review to come :)

Here is my introduction to Brian Jacques Redwall Abby's tales (soon I hear to be a TV series) and I have to say it was rather enjoyable.

The story - told in party rhyme and part story - tells of the arrival of the traveling troupe of entertainers on the last day of Autumn and the adventures had by all on the first day of winter.

The story is short and rather gentle (compared to some of the tales I have heard of from the series) so take this a rest-bite rather than a reflection of the series (although I still have to explore those books properly).

So for me it was a interesting introduction which I feel does not really reflect the true adventures to come. However it was fun and shows the potential to follow.

I loved it and I plan on reading it again once the seasons change. It remainded me of Tolkien on a small level and Narnia on another. But the artwork is aaaaaamazing. Christopher Denise is a great illustrator.

Enchanting! Like the Night Before Christmas meets Redwall Abbey!

The definition of wholesome and cozy. I reread this every Winter Solstice!

Great short tale for young kiddies

This is an adorable book for young readers.

I have been looking for more chapter book style stories to read to my 2 year old, and this had the perfect balance of text and picture to hold her attention and mine. Plus, I was excited to introduce her to characters that I spent so much time with when I was a child. The illustrations were lovely and the story was simple and sweet.

Logan was too high-energy to look too carefully at the pretty illustrations. He might have liked it more if he had. It felt awkward to go back and forth between prose and rhyme. I was careful to read the rhymes in a non-rhythmic voice because these kind of super-rhymie poetry bores him. He did like the idea of the Badger bringing winter and the snow starting out as white hares and turns into flakes. Apparently, this introduces the themes of Redwall, although we haven't read those books yet.

Delightful way to mark the beginning of winter. Illustrations are amazing!

I really enjoyed this book, but it is definitely written more as a children's book. The Redwall series is more grown up, at least to me. The story was cute more than anything else.