Name: The Return of the Light
ISBN: 9781569246177

Carolyn McVickar Edwards

This beautifully packaged collection of 12 stories from around the world honor the Winter Solstice, the shortest day and longest night of the year that is revered worldwide. Illustrations.

Twelve Tales from Around the World for the Winter Solstice

The Return of the Light

renee badenoch

I love the winter solstice, especially as a seasonal affective disorder person who loves the annual reminder (both physical and metaphorical) that “the darkest days are behind us and the world only gets brighter from here” 

A book full of creation of the light myths from around the world would normally thrill me. Unfortunately, the author here chose to rewrite the tales in her own voice, rather than curating the stories (most of which are open source) into an anthology. The authors voice loses the feel of most of the stories, especially ones from cultures where the stories would be sung, or where the story is supposed to fall into a rhythm or cadence. The author barely even put in repetition of phrases, rhymed words, or onomatopoeia, all of which are common storytelling tools used in oral traditions. Worst, the author introduces each of the stories with a note about the people that the story came from. Her tone here often felt condescending to the original storytellers and used pejorative descriptors to describe them, like “simplistic”. 

All in all, did not like this book. Think that something like this could be cool if it was an anthology using original source material, or where modern storytellers and authors from the people group that the stories came from could retell them (instead of the white lady that wrote this).

Jenni Pertuset

As part of our winter solstice celebration, each member of the family present read one of these solstice stories by candlelight. It was a lovely way to end the day, and a meaningful addition to our family's rituals.

The Return of the Light Twelve Tales from Around the World for the Winter Solstice

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