Age Level: 5 and up | Grade Level: P and up | Series: Redwall Companion Books
On the last day of autumn, the Redwallers are preparing for some special guests: a troupe of traveling players who promise an evening of entertainment in exchange for a grand feast. The merriment continues far into the evening, until it's time for sleepy Dibbuns to be tucked in their beds with a story: the tale of Snow Badger, Lord of Wintertide, who comes on the first night of winter, bringing snow across the land.
As they did in The Great Redwall Feast, Christopher Denise's warm pastel illustrations and Brian Jacques' magical words take young readers straight to the heart of Redwall. Fans, young and old, will be enchanted by this delightful winter's tale, spun by a master storyteller.
Young readers who have watched their older siblings devour the Redwall series by Brian Jacques will be overjoyed to find a Redwall tale just their pace. Along with The Great Redwall Feast, Jacques and illustrator Christopher Denise's A Redwall Winter's Tale brings the saga of the lively badger, mole, squirrel, and mouse denizens of Redwall Abbey to a younger audience. In this cozy, happy story, Bungo the mole-babe and his friend Tubspike the hedgehog maid are beside themselves with excitement as they await some very special guests on the last day of autumn. Little do they know there's another, even more special guest on his way.
Verse interspersed with prose makes this cheerful, pleasing tale a perfect read-aloud--perhaps in small doses, though. Denise's depictions of the many beasts feasting, celebrating, playing, and sleeping are adorable without being too precious. Here is a terrific introduction to the more advanced tales of danger and adventure in the well-loved Redwall series. (Ages 5 to 8) --Emilie Coulter
From Publishers Weekly
In A Redwall Winter's Tale, a picture-book follow-up to The Great Redwall Feast, a troupe of traveling entertainers visits the abbey to commemorate the arrival of Snow Badger, Lord of Wintertide. But a fanciful bedtime story leaves Bungo the molebabe wondering what is real and what is fantasy. Christopher Denise's illustrations capture the waning sunlight and complement the alternating prose and verse.
A well-known radio personality in his native Liverpool--as well as an actor, stand-up comic, and playwright--Brian Jacques (1939-2011) was the host of "Jakestown" on BBC Radio Merseyside. Ever the performer, Jacques was well-known for applying his acting and entertainment background to his lively presentations to legions of young fans at schools across the United States and England. Brian Jacques was born in Liverpool, England on June 15th, 1939. Along with forty percent of the population of Liverpool, his ancestral roots are in Ireland, County Cork to be exact. He grew up in the area around the Liverpool docks. His interest in adventure stories began at an early age with reading the books of: Daniel Defoe, Sir Henry Rider Haggard, Arthur Conan Doyle, Sir Thomas Malory, Robert Michael Ballantyne, Robert Louis Stevenson, Edgar Rice Burroughs, and Kenneth Grahame. He attended St. John's School, an inner city school that had its playground on the roof. On his first day at St. John's, at the age of ten, he had an experience that marked his potential as a writer. When given an assignment of writing a story about animals, he wrote about the bird that cleaned a crocodile's teeth. The teacher could not, and would not, believe that a ten year old could write that well. When young Brian refused to falsely say that he had copied the story, he was caned as "a liar". He had always loved to write, but it was only then, that he realized that he had a talent for writing. "My favourite teacher was Mr. Austin Thomas. He looked like Lee Marvin. Big Man. A Captain in World War II. He came to school on a big bush bike with the haversack on back. He was a man's man. Always fair. I was fourteen at the time when Mr. Thomas introduced the class to poetry and Greek literature. (Because of him, I saved seven shillings and sixpence to buy The Iliad and The Odyssey at this dusty used book shop.)" This interest in poetry extended to Wordsworth, Tennyson, and Goldsmith. It was also at St. John's that Brian met a teacher, Alan Durband (who also taught two Beatles, Paul McCartney and George Harrison), who, more than thirty years later would bring about a major change in his life. After Brian finished school at fifteen, he set out to find adventure as a merchant seaman. He travelled to many far away ports, including New York, Valparaiso, San Francisco, and Yokohama. Tiring of the lonely life of a sailor, he returned to Liverpool where he worked as a railway fireman, a longshoreman, a long-distance truck driver, a bus driver, a boxer, a bobby (Police Constable 216D), a postmaster, and a stand-up comic. Jacques passed away in February of 2011 at the age of 71.
This review is from: A Redwall Winter's Tale (Redwall Companion Books) (Hardcover)
I got this book during the christmas season thinking it would be a regular chapter book. This is not a Chapter Book!!!! This only has a few words per page but the illustrations make up for everything. Don't get me wrong though, the story is written very well, very poetically in fact. This is great read, especially for younger people who may have a hard time reading some of Jacques other longer books. Definitely worth it!
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This review is from: A Redwall Winter's Tale (Redwall Companion Books) (Hardcover)
A traveling group of entertainers arrives at the Redwall Abbey on the last day of Autumn. The travellers put on a big show, and the Redwallers provide a huge feast. When it is time to put the Dibbuns (youngsters) to bed, Mighty Bulbrock Badger tells a bedtime story. Who brings the wintertime snows? Why, the Snow Badger, of course! But is the Snow Badger real, or just a fairy tale told to the Dibbuns? You'll have to read the book to find out. The pictures are wonderful, perfectly complementing the story. Like Brian Jacques' previous picture book The Great Redwall Feast, also illustrated by Christopher Denise, this is a perfect introduction to the Redwall series for younger readers and a great book for all ages.
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This review is from: A Redwall Winter's Tale (Redwall Companion Books) (Hardcover)
Brian Jacques is perhaps England's second-best-known young adult writer after J. K. Rowling. His thirteen Redwall novels have a large and loyal following. While the novels are for readers nine-and-up, this volume begs to be shared by the entire family. The rich illustrations bring to mind classics like "Peter Rabbit" and "Wind in the Willows."On Autumn's Final Day, the animals of Redwall Abbey gather together to celebrate the coming of winter. There is great excitement in the community because on this special night they will feast and be entertained by the famous "Traveling Thistledown Troup." This is a tale of community, friendship, and belief that will no doubt become a family holiday tradition.
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