Winters Child

by Angela Mcallister/Grahame Baker-Smith

When Tom wishes winter would never end, he meets another boy who shares his love of snow and ice. Playing together every day, Tom hardly notices that spring doesn't come - until he realises the terrible effect of unending winter is having on the countryside and his sick grandma. His friend is Winter's child, and for the seasons to go on the friends must say goodbye until next year.

Genres: Picture Books, Friendship, Christmas, Fantasy, Family, Childrens, Nature

36 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2012

Reviews

[Ruby Granger]

a beautiful children's story! This is a charming and heartwarming picture book which highlights the beauty of winter.

The illustrations are also highly unique!

[Calista]

This is a beautiful book and I did enjoy the illustrations, yet this is digital art and as lovely as it was I don't want books going to digital. I suppose they will all be like this and I miss the hand drawn aspect of art.

Still, I enjoyed this story of winter. A young boy loves playing in winter and wants it to last forever. A barefoot boy shows up and it does. But the wood and food start to run out and the young boy realizes it can't last forever. Seasons need balance.

An enjoyable story. The kids enjoyed this one also although they were creeped out by some of the pictures of the boy as he looks alien. They want to be able to sled and build snowmen and we don't have any snow.

[Ruth]

I read this with my child today as part of our Christmas book advent calendar. I had picked this up year at an after Christmas sale because of the absolutely gorgeous illustrations. Reading it however, this isn't a Christmas story. It's a winter story, and about the harm of the seasons getting out of balance with each other. We'll definitely keep this on the bookshelf, but it won't be getting shelved with the Christmas books.

[Barbara]

In this picture book from England, Tom loves the snow and ice and winter and wishes that the season would never leave. To his surprise, it doesn't. While he plays every day with a new friend, his grandmother grows colder and more fragile, and it seems as though spring will never come. The family burns everything they have to keep warm, and they grow hungrier every day. When he tells his friend how worried he is about his grandmother, the boy realizes that he must leave so that things can return to normal. The stunning digital illustrations show just how desperate conditions are growing as the family has nothing left of value, and they are clinging to each other for solace. I found it authentic that Tom's lack of awareness that his simple wish could result in such pain. After all, he was simply having fun.

[Michelle]

A young boy delights in the wonders of winter and wishes for it to last forever. Then he meets a strange boy with eyes the color of ice and hair the color of snow. They have wondrous adventures. But the long cold winter is taking its toll at home. Firewood is nearly gone, food is scarce, and Tom’s grandmother ails for the want of spring. Hoping to ease his grandmother’s suffering, Tom uses his beloved skis to heat their home a little longer. The mystery boy witnesses the sacrifice and realizes as Winter’s child, he must leave to allow the natural order of the seasons to be restored.
This modern day fairy tale is beautifully written. The illustrations rendered in shades of icy blue and white convey winter’s magical beauty and chill. Sweeping, majestic landscapes are interspersed with startling, ethereal images of icicles dripping from trees or snowflakes drifting from the sky. This gentle tale speaks to the delicate balance maintained by seasonal shifts, as well as to themes of sacrifice and responsibility.

[Judy]

This book shouldn't disappoint ... but it did. Winter wilds, ailing grandmother, loving family, friendship ... why does this not strike a chord? I think it's the style of both the art and the writing. The reader isn't pulled into the story. The characters remain distant. The landscape is cold and 'flat.' The message is one that I like: Be careful what you wish for; your wish might come true. But not as told in this story. Not a keeper.

[Teresa Reads]

When Tom meets an unexpected friend, he wishes winter will never end. But a long winter can mean hardships and both boys realize that it is time for spring. My favorite part of this book was the intricate details in the illustrations. The snowflakes are like lace upon the page. The story is a wonderful addition to any library.

[Keranjit Kaur]

I am currently using this picture book for a series of English lessons. A little boy, Tom, loves winter and wishes it would never end. Needless to say there are consequences of his wish. What will he do? Will it ever be spring?

My favourite things about this book are the story itself, the illustrations (simply stunning images of winter) and the use of colour. A superb book.

[Jodie]

Read this book in work with my year 4 class. I loved it! There was so much we could talk/write about, the story line, characters, traits & emotions, setting. Not to mention the illustrations are beautiful!!! We got some really good work from this!

[Anastasija]

Loved the story, but illustrations freaked me out a bit, but in a good way. Just a bit unusual.

[Edward Sullivan]

I find the digital illustrations, of the boy in particular, a bit creepy.

[Debby Baumgartner]

A family is out of firewood and food it winter does not want to leave.

[Callie]

The illustrations are absolutely beautiful and did give us plenty to talk about but the story itself is just so-so.

[James Koppert]

Wow what an absolutely beautiful book

[Beth]

I enjoyed the story but the illustrations were a little strange.

[Lara]

Just an Ok book - parts I liked, but overall it just never came together for me.

Biggest downside? The illustrations. While I liked some of the fantasy and background touches to the artwork, the digital characters and their flat, expressionless faces were a strong miss for me. Winter's Child himself was pretty creepy, in fact (hence the "covers I hate" tag). Just too into the Uncanny Valley, maybe? Or maybe I've just been reading too much darker fantasy lately and was expecting him to run off with boy to become another winter sprite, never to return? Because he definitely had that creepy, child-kidnapping-fae look to him.

Besides the expressions being flat, the characters themselves seemed pretty cold and remote. Hard to connect with, I suppose. I liked the fairy tale atmosphere to it, but I think I'd've like it more if I connected more with the lead.

I liked the message, though (unexpected downsides to getting what we wish for), and as I mentioned earlier, I do like some of the fantasy aspects to the artwork.

In short, not a bad one, and if the artwork is more your taste, then you might like it more than I did. As it was, I just couldn't connect with the story. Not a reread for me.

[Nhi Nguyễn]

The illustrations of this book are INCREDIBLY GORGEOUS!!! I love the illustrations of glistening icicles hung like chimes and the frozen waterfalls. These illustrations really highlight the story of the book, which is about a boy - Tom - who loves winter so much that he wishes it never ended. However, his Nana (or grandmother) and mother express the opposite feeling toward winter: Nana gets weaker and weaker as winter goes on, and Tom's mother cannot grow any plants because of the snow.

Tom also befriended a mysterious boy with icy blue eyes, who later reveals to be Winter's Child. This Winter's Child is the cause of the prolonged winter as he has had so much fun playing with Tom out in the snow that he refuses to go to sleep. The story reflects the meaning of friendship, family and change. The Winter's Child must go to sleep for spring to come, and that also means Tom has to say goodbye to him. However, their friendship doesn't have to end, as there will always be winter each year.

[Cl3-Dyer]

We have recently used this story as our English focus. The children loved the illustrations and the simplicity of the text. They were able to retrieve and make inference from the text from the teachers questions.
They also wrote a sequel called, ‘Springs Daughter’ using the format of Winters Child to help them with structuring and using the final picture in the story for visual inspiration.
- text led itself to noun phrases, fronted adverbial and speech as a focus for the rubric for marking.

[Miss Wormbook]

The story itself is of those sweet fairytales that adults can appreciate, but it was not written very well. Simplistic, unengaging, plain. The illustrations, whilst displaying breathlessly beautiful winter landscapes, almost looked animatronic. It just seemed to be missing a little heart.

[Gill]

Gorgeous book -illustrations fabulous

[Christina Caputo]

Beautifully written with beautiful illustrations.

[MR R J LAMB]

AMAZING
I love this book because the illustrations are perfection

[Sam]

With my class 🍎