The Solstice Badger tells the tale of the days when the Sun shone all day long, every day. In the beginning, The Sun roamed the earth happy and filled with joy, but eventually he became terribly lonely and sad, and his light began to dim. Aware of his plight, many of the earth's creatures tried to befriend the Sun, only to find his intense heat burned, and prevented them from getting too close. To the Sun's great joy, one day there came a creature that found a way to get close to the sun, and soon the two became great friends. Staying longer and longer each day with his friend, the Sun's absence from the sky eventually caused the skies to darken and snow to fall. All living things suffered. Would the Sun realize his impact on the world's suffering before it was too late? Would he have to leave his only friend and new found happiness forever in order to to save the world? Robin's engrossing tale and ethereal illustrations bring the Sun's story to a satisfying conclusion as he learns that compromise, compassion, friendship, and wisdom will save the day.

Presents facts and folklore about the shortest day of the year, a day that has been filled with magic since ancient times.

Winter's gray chill has set in and everyone misses the sun-especially the baker. So she decides to bring some warmth to the town by making sun bread. And as the bread bakes, rising hot and delicious, everyone comes out to share in its goodness. Everyone, including the sun itself. With a lilting, rhyming text, colorful illustrations, and a recipe for baking your own sun bread, this tasty treat from the illustrator of the best-selling Abuela is just right for all ages to enjoy.

In this seasonal treasure, Newbery Medalist Susan Cooper’s beloved poem heralds the winter solstice, illuminated by Caldecott Honoree Carson Ellis’s strikingly resonant illustrations. So the shortest day came, and the year died . . . As the sun set on the shortest day of the year, early people would gather to prepare for the long night ahead. They built fires and lit candles. They played music, bringing their own light to the darkness, while wondering if the sun would ever rise again. Written for a theatrical production that has become a ritual in itself, Susan Cooper’s poem "The Shortest Day" captures the magic behind the returning of the light, the yearning for traditions that connect us with generations that have gone before — and the hope for peace that we carry into the future. Richly illustrated by Carson Ellis with a universality that spans the centuries, this beautiful book evokes the joy and community found in the ongoing mystery of life when we celebrate light, thankfulness, and festivity at a time of rebirth. Welcome Yule!

The beauty of the seasons is shown through the eyes of nature. The circle of seasons is presented in a poetic way--deeply rooted to the earth and connected to nature.

As any reader of Jo Walton's Among Others might guess, Walton is both an inveterate reader of SF and fantasy, and a chronic re-reader of books. In 2008, then-new science-fiction mega-site Tor.com asked Walton to blog regularly about her re-reading—about all kinds of older fantasy and SF, ranging from acknowledged classics, to guilty pleasures, to forgotten oddities and gems. These posts have consistently been among the most popular features of Tor.com. Now this volumes presents a selection of the best of them, ranging from short essays to long reassessments of some of the field's most ambitious series. Among Walton's many subjects here are the Zones of Thought novels of Vernor Vinge; the question of what genre readers mean by "mainstream"; the underappreciated SF adventures of C. J. Cherryh; the field's many approaches to time travel; the masterful science fiction of Samuel R. Delany; Salman Rushdie's Midnight's Children; the early Hainish novels of Ursula K. Le Guin; and a Robert A. Heinlein novel you have most certainly never read. Over 130 essays in all, What Makes This Book So Great is an immensely readable, engaging collection of provocative, opinionated thoughts about past and present-day fantasy and science fiction, from one of our best writers. At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Describes how and why daylight grows shorter as winter approaches, the effect of shorter days on animals and people, and how the winter solstice has been celebrated throughout history. Includes activities.