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The Shortest Day
So the shortest day came, and the year died...
As the sun set on the shortest day of the year, early people would gather to prepare for the long night ahead. They built fires and lit candles. They played music, bringing their own light to the darkness, while wondering if the sun would ever rise again...
Written for a theatrical production that has become a ritual in itself, Susan Cooper’s poem The Shortest Day captures the magic behind the returning of the light, the yearning for traditions that connect us with generations that have gone before – and the hope for peace that we carry into the future. Richly illuminated by Carson Ellis, this beautiful book evokes the joy and community found in the ongoing mystery of life when we celebrate light, thankfulness, and festivity at a time of rebirth. Welcome Yule!
As the sun set on the shortest day of the year, early people would gather to prepare for the long night ahead. They built fires and lit candles. They played music, bringing their own light to the darkness, while wondering if the sun would ever rise again...
Written for a theatrical production that has become a ritual in itself, Susan Cooper’s poem The Shortest Day captures the magic behind the returning of the light, the yearning for traditions that connect us with generations that have gone before – and the hope for peace that we carry into the future. Richly illuminated by Carson Ellis, this beautiful book evokes the joy and community found in the ongoing mystery of life when we celebrate light, thankfulness, and festivity at a time of rebirth. Welcome Yule!
32 pages, Paperback
First published October 22, 2019
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1562 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 296 reviews
December 20, 2025
"And everywhere down the centuries
of the snow-white world
Come people singing, dancing,
To drive the dark away"--Susan Cooper
I read this because Maria Popova named it as one of the best picture books of 2019 in her blog, Brainpickings. I usually agree with her and have had my picture book reading enhanced and enlightened by her. Usually, it occurs to me, the books she chooses are beautiful, though the meaning in the text usually also points skillfully to magic and grace and peace and imagination.
I am one of the few readers in the world, probably, who has read none of Susan Cooper's fantasy series highlighting magic and wonder and tradition and paganism (I am told, among other things). She wrote the poem for this book as well for a public theatrical occasion performed each year on several stages at the Winter Equinox.
https://www.revels.org/
I liked the poem just fine, thought it simple and sweet, but liked it more in the context of Carson Ellis's magical illustrations, and liked it even more after Cooper's appendix in which she underscores the need for rituals of renewal as many people experience the shortest day, rituals that highlight the need for light to conquer darkness, for good to triumph over evil.
I also read Wendy Pfeffer and Jesse Reisch's more prosaic and informational book with the same title, just to see a contrast.
Winter Solstice 2020:
https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/wi...
of the snow-white world
Come people singing, dancing,
To drive the dark away"--Susan Cooper
I read this because Maria Popova named it as one of the best picture books of 2019 in her blog, Brainpickings. I usually agree with her and have had my picture book reading enhanced and enlightened by her. Usually, it occurs to me, the books she chooses are beautiful, though the meaning in the text usually also points skillfully to magic and grace and peace and imagination.
I am one of the few readers in the world, probably, who has read none of Susan Cooper's fantasy series highlighting magic and wonder and tradition and paganism (I am told, among other things). She wrote the poem for this book as well for a public theatrical occasion performed each year on several stages at the Winter Equinox.
https://www.revels.org/
I liked the poem just fine, thought it simple and sweet, but liked it more in the context of Carson Ellis's magical illustrations, and liked it even more after Cooper's appendix in which she underscores the need for rituals of renewal as many people experience the shortest day, rituals that highlight the need for light to conquer darkness, for good to triumph over evil.
I also read Wendy Pfeffer and Jesse Reisch's more prosaic and informational book with the same title, just to see a contrast.
Winter Solstice 2020:
https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/wi...
December 21, 2022
This beautiful celebration of midwinter teams up stunning and evocative illustrations with poetic text to tell a story that spans the ages. Carson Ellis uses a beautiful colour palette to recreate winter scenes from the time of cave people to present day. The transition through time is seamless, held together by the theme of the shortest day, the coming of darkness and the coldest months that at the same time heralds days becoming longer, hope and new life. The story draws on folklore and tradition, the human need to celebrate this point of the year and to look forward with hope. The story also has a reassuring theme of the cycle of life, the constantly changing seasons and how, although things change they also in some ways stay the same.
This is a wonderful story with some gorgeous images, a perfect winter read by the fire. The back pages have interesting facts about midwinter celebrations and folklore.
This is a wonderful story with some gorgeous images, a perfect winter read by the fire. The back pages have interesting facts about midwinter celebrations and folklore.
December 20, 2019
This is a lovely poem about the shortest day of the year. It is a celebration of the time of Yule and a reminder of when we throw parties and sing carols we too are singing through the night and making sure the light will come back.
I love the poem and the artwork. It’s a wonderful little book. I should try and remember the poem. It’s short and sweet. I think I want a copy of this book.
The nephew thought the guy with a sun for his head was rather cool. He was happy this book was short and sweet. He didn’t think a whole lot of the story. He does like to sing, but not to read about singing. He gave this 2 stars.
I love the poem and the artwork. It’s a wonderful little book. I should try and remember the poem. It’s short and sweet. I think I want a copy of this book.
The nephew thought the guy with a sun for his head was rather cool. He was happy this book was short and sweet. He didn’t think a whole lot of the story. He does like to sing, but not to read about singing. He gave this 2 stars.
February 4, 2020
A low-verbiage, beautifully illustrated picture book about generalized winter solstice observance.
December 21, 2019
I read this on the winter solstice, and loved it. Carson Ellis is one of my favorite illustrators. I liked how it showed early Yule celebrations and tied it in with more modern fall/winter celebrations such as Christmas, Hanakkuh, and Diwali (mentioned in the afterword). Since the text is a short poem, there’s not much room to go in more depth in the illustrations, as I’m sure there are other cultures with similar themes of light and rebirth in their winter traditions. This is probably best for an older child or adult, as the concept is a bit abstract for toddler/preschool. I’m sure there are also books out there with more of an educational intent. This books aims for a more simple and artful expression of winter celebration, and does it beautifully.
December 21, 2021
Since the 1970s, the Christmas Revels - a series of annual holiday stage performances that draw upon English theater traditions from the 16th century and before - has opened with the recitation of this beautiful poem from Susan Cooper. A celebration of the Winter Solstice, it evokes the darkness of this shortest day, and the ways in which people tried to keep light alive. Now the poem has been issued in picture-book format, with the artwork of Carson Ellis, and a new afterword from Cooper...
Somehow, although a lifelong admirer of Cooper's - her Dark Is Rising Sequence was one of the reading joys of my adolescence - I never knew about this poem. I suppose that is because I never attended the Revels - something I now hope to do! Whatever the case may be, I am so glad to have read it now, as its brief text is beautiful and immensely powerful, evoking a sense of the past, and of our connection to the many generations that came before us. I got chills when I read the lines "Through all the frosty ages you can hear them / Echoing, behind us - listen!" Just amazing! The accompanying artwork from Carson Ellis, who was awarded a Caldecott Honor for her Du Iz Tak, is just lovely as well. Highly recommended, to fans of Cooper and/or Ellis, and to anyone seeking picture-books about the Winter Solstice.
Somehow, although a lifelong admirer of Cooper's - her Dark Is Rising Sequence was one of the reading joys of my adolescence - I never knew about this poem. I suppose that is because I never attended the Revels - something I now hope to do! Whatever the case may be, I am so glad to have read it now, as its brief text is beautiful and immensely powerful, evoking a sense of the past, and of our connection to the many generations that came before us. I got chills when I read the lines "Through all the frosty ages you can hear them / Echoing, behind us - listen!" Just amazing! The accompanying artwork from Carson Ellis, who was awarded a Caldecott Honor for her Du Iz Tak, is just lovely as well. Highly recommended, to fans of Cooper and/or Ellis, and to anyone seeking picture-books about the Winter Solstice.
November 12, 2019
Book Reviewed on www.whisperingstories.com
The Shortest Day is a children’s book all about the Winter Solstice and is based on a poem by author Susan Cooper which is recited every year on Revels Stage in nine different American cities.
The poem itself is lovely and the illustrations although a little dark really brings the story to life, however, I feel that the poem is more for adults than for children as it comes across as if it might be a little confusing for younger readers.
At the back of the book, there is an explanation about the poem which again has been written as if it is for an adult reading it not a child.
Whilst I think the book looks beautiful I just don’t believe that the majority of children will understand the meaning, especially not in the UK where the Winter Solstice is rarely celebrated. Until the explanation, at the end, there is no real reference to what the shortest day is, when it happens, why it comes about. Such a shame as it could have been an amazing book if only the explanation for the shortest day was more prominent.
The Shortest Day is a children’s book all about the Winter Solstice and is based on a poem by author Susan Cooper which is recited every year on Revels Stage in nine different American cities.
The poem itself is lovely and the illustrations although a little dark really brings the story to life, however, I feel that the poem is more for adults than for children as it comes across as if it might be a little confusing for younger readers.
At the back of the book, there is an explanation about the poem which again has been written as if it is for an adult reading it not a child.
Whilst I think the book looks beautiful I just don’t believe that the majority of children will understand the meaning, especially not in the UK where the Winter Solstice is rarely celebrated. Until the explanation, at the end, there is no real reference to what the shortest day is, when it happens, why it comes about. Such a shame as it could have been an amazing book if only the explanation for the shortest day was more prominent.
December 26, 2024
In her 2019 picture book The Shortest Day Newbery Medalist Susan Cooper uses simple, yet at the same time powerfully evocative language to lyrically, to poetically demonstrate how we, how humans have celebrated the Winter Solstice through the ages, from the distant past until now, until today (with the poem The Shortest Day originally having been penned by Cooper in the early 1970s and it being used since then as a performance piece for the annual Christmas Revels celebrations in Cambridge, Massachusetts and elsewhere in the USA, which is mentioned in Cooper's author's note, although I also wish that The Shortest Day would also include a bibliography with suggestions for further reading regarding both the solstices and the equinoxes and with both fiction and non fiction titles).
So yes, Susan Cooper's verses for The Shortest Day, they enticingly and descriptively tell how the world experiences the shortest day of the year on the Winter Solstice and how with evergreen boughs/trees, bonfires, candles, dancing, singing and feasting, the Winter Solstice is observed (in the northern hemisphere) and that the sun is equally being goaded and encouraged to return, and indeed and wonderfully so, that the tone for The Shortest Day is both reverent and yet also full of joy and exuberance, with Cooper's words gloriously focusing on the beauty, wonder and traditions of Winter Solstice celebrations, and the importance, the actual necessity of driving away the cold darkness of winter by using candlelight and fire (both physically and symbolically) being of primary consideration both textually and also most definitely with regard to Carson Ellis' accompanying artwork (whose illustrations certainly do both reflect and expand on what Susan Cooper is textually providing in The Shortest Day).
But while Susan Cooper's poem rates as solidly four stars for me, with regard to Ellis' pictures for The Shortest Day, I am aesthetically speaking a bit conflicted. Yes, I really do visually enjoy how Carson Ellis depicts landscapes (including snow) in The Shortest Day, I appreciate her sense of and for colour and especially her wonderful use of light imagery (the sun, candlelight, fire, although that image of the sun as a humanoid character aging and slowly dying is a bit visually strange and uncanny). However, although Carson Ellis' depicted human figures for The Shortest Day nicely show both the joyfulness of welcoming the new year, the sun (and warming light) returning and the equally so the original fear of the old year dying, of the sun and the sun's warmth disappearing for good and altogether, the depicted wide open mouthes of the vast majority of Ellis' human figures (well, at least for my visual tastes) makes many if not in fact most of the facial expressions in The Shortest Year look exaggerated and bordering on being creepy to and for me (and not to mention, that some of the dancing humans in The Shortest Day look more like circus contortionists and which I do find visually strange). And while I still do think that generally speaking The Shortest Day is a more than decent Winter Solstice themed picture book and presents a successful enough combination of text and images, yes and indeed, my issues with how Ellis depicts human faces in her artwork does visually bother me enough to consider no longer a four star but instead only a three star rating for The Shortest Day.
So yes, Susan Cooper's verses for The Shortest Day, they enticingly and descriptively tell how the world experiences the shortest day of the year on the Winter Solstice and how with evergreen boughs/trees, bonfires, candles, dancing, singing and feasting, the Winter Solstice is observed (in the northern hemisphere) and that the sun is equally being goaded and encouraged to return, and indeed and wonderfully so, that the tone for The Shortest Day is both reverent and yet also full of joy and exuberance, with Cooper's words gloriously focusing on the beauty, wonder and traditions of Winter Solstice celebrations, and the importance, the actual necessity of driving away the cold darkness of winter by using candlelight and fire (both physically and symbolically) being of primary consideration both textually and also most definitely with regard to Carson Ellis' accompanying artwork (whose illustrations certainly do both reflect and expand on what Susan Cooper is textually providing in The Shortest Day).
But while Susan Cooper's poem rates as solidly four stars for me, with regard to Ellis' pictures for The Shortest Day, I am aesthetically speaking a bit conflicted. Yes, I really do visually enjoy how Carson Ellis depicts landscapes (including snow) in The Shortest Day, I appreciate her sense of and for colour and especially her wonderful use of light imagery (the sun, candlelight, fire, although that image of the sun as a humanoid character aging and slowly dying is a bit visually strange and uncanny). However, although Carson Ellis' depicted human figures for The Shortest Day nicely show both the joyfulness of welcoming the new year, the sun (and warming light) returning and the equally so the original fear of the old year dying, of the sun and the sun's warmth disappearing for good and altogether, the depicted wide open mouthes of the vast majority of Ellis' human figures (well, at least for my visual tastes) makes many if not in fact most of the facial expressions in The Shortest Year look exaggerated and bordering on being creepy to and for me (and not to mention, that some of the dancing humans in The Shortest Day look more like circus contortionists and which I do find visually strange). And while I still do think that generally speaking The Shortest Day is a more than decent Winter Solstice themed picture book and presents a successful enough combination of text and images, yes and indeed, my issues with how Ellis depicts human faces in her artwork does visually bother me enough to consider no longer a four star but instead only a three star rating for The Shortest Day.
November 1, 2019
Aaargh, This book is so close to being great and after one read I had decided it was - five stars and a top place on our school's Book Fest Top Picks 2019. And then I read it again...and while still very good, it fatally does not deliver on its promise - "The Shortest Day is for everyone".
It is fine to have a Christmas book, fine to have a book that speaks about any single history, both those books could be excellent. What is not ok is to have a book that purports to speak to all but reveals a profound bias.
The handsome opening images show neolithic peoples, focusing on northern cultures, but then we move on to more identifiable cultural representations and all of them are Nordic. On re-reading I kept looking for one spread that would include one of the many Asian cultures that has traditions around light. (Lots of South American cultures also do, but even hewing to a northern latitude theme there were plenty of examples that could have been pictured if this book were really for everyone - China, Korea, parts of India and Japan.) There are multiple mis-steps in the author's note at the end. While she inclusively mentions Chanukah and Diwali (and there are brown faces and a menorah included in the modern illustrations of holiday celebration) there rest of the text is very Christmas heavy and ends with the unforgivable line "When your family and friends celebrate Christmas in their own way, maybe you could astonish them all by standing up and reciting The Shortest Day."
I do not understand how this almost excellent book could have gotten through the editorial process with out someone mentioning - "Carson add an Asian celebration, Susan add a sentence to the Christmas origin story of the poem to talk about how it connects to a more universal celebratory impulse and do not end your book for everyone with the explicit assumption that everyone celebrates Christmas!" Aaaargh!
For more inclusive shortest day nonfiction check out: The Shortest Day by Pfeffer, Celebrations of Light by Luenn, and The Winter Solstice by Jackson.
It is fine to have a Christmas book, fine to have a book that speaks about any single history, both those books could be excellent. What is not ok is to have a book that purports to speak to all but reveals a profound bias.
The handsome opening images show neolithic peoples, focusing on northern cultures, but then we move on to more identifiable cultural representations and all of them are Nordic. On re-reading I kept looking for one spread that would include one of the many Asian cultures that has traditions around light. (Lots of South American cultures also do, but even hewing to a northern latitude theme there were plenty of examples that could have been pictured if this book were really for everyone - China, Korea, parts of India and Japan.) There are multiple mis-steps in the author's note at the end. While she inclusively mentions Chanukah and Diwali (and there are brown faces and a menorah included in the modern illustrations of holiday celebration) there rest of the text is very Christmas heavy and ends with the unforgivable line "When your family and friends celebrate Christmas in their own way, maybe you could astonish them all by standing up and reciting The Shortest Day."
I do not understand how this almost excellent book could have gotten through the editorial process with out someone mentioning - "Carson add an Asian celebration, Susan add a sentence to the Christmas origin story of the poem to talk about how it connects to a more universal celebratory impulse and do not end your book for everyone with the explicit assumption that everyone celebrates Christmas!" Aaaargh!
For more inclusive shortest day nonfiction check out: The Shortest Day by Pfeffer, Celebrations of Light by Luenn, and The Winter Solstice by Jackson.
November 20, 2019
There are some spreads that are really appealing (mostly those without people), but I don't like the book as a whole. The poem, which since 1974 has been a part of the annual Christmas Revels, seems to me to be kind of a preface to a celebration of Christmas: here's how a particular pagan people (those in snow-covered lands - Cooper mentions Ireland in her afterword) celebrated the solstice. Then Christianity came and here's what happened - people didn't just go on celebrating the solstice; things changed. However, in an attempt to be Diverse and Inclusive, it gets mired in equivalence - where Hanukah and Diwali and Christmas all are just different ways to celebrate the same solstice (except Diwali isn't celebrated at the winter solstice and is instead in October-November). This very much misses the point of those very different holidays. The poem itself is not the problem; it's the afterword and some of the illustrations.
Hate Carson Ellis's amateurish depictions of humans, many of whom apparently have no elbow or knee joints. All her children have the same ugly faces. Maybe she just shouldn't paint people.
Hate Carson Ellis's amateurish depictions of humans, many of whom apparently have no elbow or knee joints. All her children have the same ugly faces. Maybe she just shouldn't paint people.
December 10, 2019
Composed around the same time that Cooper was writing/publishing The Dark Is Rising, The Shortest Day owes much to the research and mythologies associated with the winter solstice which plays a part in both poem and novel. It reminds us of the great cycle of life, the pagan origins of the Christmas ritual and rebirth and of our deep connection with the landscape.
Far lighter than the Dark is Rising, this poem is more a celebration of light and the continuation of life. It is a poem, Cooper tells us in the back, to be read aloud and shared during the winter solstice. Just as she had written the poem for Langstaff’s American Christmas Revels (which fused the medieval and modern) so Ellis's incredible illustrations do the same bringing to light the cycle of New Years and our constant desire to fight the darkness with light.
Far lighter than the Dark is Rising, this poem is more a celebration of light and the continuation of life. It is a poem, Cooper tells us in the back, to be read aloud and shared during the winter solstice. Just as she had written the poem for Langstaff’s American Christmas Revels (which fused the medieval and modern) so Ellis's incredible illustrations do the same bringing to light the cycle of New Years and our constant desire to fight the darkness with light.
October 19, 2021
“All the long echoes sing the same delight/this shortest day.” At one level a simple Solstice (rather than Christmas) poem, beautifully illustrated by Carson Ellis to show the continuity of Solstice celebrations from the earliest (? European) humans: at another, well, this is Susan Cooper, and the world of Will Stanton and the beliefs at the heart of The Dark is Rising are, for me, inescapable. Does this enrich or detract from my reading? I honestly can’t decide, even on multiple re-readings.
The plain but beautiful cadences of the short poem are worth celebrating; the art work is likewise gorgeous. Was I expecting more? A deeper delve into the Matter of Britain? And should I turn those expectations off, and enjoy this for what it is?
The plain but beautiful cadences of the short poem are worth celebrating; the art work is likewise gorgeous. Was I expecting more? A deeper delve into the Matter of Britain? And should I turn those expectations off, and enjoy this for what it is?
December 31, 2025
A solumn and poetic picture book to finish off 2025. Told with a poem by Cooper written decades before, we follow its message of the sun rising every season and how it bring us together such as the holiday season.
A beautiful and touching book with an endearing message with a nice holiday story, and Ellis’ illustrations are just so lovely. There’s also the backstory of how Cooper created her poem.
One more sunrise and sunset until a new year. A- (91%/Excellent)
A beautiful and touching book with an endearing message with a nice holiday story, and Ellis’ illustrations are just so lovely. There’s also the backstory of how Cooper created her poem.
One more sunrise and sunset until a new year. A- (91%/Excellent)
December 8, 2019
Bless Susan Cooper and her love showing how paganism and solstice underpin modern belief systems. I loved it in The Dark Is Rising Sequence and I love it here. Especially the art. The text itself was just OK - pretty thin, since it is basically a short poem that didn't particularly grab me verbally.
Happy almost solstice, everyone - may we all find our way to the light!
Happy almost solstice, everyone - may we all find our way to the light!
November 15, 2019
What a unique picture book! Evocative illustrations tell the story of the winter solstice and the many ways different cultures have marked its arrival.
September 27, 2020
One of my very favorite poems about the winter solstice.
December 29, 2024
Prachtig prentenboek vol hoop.
Ik heb het gebruikt tijdens een Samenleessessie.
De reacties van de deelnemers waren ook erg positief.
Ik heb het gebruikt tijdens een Samenleessessie.
De reacties van de deelnemers waren ook erg positief.
November 15, 2024
Using this for a winter storytime. Love the illustrations.
January 26, 2020
Stunning illustrations evoke the perfect mood in accompanying this poem about the winter solstice. An object of beauty and the perfect springboard to talk about the importance of this ancient celebration with children.
December 8, 2020
In many ways, this is really lovely and stirring. I especially appreciate the way the illustrations evolve showing people across time celebrating the winter solstice, culminating in present day celebrations. That thread that connects us to the past is just so poignantly and beautifully highlighted here.
Note for sensitive children that a few of the illustrations might be a little unsettling (what most will interpret as a giant with the sun for a face, for example) and that the text begins "So the shortest day came, and the year died" (I read this in the pandemic year, so maybe I'm just over-thinking here, but FYI. Obviously the focus of the book is on rebirth and celebrating the new life and new year to come!)
Note for sensitive children that a few of the illustrations might be a little unsettling (what most will interpret as a giant with the sun for a face, for example) and that the text begins "So the shortest day came, and the year died" (I read this in the pandemic year, so maybe I'm just over-thinking here, but FYI. Obviously the focus of the book is on rebirth and celebrating the new life and new year to come!)
December 15, 2019
Superb illustrations with one exception. A Christmas tree and a menorah. With the diversity within the book, why bring any religion into this story? It was just confusing. Many cultures around the world and throughout history have diverse winter solstice celebrations- that should have been the only focus. The poem was fine.
December 8, 2023
This stunning, quiet picture book celebrates the Winter Solstice, the Yuletide season and how, through the thousands upon thousands of years of human history, people have gathered in joy to watch the dying and the magical return of seasonal light; how it unites us and brings out the hope for peace. Full of wonder!
December 28, 2022
A lovely book. The poem outlines some of the old traditions that have passed through the centuries and are still celebrated today, often with adaptations. The illustrations are lovely and capture this passing of time.
November 25, 2019
A colorful children's book about the winter solstice written by one of the great children's authors of our time. The text of this book is from a poem, also written by Cooper in 1974.
July 23, 2020
I loved the poem and the illustrations in this book. If you celebrate yule and know a young reader, give them this lovely book as a gift.
November 30, 2019
This is quite an interesting book for children with engaging pictures that lend mystery and awe to the mythical giant legend tends to have wander Earth shortening the days and bringing the dark and the peoples methods of coping with their fears of the loss of light and the increase of darkness.
This legend or myth is most prevalent in the far north where the days become almost completely lost to the dark.
The joy they feel as the light begins to return is captured in the text and illustrations.
This is a good presentation of the ways peoples have dealt with their feelings as the days wax and wane with the passing of the seasons.
DISCLOSURE: I received a complimentary copy from Candlewick Press to facilitate this review. Opinions are mine, alone and are freely given.
This legend or myth is most prevalent in the far north where the days become almost completely lost to the dark.
The joy they feel as the light begins to return is captured in the text and illustrations.
This is a good presentation of the ways peoples have dealt with their feelings as the days wax and wane with the passing of the seasons.
DISCLOSURE: I received a complimentary copy from Candlewick Press to facilitate this review. Opinions are mine, alone and are freely given.
November 20, 2019
I heard about the Revels some years before they came to New York City, and to see and hear them live filled a place in me I did not know was empty. Part of this winter solstice celebration was a poem by the great Susan Cooper called The Shortest Day. I sent that poem to friends, I quoted it in various ways, for some years I sent it as a holiday card. To see it made into this exquisite picture book, in a format I can share with so many in my family, is a great joy.
It hearkens back to the oldest human longings to bring back the light in the darkest of days, and the afterword mentions Diwali and Hanukkah among other festivals of light, but it is neither religious nor secular. Images are of winter and light and dark, there is a decorated tree and holly boughs and candlelight and a menorah. The figures are ancient and modern. Read it aloud to those you love.
It hearkens back to the oldest human longings to bring back the light in the darkest of days, and the afterword mentions Diwali and Hanukkah among other festivals of light, but it is neither religious nor secular. Images are of winter and light and dark, there is a decorated tree and holly boughs and candlelight and a menorah. The figures are ancient and modern. Read it aloud to those you love.
November 26, 2019
Lovely picture book.
November 21, 2019
Beautifully illustrated retelling of Susan Cooper's Yule poem. Yes, it's short. But it's so lovely to read a poem celebrating this time of year that underscores the long tradition of human beings to mark the time around the solstice.
December 6, 2019
I really wanted to like this book and was excited to get a pagan holiday picture book. However, there are a few problems with this book. Firstly, Yule is a celebration of the shortest day and rebirth of the sun. The pagan new year is on Samhain which celebrates the end of the harvest season. Therefore the line "The shortest day came, and the year died" is incorrect. Additionally, Diwali is celebrated a lot earlier than the winter solstice, October/November, and should not be lumped with the winter solstice. Another thing, the illustrations are CREEPY!!! It might scare young children.
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