Winterfrost by Michelle Houts (review)

When her parents must hurriedly depart on Christmas Eve, leaving her to look after her baby sister, twelve-year-old Bettina forgets to leave the traditional pudding out for the nisse. Although she loved listening to her grandfather’s tales of Denmark’s magical people, she’s not sure how much she believes—that is until Klakke, the young nisse who lives in her family’s barn, causes mischief when he doesn’t get his pudding. Emboldened by the magic of the rare winterfrost, Klakke goes so far as to take Bettina’s baby sister while the two girls nap, ultimately leading Bettina deep into the forest on a quest to recover her sister. Simple and sweet, this contemporary fairy tale uses straightforward prose and measured pacing to tell a story both slightly otherworldly and utterly accessible. Bettina is calm, rational, and brave, an admirable if not complex heroine, and Houts paints the nisse with humor and whimsy. Charming and guileless, this story of adventure and enchantment would work well for a young fairy-tale aficionado or as a classroom readaloud in those restless days just before winter break.