Review Detail

WINTERCAKE is a lovely picture book that celebrates friendship and the holiday spirit. Thomas is about to make a wintercake (similar to fruit cake) when he notices his dried fruit is missing. He tells his friend Lucy, and she hopes he will find it. After she flies away, she winds up in a cafe where she sees another animal (Tobin) has found it. She cannot hear what Tobin says over the noise, but she assumes he has stolen it. She follows him back to Thomas's, where he has gone to return the dried fruits.

Lucy is ashamed that she jumped to conclusions. After she and Thomas bake the wintercake, they decide to go after the stranger. It's a difficult journey, but they arrive to share the wintercake with Tobin who was sadly alone and happy to have company. With messages about empathy, not jumping to conclusions, friendship, and caring for others, this is a sweet holiday season read.

The illustrations are lovely but often small in comparison to the text. The book is quite detailed with many words, making it more difficult for reading aloud and better suited to older children, who will appreciate the longer length and the story. The vocabulary used in the book is also quite advanced which is great for learning minds, who can pick up some new "big" words (e.g. dismal, forlorn).

What I loved: The story is quite sweet with some great underlying messages. The illustrations, although often small, are absolutely gorgeous with lots of colors and details. The story is also well-written, though better suited to elementary schoolers, and holds some great themes and new vocabulary words. Without being specifically for a religion, this is a great winter season book that conveys the spirit of the holidays.

Final verdict: Overall, this is an engaging and lovely picture book with appeal to older readers. Beautiful illustrations and a detailed story will delight elementary schoolers as they follow Thomas, Lucy, and their new friend Tobin.