Illustrated in a thoughtful, textured mix of crayons and watercolour, this book—Cristina Sitja Rubio’s English-language debut—narrates the story of Badger, who makes plans to spend time with his friends in the forest during Winter. However, he finds that most of them—Mr Bear, Marmot, nighthawk, are all fast asleep for the season.

He goes back home, and spends time by himself. We see the calm presence of a (likely) parent Badger in the scene at home, cosy under a blanket, with one’s feet resting on a stub of wood, a blanket to cover one’s legs, a cup of a warm brew in one’s hand, while a kettle steams atop a table close by.

[Badger] draws for hours.
He reads for hours.
He knits for hours.
Clearly, being alone isn’t his thing.

The colloquial, accessible phrasing of language, in Vineet Lal’s translation from the original French, invite a reader in, along with the welcoming visuals.

Badger tries again, and visits the snails and the tortoises, the hedgehogs, and the bats, until he acts upon a suggestion, an idea. Surely, not all the creatures in the forest are asleep for the winter?

This is a story that talks about winter, torpor, and hibernation on one level. The endpapers at the opening of the book show us visuals of the animals that sleep a lot in winter, while those towards the close of the book, show us images of the animals that don’t. The backmatter has a note on animals that hibernate, as well as a list of ways in which children could help animals and birds during the winter.

On a deeper level, this is also a story that speaks about staying with a problem, letting it gestate in one’s mind, and find new ways to resolve it, even if it means moving out of one’s comfort zone. Cristina Sitja Rubio’s crayon lettering and mindful pictures recreate an aura of childhood that is almost tangible, drawing us into what it means to feel shy, to seek comfort in one’s friends, and the sense of abandon that comes with the heady feeling of satisfaction of finding one’s tribe.

The Most Beautiful Winter (Releases Oct 15, 2024)
Written and Illustrated by Cristina Sitja-Rubio
Translated from French by Vineet Lal
ISBN: 9780802856272
Published by: Eerdmans Books for Young Readers

This review is based on a digital copy shared by the publisher.

You can buy a copy here* or find it at a library.

*Book purchases made via our affiliate link may earn GLLI a small commission at no cost to you.

Karthika Gopalakrishnan is the Head of Reading at Neev Academy, Bangalore, and the Director of the Neev Literature Festival. In the past, she has worked as a children’s book writer, editor, and content curator at Multistory Learning which ran a reading program for schools across south India. Prior to this, Karthika was a full-time print journalist with two national dailies. Her Twitter handle is g_karthika.