A beautiful, wintery story sprinkled with folklore and magic, from much-loved author Sophie Anderson.

Since ‘the incident’ at Claw’s Edge, Tasha has found it hard to trust or let anyone in. She has vowed to stay near home where it is safe and despite a longing to make new friends and much encouragement from her family, her anxiety prevents her from reaching out. That is until she meets Alyana. Created in the first snowfall by Tasha and her Grandpa and modelled on the Snow Girl from his bedtime stories, a wish brings her to life and Alyana and Tasha adventure together through the winter nights, forming a close bond. Not wanting to lose her magical friend, Tasha longs to hold onto the winter, but when the endless snowfall and the freezing temperatures make Grandpa ill, Tasha must find a way for the Spring to come. But to do that, she will need the help of some friends. Can her bond with Alyana help her to be brave?

There is so much love and warmth in this story, despite the wintery setting. The descriptions are so evocative, the elements of folklore and fairytale are beautifully woven into the storytelling as they always are with Sophie Anderson’s writing and the relationships between the characters are so kind and gentle too. The way all the characters support Tasha through her anxiety is sensitively written. They let her take the lead, accept her choices and give her their time, patience and acceptance.

This would make a brilliant class read aloud for the winter months or would make a fantastic text to use as part of a KS2 traditional tales unit, being steeped in Slavic folklore, magic and mythology. Extracts could also be used as writing models, particularly for descriptions of winter landscapes that awaken all the senses.

The front cover says it all, and it’s just as beautiful within!