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The stories are always pared with great pictures and not too wordy for elementary ages. We (my son is 8) love knowing where our traditions came from. This book covers all religions and beliefs equally and with history.
I dont recommend this book for any family that observes the tradition of Solstice, as it isn't a respectful view of our tradition. Especially of concern was how the book continues to refer to "Christmas" as a holiday "We" all celebrate. I purchased this book thinking it would be a nice story for my son, who along with the rest of our extended family, celebrates the Winter Solstice. The book seemed to mock the traditions of this season.
It has very beautiful illustrations and a lovely Native American story at the end about why the evergreens stay green through winter. I hope any of you with children will consider picking up this book for them. I personally feel that some of those who reviewed the book negatively don't know how to read critically.
Some Pagans have criticized the book for not representing modern Paganism; however, I feel it is unreasonable of Pagans to presume that Judeo-Christians even know of our faith, let alone to expect them to write about it as if it were the truth. " I paused to explain to him that there are real ghosts (spirits) and real witches (people who perform witchcraft) and that I'd never seen a troll, but I wouldn't say they don't exist either. Though the book is written from a Judeo-Christian perspective, it is an excellent book for educating children about the many ways the winter solstice is celebrated throughout the world.
I'm teaching my child to be a critical reader. Definitely worth the purchase price. I take it for what it is, a very well-written children's book that is exploring the multicultural aspect of the winter solstice festival.
When I read it to my son and it said something like "ancient people once believed in ghosts, witches, and trolls.
Talks a lot about driving away evil spirits and even human sacrifice. It emphasizes the fears ancient peoples felt at this time of year as the reason for the mid-winter holiday. I'm sure it's very historically accurate, but "The Shortest Day" glosses over some of the darkest information and provides very similar history but in a lighter way. I got this and "The Shortest Day" by Wendy Pfeffer to try to provide a non-denominational explanation of Christmas to my toddler. I think "The Winter Solstice" is a little too dark and scary for young kids.
The book covers an ancient Scottish family's Winter Solstice experience, shows us an ancient viewpoint featuring Stonehenge, explores anicent Roman, Scandinavian, Celtic, Peruvian, and Native American celebrations. It includes a brief and easily understood scientific explanation for the Winter Solstice.
The illustrations feature yew and mistletoe, blazing bonfires, antlered ancients encouraging the return of the Sun, changing seasons, and children celebrating. The book is nicely rounded off with a solstice story from a Cherokee tale of creation.
This lovely picture book is a great over-view of Winter Solstice history, tradition, science and celebration. It ties in the celebrations of Christmas and Hanukkah and traces where some of those holiday traditions originated.
It is a lively and entertaining book that will enrich anyone's understanding of this special night of the year and will be especially useful to Wiccan and other pagan parents. The illustrations are satisfyingly detailed and brightly colored, many of them double page spreads.
It shares some of the features of modern day Winter Solstice celebrations.
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