in exchange for a free and honest review. All the opinions stated here are my own true thoughts, and are not influenced by anyone.
Little Tomte’s Christmas Wish
by Inkeri Karvonen, Hannu Taina (Illustrator)
Little Tomte is feeling lonely. He looks up at the stars and makes a wish for Christmas to come. But everything he tries to do for Christmas turns out wrong! He wants to bake some gingerbread men, but he doesn’t have any syrup to make them. He makes some snowballs, but there is no one with whom to have a snowball fight. Finally, he has the idea to make dozens of candles to hang on his favorite tree. The light attracts visitors from all around, and they bring food and gifts. Before they know it, it’s a Christmas party! Little Tomte’s wish came true.
This is so sweet! I just love Little Tomte. He is so huggable and cute! I like that the story has themes of loneliness, friendship, and appreciating the little blessings in life.
The illustrations are adorable, with a fuzzy watercolor art style that is perfect for this type of fairy tale landscape!
Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher/author in exchange for a free and honest review. All the opinions stated here are my own true thoughts, and are not influenced by anyone.
The Tomtes’ Christmas Porridge
by Sven Nordqvist
The tomte family watch over the human family farm throughout the year, and each Christmas the humans leave out a special bowl of Christmas porridge to thank the tomtes for their protection and help. But Mama tomte has a flash of presentiment that the humans will forget to put out the porridge this year! She knows that Papa tomte will be so mad that he will make trouble around the farm all year long. She hatches a plan with little Polka and Pulka to make sure that they get the Christmas porridge, but Papa tomte must never find out! As the human family gather around for Christmas dinner, the tomtes watch and listen for Santa Claus to come, and Mama tomte looks for the perfect opportunity to put her secret plan in motion.
This book is delightful! I love the story and the characters and the Christmas magic! I love the tomte family, from the old grandfather who is 427 years old right down to the littlest tomte, Pilka, who is only 4 years old. There is something so enchanting and cozy about this book!
The illustrations show all the little nooks and crannies and secret trapdoors where the tomtes can sneak through the house and the barn without the humans seeing them. I love the beautiful art style and the rich colors. Every scene has lots of little things going on in the background. The mice exchange presents and dance and play and eat and decorate their little Christmas tree, all in the background.
Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher/author in exchange for a free and honest review. All the opinions stated here are my own true thoughts, and are not influenced by anyone.
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