Enchanted Lion
Weather Keeper | Hardcover | Children's Book on Weather & Seasons
Weather Keeper | Hardcover | Children's Book on Weather & Seasons
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As the aurora borealis dances across the sky, a weather keeper crosses the icy plains to measure the temperatures at the edge of the world. Every three hours, she records movement and pressure, and if it ’s warmer or cooler, to keep the seafarers, farmers, and community safe.
Just like her mother did. And her mother’s mother did before her, and just like the daughter telling this story will do, too, one day.
Structured like a ballad, this story celebrates a female lineage of weather keepers stationed on a farm where the extreme temperatures make their job impossible for machines to do. This is a world where humans are still needed and still very much one with the natural world around them.
The Weather Keeper beautifully foregrounds the awe-inspiring force that is Nature and the strength of people who choose the life they wish to live, however unconventional or full of hardship it might seem to others.
“★ STARRED REVIEW! “Encapsulating the work’s sublime allure, an electric-hued aurora borealis at one point snakes across a foldout spread inhabited by a solitary reindeer. ... There’s a quiet charisma to this affecting portrait of deliberation, belonging, and connection. ” — Publishers Weekly
“★ STARRED REVIEW! “A tribute to persistence, science, and home, with austere and sweeping illustrations. Narrated entirely in poetic first-person prose, the story follows a woman reflecting on her mother’s return to Iceland to succeed her own mother as a weather keeper. ... At once an intimate portrait of Iceland’s little-known weather keepers and a meditation on matrilineal inheritance.... ” — Youth Services Book Review
“★ STARRED REVIEW! “Buchet and Haidle's atmospheric Icelandic tale poetically blends fine storytelling with stunningly evocative illustrations. ... Timeless, profound, and expansive in scope, The Weather Keeper offers a meditation on purpose, belonging, and a life lived with intention and will likely be poignant for adults as well as enchanting for children. ” — Booklist
“★ STARRED REVIEW! "An exceptional collaboration—spare, artful, and genuinely unforgettable. ” — Kirkus Reviews
Reading age: 4 years or older
Ideal For: Perfect for quietly curious 4-7 year olds who love weather, the northern lights and true stories of faraway places, and for grown-ups sharing a slower bedtime read.
Details: Hardcover | 48 pages | 26.7 × 27.9 × 1.5 cm
About the Creators: Nelly Buchet has written more than a dozen children’s books which have received numerous awards, including the Irma Black Award for Excellence in Children’s Literature and the ALA Notable. Her work has been celebrated by Publishers Weekly, School Library Journal, Kirkus Reviews , and more. Buchet was short-listed for the Ezra Jack Keats Award. French American and born in France, she currently splits her time between Italy and Germany. Elizabeth Haidle is the creative director for Illustoria magazine and the illustrator of several books for young readers, including Christo and Jeanne-Claude Wrap the World, written by G. Neri. Haidle lives in Portland, Oregon.
Publication details
- Published
- 2026
- Publisher
- Abrams & Chronicle Books
