Product Description

A troupe of traveling players have promised the Redwallers an evening of entertainment in exchange for a grand feast. Late at night after the festivities have ended, Mighty Bulbrock Badger sends the little ones off to sleep with the tale of the giant Snow Badger who comes on the first night of winter, bringing snow across the land. The grown-up Redwallers chuckle at the fanciful tale, but is it only a tale? Bungo the mole-babe isn’t so sure, and is determined to stay awake and find out!

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #618995 in Books
• Published on: 2004-10-21
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 72 pages

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

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.

From School Library Journal
Gr 2-4-The inhabitants of Redwall Abbey are celebrating Autumn's final day and the coming of Winter. When the entertaining and feasting are over, the Abbeybabes are taken to the nursery dormitory and told the story of how Snow Badger comes to earth every winter to coat the ground with snow. Only Bulbrock Badger still believes in him, and wears a parchment scroll around his neck as the souvenir of their meeting long ago. Early the next morning, as Snow Badger is just finishing coating the windowpanes with frost, Baby Bungo pokes his head out to meet him. Of course no one believes the mole-babe, until Bulbrock notices that he now also wears a parchment scroll around his neck. Solving the riddle on it will prove Snow Badger's existence. The narration disconcertingly bursts into rhyme often, sometimes with poetic asides and sometimes just continuing the story. Some of the creatures speak in dialect, which would be wonderful to hear but is difficult to read. Denise's illustrations are reminiscent of the color plates in the original book, done by Troy Howell, but with major changes. The earth-toned palette is cranked up to maximum brightness, the focus is softer and less detailed, and all of the creatures look fat and happy, perhaps reflecting a more peaceful time. It is hard to imagine the audience for this book. It is too long, rambling, and descriptive for preschool storyhours or beginning readers, although it could be shared as a lap-book with one or a few children. Older children who love the "Redwall" series (Philomel) for the excitement, conflict, and danger will be disappointed to find none of those elements here. Of course, true fans will need to read it, if only because it's here.

Susan L. Rogers, Chestnut Hill Academy, PA

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Customer Reviews

Very cute story with WONDERFUL pictures!
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!

A great introduction to the world of Redwall
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.

Recommended by SPECTRUM Home & School Magazine

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.