Time to Think Ahead to Winter- on Winter Solstice Hill

 No complaints, please, about the topic of this review. Ads for Halloween costumes have been showing up in social media reels, back-to-school sales are already fading, and stock-up-for Thanksgiving ads actually showed up this week. Weirdly early, all of the above. 

CHARLESBRIDGE. October, 2026

Yes, the date is correct... AUGUST!
But the book under discussion here is WINTER SOLSTICE HILL, written by Cathy Stefanec Ogren and illustrated by Rebecca Evans. Why now, you ask, when we have yet to reach Fall's equinox? I'll answer that important question at the end of the post.

First, check out this lovely cover. You can see, as I did, that the story has been portrayed visually by a very perceptive and talented illustrator. Rendered in natural tones with soft edges, the scenes throughout have a light-infused effect. Indoor spreads of  the worn-wood floors, hearth fire, and simple furnishings are softly glazed with a glow that offers a "comfort-food" impact. That's true despite the frosted windows and concerned expression on the face of Ella.

The text is fluent and perfectly matched to the welcoming and straightforward life portrayed. Art details include moving boxes to unpack, a baby sibling, and a joyful golden dog, none of which are mentioned in text. Such details flood the spread with multiple examples of both security and change. Readers quickly connect with Ella (tagged by Grandpa as Ella-Bella) on her quest. They will trudge to the top of the hill, Winter Solstice Hill, where Ella's great-grandparent settlers first stood on Winter Solstice to share a wish for the first time. Finally, Ella is old enough to take part in the tradition. 

Readers join the uphill traipse with Ella, Grandpa, dog, and toboggan to search for the perfect tree, then hope to view the first Solstice star at the summit. Ella is on a mission to make an important but unstated wish. 

The spreads immerse readers in the depth of family history and generational connection, supporting text clues that these generations will be sharing that family home on heritage land. Just as we join in the satisfaction of finding a perfect tree, the weather (and tone) shift, adding the tension of impending storms that will block a view of any stars. In fact, arrival at the summit will not be achieved on that solstice night. The resolve from that point forward allows readers to experience Ella's wide emotional range, and to share in the gratifying ending. Will the wish need to wait, or is another approach possible? 

Overall, this generational story allows the specificity of the characters to feel universal, offering the softening effects of a dusting of light snow. The mix of eagerness, anxiety, joy, enthusiasm, disappointment, and excitement invite discussion, as well as recognition that few feelings are singular. The illustrations contribute so much to an already appealing text, magnifying the well-told story and delightful characters.

Now, back to my opening promise to indicate why a book about Winter Solstice matters in August? This goes to the business side of publishing, in which books are in their final phases (preparing to print, ship, distribute, and sell) for several months before the actual release date. It has become a business model to offer presale of those books, which can even drive the number actually printed and sold. It's a measure of interest and appeal, allowing publishers to guard against overproduction. I'll fully admit that I buy fewer books these days, preferring to read library copies when possible. In this case I was provided a digital copy to preview because I wanted to read it and encourage followers here to consider preorders. This is a seasonal celebration of the ways we carry on traditions, share family stories, imagine ourselves in relation to others, and more. With the multi-cultural holidays that center around late December and relate their stories and celebrations to the Earth's shift from dark to light, this book serves as an axis for all those other books. The storytelling, tone, and resolution can be the foundation for endless family and broader holiday stories at that time of year. To assure that you can purchase enough copies for the many people you'll want to gift with this book and to encourage publishers to produce enough to meet demand, please give this one a close look and consider using the preorder option to support it. 

 

RIDE ALONG: Incredibly Fast and Not At All Fun!

 As summer winds down, those who adore roller coasters and theme parks should be getting their roll on while they can. To share that experience (and examine it more closely) a new picture book has released. INCREDIBLY FAST AND NOT AT ALL FUN is the imaginative and marvelous new title from author/illustrator Tadgh Bentley. 

ATHENEUM
BOOKS FOR YOUN G READERS, 2026

The premise of this story is a surprisingly imaginative origin story for the first roller coaster ever. Bear (a big-muzzled beekeeper bear with some serious STEM skills) sets out to solve a problem. The wooded valley between his hilltop home and his hive (located on the other side of the valley) is (over) populated with critters! Bear needs  a quick, undistracted transport system to get from here to there, so to speak. 

Opening AND closing end papers nearly waylaid my efforts to read Bear's determined account while I scrutinized the graphic-design/blueprint style details revealing Bear's intended solution. The design drawings incorporate local terrain, creating a need for rising/falling, twisting, twirling layouts, with practical (and laughable) units of measure in length, labeled "bears". Why not? We measure length in "feet". 

Bear called his device the "Honey Runner". Although steep, and perhaps intimidating, the potential for efficiency outweighed his concerns. And, it worked! But Bear's debut ride was observed by countless woodland eyes, and those critters were curious! They begged to ride along. 

The story unfolds with those eager thrill-seekers clamoring for more exciting rides.  Complicating issues arise. Bear's attempt to simplify his life with an efficient transport system becomes anything but efficient. As you probably imagine by now, more engineering is involved, but that only makes the "Honey Runner" that much more exciting. 

No worries.Clever Bear finds a way to satisfy his thrill-seeking forest neighbors while still pursuing his quiet life. But that last page turn will have readers howling and ready to right a next chapter in Bear's story. 

First, all praise for the main text, which crackles with crisp and comical situations and language. Bear's emotional journey, including frustration and exasperation, will take readers on a ride in itself. And the small details (and I do mean small, including in earliest spreads shown with miniature scene set-ups and signage) will have kids poring over each spread, each little critter's expression, and each transition's potential through repeated readings. 

Bentley is as talented at visuals as he is at storytelling. This oversized book allows for expansive and colorful spreads suggesting nature's sprawling invitation to Bear to make a way through. The forest colors glow with fall foliage, offering a vibrant background for small brown silhouettes, each with bright white eyes. Figures are expressive and soft-edged in contrast to construction elements and detailed plans. 

Those eyes, by the way, deserve their own commentary.

First, I'll admit that manga-like, big-eyed characters in picture books are not my first choice in conveying character or personality. This forest population, though, sports white-eyed, wide-eyed expressions in a variety of angles and attitudes that actually reveal their otherwise limited expressiveness rather than looking endlessly repetitive. The eyes make it clear within dense backgrounds that there are SO MANY of them, as bear seems to be thinking. Yet his heart is tugged to give ride after ride and eventually solve the situation he confronts in those  pleading, begging, eager eyes, always aimed exactly where they must be in order to achieve their intent and to direct readers' attention. 

The overall story is a delight. Creators are often told to find something original, that there are plenty of dog stories, cat stories, bear stories, etc. ... UNLESS you can find something truly original to do with those familiar stars of the show. And this book does exactly that!  It dares to pair a nature/woodland scene with a lovable bear and a lively community of neighbors with a ROLLERCOASTER! A ride with swooshing, gasping speed, with curves and turns and twists that lift off the page could cause shrieks from audiences. It invites reading aloud to giggling groups as well as close scrutiny by chuckling children. 

For sheer fun and entertainment, this can't be beat. If you add to that its potential connections to planning and revision, problem solving, community needs, transportation, SEL, predictions, and more, it earns its place in families, classrooms, libraries, and the hands of anyone, any age, who loves rollercoasters!

Bentley is also the creator of popular early chapter books and easy readers featuring DINO DETECTIVE, LITTLE PENGUIN, and more. Click on the website to take you to an opening page that reveals sketches and image drafts unfolding bit by bit, not unlike Bear's planning sketches on end papers. 

Meet FIRE CHIEF: The True and Lucky Life of a Turtle

 Stories can come from endless sources- cloud shapes, playing with pets, personal drama, or a fertile imagination. Nonfiction content, especially narrative nonfiction, begins somewhere and sometime long before anything goes to press. It might be sparked by an encounter with some surprising information. Or it can begin with an "I wonder" question, a casual observation, or with a keen interest and investigation of facts that somehow involves a path to a picture book.

CLARION BOOKS, 2025

Author Sy Montgomery's nonfiction books have long been favorites of mine, because they have captured the attention and curiosity of so many students of many ages. A picture book authored by Montgomery will always be on my to-read list. That's why I waited patiently on library hold to get a chance to read THE TRUE AND LUCKY LIFE OF A TURTLE, written by Sy Montgomery and illustrated by Matt Patterson. With the kind of luck and support FIRE CHIEF has had in his already long life, he could still be chugging along when everyone reading here is a grandparent, or even a great-grandparent.  He is currently estimated to be about sixty years old, still a young adult in turtle lifespans when all goes well.

Yes, that means that FIRE CHIEF's projected lifespan will be greater than any human's. That presents a challenge to tell his story in a way that spans his longevity while making his present and past feel immediate and important. But that challenge was met and exceeded by this creative team. (More about the author and illustrator below.)

The accuracy of illustrations, from birth through early development and throughout his story, allows curious readers to experience the vulnerability of a just-hatched turtle trying to follow instincts and survive. Author notes make it clear that the discussions of early egg/hatchling depictions are conjecture, based on knowledge of turtles and the geography in which Fire Chief lives.

Using these assumptions to suggest this turtle's early life allows readers to invest in and marvel at survival and its determination to reach a small pond. To do so, it crossed a dirt road near a fire station and makes its way to its next home. There it continued to face threats across years of slow growth and learning. Over the course of a human generations, the local community of firefighters and their families observed a sizable turtle sunning on a log. 

They dubbed him FIRE CHIEF.

They and their families enjoyed his company, including observations of his annual road-crossing return to a larger pond, better suited for winter hibernation in the deep mud. Across years of time the families and firefighters grew older, as Fire Chief did. As the community did. And as the road grew, was paved, as traffic increased, as the crossing became more dangerous. 

Okay- that's all I will say. 

Just remember the title- this is a turtle with a LUCKY life. 

And know that the two talented folks who created and share this TRUE story of a REAL turtle with the actual name FIRE CHIEF came to know about this turtle and its story directly. They are neighbors who both volunteer with a turtle-rescue organization that plays a role in Fire Chief's life (okay, spoiler). The author and illustrator collaborated on two earlier turtle books based on their many years of expertise and education on the topic of turtles. FIRE CHIEF's life and story launched this book, and the factual content is indisputable. Resources and credentials, including back notes, photos, and backstory provide entertainment and education on their own.

The magnificence of this book (and I chose that descriptor intentionally) is in the success of showcasing FIRE CHIEF as an individual, and as an individual with a specific life, a survivor of its species, as a lived and living example despite the many ways in which nature restricts their survival, and as human development/encroachment on habitat does. It also reveals practical ways in which human attention and intervention can contribute to survival, during crisis and also proactively/preventively. 

Through it all, FIRE CHIEF shines through not as a caricature or cartoon, nor as a mascot or pet. This creature has dignity and value. As such, he serves as a reminder to us to take closer looks at all living things, to avoid mindless damage or development. To seek balance and respect in our choices.

On a side note, I actively link to the authors and illustrators of each book featured in posts, hoping that readers here might check out more about them and their other works. In this case, do yourself a favor and click on the links to Montgomery and Patterson.Their websites are an education in a range of topics and will offer links to their other books as well. 

Because of a Bee: Nonfiction For Every Age

 The recent release of a new nonfiction picture book by Lola M. Schaefer, BECAUSE OF A BEE, is a genuine joy. I've reviewed several of Schaefer's  picture books in the past, including an interview with the author HERE. 

Chronicle Books, 2026

Illustrated by Franci Sanna, this simple but intense and vibrantly colored presentation is produced in user-friendly square size with sturdy and clever cut-off elements that contribute to a broader sense of how each element of this natural chain of life interacts and is interdependent on the others.

We are in the midst of deepest bee season, while pollen, nectar, and blossoms are in abundance. The seemingly simple text takes readers on a cause/effect journey from bee to berry to butterfly to ... celery? hummingbird?   aphids and avocados? 

Through oversized and intriguing images, even the youngest can search out the mysteries of these connections and more, with the added asset of an author note in back to further explain the various roles of pollinator, insect hosts, and food chains, closing with a full circle moment back to bees. The final double spread in the main story is a feast, a celebration of the remarkable foods we enjoy, all because of bees. The slightly abstract and overlaid images of foods encourage little eyes and hands to treat the pages as a search and find. Much of that attitude can carry over into everyday life after reading this treasure of a book, encouraging discussion of food sources and the conditions that combine to allow things to grow and reach our tables.

In 2016 Chronicle Books released Shcaefer's BECAUSE OF AN ACORN,

which used a similar text and cut-out pattern to explore the interconnected lives within a forest . This earlier topic was illustrated by Frann Preston-Gannon, portraying woodland scenes and life cycles in natural tones and with subtle realism. 

While reading Schaefer's release I came across a slightly older picture book called BEGIN WITH A BEE, co-authored by Liza Ketchum, Jacqueline Briggs Martin, and Phyllis Root, and illustrated by Claudia McGehee.

Stunning scratchboard illustrations combine accurate details with interpretative flow and grace, realistic colors, and subtle elements that invite close scrutiny. The text is structured to engage readers with simple questions:

"What's inside this hole in the ground?"

University of Minnesota Press, 2021

An image on the opposite page demands attention, even from the bird who eyes a dark and unexplained opening in the ground. A page turn reveals the answer, but not without close examination. The bee in question is sleeping in its tiny underground nest, because it is a queen, a rusty-patched bumble bee, waiting out the winter in sleep.

Throughout successive pages of close-ups and maze-like linked images, woodland animals and subterranean habitats, readers will learn about a particular kind of fuzzy, bulbous bee with a distinctive rust-colored midriff. 

This picture book also reveals and celebrates a chain of life and connection, indicating quite a different life pattern than many young readers learn about honeybees. The plants and animals involved, the stages of reproduction and restoration for another year, process of eggs becoming larvae, pupae,  and eventually adult bees follow the course of summer into early fall. 

With this book, as with those above, back matter provides accessible further details about the progression of life within the account, adding a page of ten things young people can do to help bees survive and thrive.  In all cases the well-researched and relevant information is presented in ways that can be enjoyed and explored across a wide range of ages. Tension and dramatic arcs lead to exciting page turns, attentive discoveries, and countless questions to pursue. 

If young readers you know are not as enthralled with story-reading as you'd like, nonfiction books like these can tell the story of the real world in ways that invite repeated readings and also encourage pursuit of further reading. What great books to hook new fans of books!