This month’s #littlelitbookseries is all about traditions.
“In December, before a single flake has fallen, the cold snap comes. For a week it is twenty below freezing, and when you walk in the woods, the leaves shatter under your feet like glass.”
When the Moon Comes is about a yearly tradition—a group of friends wait for just the right time of the year in December when the beaver flood freezes into perfect ice. Wonderful ice. Magical ice. They wait until a full moon arrives and head to the frozen lake, sloshing through the snowy terrain. It’s time for a game of hockey in the cold, blue moonlight, surrounded by silvery trees. Afterwards, they warm up by the fire with scalding tea and toasty sandwiches. It is their tradition. Matt James’ paintings evoke a soft, wintry nostalgia and could not be a more perfect fit for Paul Harbridge’s beautiful prose, story and memories. A wondrous book and the loveliest tribute to childhood and simpler times. One of our absolute favorites this year.
When the Moon Comes was written by Paul Harbridge, illustrated by Matt James and published by Tundra Books.
For more books on this month’s theme of traditions, be sure to stop in at @littlelitbookseries throughout the month. And see what everyone else is sharing today using the hashtag #littlelitbookseries on Instagram.