Frindleswylde

Hauntingly told and sumptuously illustrated, this wintry modern fairy tale is perfect for holiday sharing.

When Frindleswylde is near, the wind trembles, the sun pales, and the wild things hide. When he enters Cora and Granny's house in the woods, Frindleswylde steals the light from their lantern, so Granny can’t find her way home after work in the dark. And when a determined Cora chases the mysterious boy down a hole in the fishpond to his frozen kingdom, he sets her three Impossible Tasks. If she completes them, she can take her light and go, or so he says. But can Cora resist the urge to forget? As fresh and sparkling as sunlight on ice, this beautifully illustrated tale of enchantment—reminiscent of Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Snow Queen”—celebrates the transformative power of love in the darkest of times, the unbreakable bond between grandparent and child, and the bright promise of springtime.

Natalia and Lauren O'Hara are sisters from the north of England. In the daytime they edit scripts and design sets, and at night they draw and write together. As children they loved fairy tales, animal fables, and the stories their Polish grandmother told on snowy nights. Frindleswylde is their third collaboration after Hortense and the Shadow and The Bandit Queen. Natalia lives in London. Lauren, who is also the illustrator of Sophie Dahl's Madame Badobedah, lives in Dublin.