A Redwall Winter's Tale (Turtleback School & Library Binding Edition) [Library Binding]

Brian Jacques (Author), Christopher Denise (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 2004 | Age Level: 4 and up | Grade Level: P and up

FOR USE IN SCHOOLS AND LIBRARIES ONLY. Fun-loving Bungo the molebabe and his friend Tubspike the hedgehog maid welcome a travelling troupe that visits Redwall Abbey to celebrate the coming of Snowbadger, the Lord of Wintertide.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

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 --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4 and up
  
• Library Binding: 72 pages
• Publisher: Turtleback (October 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1417746912
• ISBN-13: 978-1417746910
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 7 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,959,217 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

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.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very cute story with WONDERFUL pictures!, February 9, 2002

By 

Paige (Wauwatosa, Wisconsin United States) - See all my reviews

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!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great introduction to the world of Redwall, February 22, 2002

By 

David M. Ng (Palo Alto, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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.

9 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Recommended by SPECTRUM Home & School Magazine, October 1, 2001

By 

KB Shaw "incwell.com" (Chandler, AZ United States) - See all my reviews

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.