Hiro, Winter, and Marshmallows

by Marine Schneider, Vinet Lal (translator)

Hiro è un orso troppo curioso per dormire tutto l'inverno. Lascia la sua caverna per fare una passeggiata. Tra gli alberi compaiono lanterne e bambini che indossano cappelli a punta. Una festa ! Alla vista di Hiro, i bambini fuggono. Tutti tranne Émile. Si stanno incontrando. E se essere un orso o essere Émile non fosse poi così diverso? Età di lettura: dai 4 anni.

Genres: Picture Books, Animals, Childrens, Fiction, Adventure, Friendship

40 pages, Hardcover

Published September 3, 2024

Reviews

[Jaidee · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.2 "a great big teddy girlbear and a sweet little boy" stars !!

A ribbon of Excellence read for 2024

Thank you to Netgalley, the author/illustrator and translator as well as Wm. B. Eardmans Publishing Company. This was originally published in Belgium (in French) in 2018 and will be released in September 2024 in English.

Hiro the young girl bear is tired of hibernating and is hungry and so curious about Winter. She loves the snow and meets a giggly sweet little boy named Emile. Marshmallows and philosophical conversation make them fast friends. So cozy and adorable that I shed a tear or two of my own. Nicely illustrated and charming prose. Suitable for children four to eight.

[Natalie all_books_great_and_small · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received an advance reader copy of this book to read in exchange for an honest review via netgalley and the publishers.

Hiro, Winter and Marshmallows is a cute story about how friendships can begin even in the most unlikeliest of ways, and not everything that's different is scary. Hiro is a young bear and longs to go outside during hibernation and meet winter. His family has warned him against it, and one night, he slips out to explore in this season (when he should be hibernating). He comes across a group of children having a party and roasting marshmallows over a fire. When he approaches, they run away in fear, all except one child. The child strikes up a conversation with the bear, and they both learn they have much in common with each other despite being very different. The illustrations are soft and beautiful, and the ending put a smile on my face.

[Jan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Two rather adventurous beings meet in the woods in winter and become friends while roasting marshmallows. Lovely story!
The simple illustrations by the author are bold yet comfortably colored, and fun.
Translated by Vineet Lal.
Well suited for reading alone or WITH someone of any age including ESL, and great for gifting to anyone, but especially to a school, or your public library!
I requested and received a free temporary digital advance review copy on Adobe Digital Editions from Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company via NetGalley. Thank you!
#HiroWinterandMarshmallows #NetGalley #EerdmansBooksForYoungReaders

[Bente Pompen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hiro, Winter and Marshmallows is a sweet picture book about a bear who can't sleep and is curious about winter. Schneider's unique illustrations add a special charm to the story. I found the two spreads without text at the campfire hilarious!

[Reading_ Tamishly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Don’t worry about the little kids meeting up with bears in the wild! Parents will not tell them to do so!

So enjoy this cute little story with the kid!

Hiro the young bear is just too curious about the outside world and is out by herself. She meets a little kid and makes friends with them. Read this story for the cute interactions between them and the lovely illustrations!

Thank you, Eerdmans Publishing for the Young Readers, for the ARC.

[Andi Butler · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the sweetest book, and the illustrations are so charming (especially the endpapers) and filled with wonderfully warm, evening colors for a winter story! It’s quiet and gorgeous in its simplicity, no real plot, and my only issue is with the spreads of the campfire: the center is in the gutter, where our attention goes, and shifting slightly it a bit might have been a better design decision. A beautiful book about a curious bear and a curious child.

[Cristina Di Matteo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Una storia tenera e luminosa sull’attesa e sulla condivisione. Con tratti morbidi e colori caldi, Schneider racconta l’inverno attraverso lo sguardo di Hiro, mostrando come i piccoli gesti — un fuoco acceso, un marshmallow condiviso — possano trasformarsi in momenti di amicizia e meraviglia.

[Josh Olds · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hiro is a bear who doesn’t want to hibernate. She wakes up in the middle of the winter and decides to explore. And what she finds is absolutely incredible. Hiro: Winter and Marshmallows continues a winter/hibernation theme from Eerdmans Books for Young Readers as they move into the winter of 2024. Other winter books recently published include The Most Beautiful Winter and Counting Winter. Like a lot of EBYR books, Hiro is a translation (done by Vineet Lal, who is a regular for Eerdmans) from French and I always find it interesting to see the subtle cultural differences between American and non-American children’s books.

Hiro decides to wake up and go exploring and she stumbles her way right into a party. The humans hosting the party all run away, except for little Emile. Really a bad decision on Emile’s part if this was real life, but this is not and Hiro and Emile sit down for a snack of toasted marshmallows.

Their conversation turns introspective: “What’s it like to be a bear?” “What’s it like to be an Emile?” The answers are vague and unclear but the two have quite a bit of fun before Emile is called to return home and Hiro feels a bit sleepy. The two part ways but always remember the fun time they had.

Hiro is a bit meandering and unfocused. The people at the bonfire run away but Emile’s mom knows that he’s still out there? Should people in this world be scared of bears or not? Marine Schneider fails to really draw out any of the themes or storylines she starts, which is really a shame because her illustrations are beautiful. I think this was meant to be a story of unexpected friendships and that the unknown other doesn’t have to be scary, but it’s not well-developed. An interesting premise but the author just doesn’t take it anywhere.

[Stacie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hiro isn’t quite ready to snuggle in for a long winter nap. So, after her parents and siblings nod off into dreamland, Hiro sneaks out into the quiet winter night. She comes upon an outdoor party full of kids playing, a bonfire, and roasted marshmallows. She doesn’t expect to see everyone run away, except one little boy.

Hiro is much like any child when it is time to go to bed and they aren’t ready. They want one more drink of water or one more story. But, in this case, Hiro is curious about what goes on in winter when they are sleeping. She doesn’t want to miss out on winter. Her explorations take her to a party where she is a surprise and unwanted guest. This part of the story is reflected with just the illustration and no words for three full-page spreads. But, kids will understand what happened by the children’s faces and the scattering of items left behind.

While Hiro is sitting by herself roasting a marshmallow, a young boy appears from behind a tree. Hiro and Émile have a conversation about winter. Soon, it is time for the boy to go home and for Hiro to go back to her den and fall into a deep sleep, dreaming of Émile and roasted marshmallows.

This is a sweet story of curiosity, an unlikely friendship, and the joy of sharing a roasted marshmallow. Since the author/illustrator is from Belgium, the original story was written in French. Vineet’s translation is smooth and you’d never know it wasn’t originally written in English. Hiro is the kind of story you could tell for generations.

[Theediscerning · Rating 2 out of 5]

The latest evidence for the case that books get translated with the urgency that their quality demands, this was six years in the wait to get turned into English. It concerns a bear who breaks away from her hibernating family, tramples about, discovers a hoard of people having a marshmallow party around a fire, and scares the lot away – all except one brave lad. The moral might be that opposites can, if not attract, at least get along, or it might be based on the bravery the bear has in leaving her home in the grip of winter and that the boy shares in approaching the bear. But whatever you make of it all I don't think you have a great deal of pleasure from this – the story is lacking, the artwork features some odd choices (one frame has a papa bear in flashback seemingly sitting at a dining table with a safe door on his lap), and it lacks something else. I don't want to demand the bear be cutesy, but there is a likeableness that is absent here, and the philosophical tone of Hiro the bear's natter to the human kid is just a further sign that this could have engaged more, with more warmth.

[Shan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall, a cute and solid story, but I think that the plot lacks substance. What I mean by that is there isn't a whole lot going on. There's a good story idea here and it is definitely shown throughout the book, but a lot of spice could have been added to make the story more engaging. For example, not rushing through events and not leaving out different sensory setting details. Adding these details and slowing the story down a bit would help readers savor the book more, and would ultimately make for a more enjoyable reading experience.
Other than that, though, I found the illustrations to be very beautiful, and the story at its core was quite sweet and heartwarming. Lastly, the ending makes this book an absolutely perfect candidate for a bedtime story for little ones, any time of the year.

[Dave Schaafsma · Rating 4 out of 5]

A young bear can't sleep through hibernation so goes for a walk and finds an outdoor winter party complete with woodfire and marshmallows. Of course all the kids run away, but as the bear cooks up some marshmallows on a stick, a boy, Emile, comes back, joins her at the fire and they have a fine night of friendship together until they head to their respective places to sleep, one of them for a very long time. Maybe. Sweet story by Marine Schneider and illustrations by Vineet Lal.

[Janet · Rating 4 out of 5]

First published in Belgium in 2018 and translated into English and published in 2024 in the USA.
I enjoyed this quiet peaceful discovery story that I view as a modern day fable. The moral of the story even very different beings can find common connections and can interact peacefully. And we never know who we will meet along the way.

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

A cozy picture book about a bear who ventures into the winter woods and comes upon a marshmallow party. All but one young man flees in terror, but Hiro and her new friend have a fantastic time.

Would be a fantastic book to read together with some hot cocoa and marshmallows.

[Bube Ale · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hiro and Émile , a little girl bear and a small boy, make a friendship while they eat marshmallows discussing about life.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quiet and atmospheric. Reminds me of Tea Party in the Woods. The wordless spreads were disrupted by the gutter.

[Heidi]

https://afuse8production.slj.com/2024...

[Shari (Shira) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hiro the bear finds hibernation boring. So this year, he (she?) takes off when the family falls asleep and has a wonderful winter experience.

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

First page: bears sleeping on a four-layer bunk bed. Sold! 😁

A sweet story. Nice watercolor and pen (?) illustrations.

[Coro · Rating 5 out of 5]

So cute! Hiro just wanted to hangout and party

[Chloe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Laughed out loud at the kids reacting to the bear. Love that this book blends a humanization of bears and a realistic approach of it still being a bear/scary to humans.

[TheRetiredSchoolLibrarian |Mrs. Ferraris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brief summary: Brief summary: The Ursidae family of brown bears are all hibernating except for Hiro. Hiro packs a bag and walks outside, where she experiences snow on her paws for the first time. She wonders what Winter could be and notices unfamiliar paw prints in the snow.

The bear follows them and the scent of toasting marshmallows. All run away when they see the bear. Hiro sits roasting a marshmallow over the fire, crying, having scared everyone away from the bonfire party, when a small boy named Émile comes out behind a tree. Too curious to run away from a talking bear, Émile stays asking, "What's it like being a bear?"

Will they become friends, or will it all go horribly wrong?

Comments: The illustrations were created with colored pencils, watercolors, acrylic paint, and markers.

This is a sweet bedtime story.

Rating: 4.5/5 📗📗📗📗1/2

*I was sent a complimentary copy of this book.

[Camylle Messier · Rating 5 out of 5]

C’est adorable! Un album coup de cœur, pour mes filles. C’est doux et enveloppant pour un livre « d’hiver ».