Here Comes Jack Frost

We always give our kids (at least) one book for holidays and birthdays and all four of us are entranced with Jack's new Christmas book this year, "Here Comes Jack Frost" by Kazuno Kohara. It tells the tale of a boy who thinks that winter's rather boring until he meets a mysterious figure who gets him outside to play in the wintertime. Jack Frost taunts that the boy can't catch him as he scoots over the frozen lake but is quickly proven wrong as the boy pulls out his ice skates. They sled down hills, throw snowballs and have all kinds of winter fun outside.
From the publisher:

"One cold morning a lonely boy wishes for something to do. His animal friends are hibernating, and he has nobody to play with-even all the birds have flown south. When he meets Jack Frost, the last thing he expects is to make a new friend... or to discover how enchanting winter can be!"

We are all loving this book because of the simple winter fun message, but also for the incredibly beautiful woodcut illustrations. Artist and illustrator Kazuno Kohara has created a masterpiece of simple colors and lines that would make even confirmed winter-haters want to get outside. (And by complete coincidence, the book matches Jackson's new Selbumittens, which he pointed out to me yesterday. Yay winter!)

Our Christmas books are supposed to be put away with the Christmas decorations, but none of us can part with this one yet so we're keeping it out through the winter season. After all, with today's high temperature only reaching 4 degrees Fahrenheit, Jack Frost is definitely here to stay for a while!

(Amelia's new Christmas book was "Gingberbread Baby" by Jan Brett and we're all loving this one too. Brett's illustrations are completely opposite of Kohara's woodcuts in their complexity and attention to life-like details; the kids want to linger on each page before going on so they don't miss a thing. Jackson was a huge fan of "The Mitten" by the same author when he was Amelia's age. Beautiful books!)