Houts, Michelle. WinterFrost. Candlewick Press, 2014. $16.99.
259 pages. Content: G.
Everything is perfect for Bettina Larsen’s Danish Christmas
until the phone call telling them that Bettina’s grandmother (Mormor) has had
an accident. Bettina’s mother leaves to
take care of her. Her father also leaves
to visit an elderly relative. Bettina is
left alone to take care of the farm and her little baby sister Pia who is
barely one. In all the commotion the
family forgets to leave out a bowl of Christmas pudding in the barn for the nisse
(a magical Gnome/Dwarf creature that is said to look after the family). Klakke, their nisse, is very upset. He makes a mess in the barn and makes Bettina’s
tools hard to find. Bettina doesn’t
realize it is the nisse until her baby sister is stolen while napping. Bettina sets off into the woods to find her
sister and apologize to the nisse. She finds them only to discover than another
nisse has stolen her sister. She must go
on a journey to find the nisse Ulf, return her sister, and help him reconcile
with his family. Bettina’s story is an
unusual Christmastime tale with Danish traditions that will be unfamiliar to
most children. Children will enjoy the
nisse and their magic. Bettina’s
determination to find her sister and to live up to her parent’s expectations will
ring true with children. It is a simple
story of forgiveness and about taking responsibility for your actions that is
good for humans and nisse alike.
EL-ADVISABLE.
Samantha Hastings, MA, MLS.
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