Owl Writes by Candlelight

Cozy Winter Day – written and illustrated by Eliza Wheeler
Nancy Paulsen Books (Penguin Random House), 2024

Here is another one of my many posts about past, imaginary, or longed-for snow (for example here and here and here and here and here and here). It also falls into the category of personified animals performing sweet, graceful, and productive tasks (Miguel Tanco is another master of this art).  Beautifully realized scenes of domestic interiors, as well as the outdoors also characterize this lovely new picture book by Eliza Wheeler (I reviewed another of her books for Jewish Book Council). Not only does an owl compose the story of her village by candlelight, but a hedgehog weaves baskets and a rabbit, who uses a wheelchair, paints at an easel.

The endpapers and the introductory list of characters immediately made me ask, where are the toys? I don’t mean this with any disdain at all! The brightly colored and detailed figures are reminiscent of the kind of traditional, non-electric miniature animals you can still find as playthings.  The Hopps family have names out of a mid-century t.v. sitcom: Bud, Dot, Sis, and Herb.  However, Herb is the artist with a disability, setting this story in the fortunately more realistic and inclusive present.  The beaver family is of Celtic origin, judging by their name, McPaddy.  An interesting choice was to include both Ms. Polly, a porcupine, and Otto and Una Heddle, who seem to be hedgehogs. 

The book’s plot is not the main point. Rather, it is the warm and harmonious community of creatures enjoying the winter.  In the Hopps’ family kitchen, Pop is frying up something delicious on an antique wood stove while Dad enters with a bag of groceries. The baby, sitting in his highchair, seems impatient, but not enough to make the parents frantic.  Otto the hedgehog “gathers bundles of yarn,” although it’s not clear if he is going to knit or if he is helping Una, who is bringing snacks.  All the animal parents are clearly nurturing.

The featured adjective in the title is “cozy,” and miniature spaces represent the essence of this quality. There are two pages explaining the characteristics of a “nook.” These small areas can be dedicated to different purposes: reading, painting, eating breakfast, or hiding.  Sometimes they are shared, but often they are places where animals can be quietly alone. On the other hand, Acorn Village requires a lot of labor, if you can apply that term to making paper chains and building with blocks, as well as pulling children on sleds and preparing food.  Consuming food is also a big part of life here.

Everything in the book adds up to restful sleep. The bedtime scene is dark, with pastel-colored bedding and a blue and white starry night sky.  “Let’s have a Cozy Winter Day again tomorrow.” Capitalized letters make it clear that tomorrow will involve repetition of today. That reassuring quality is the point of living in Acorn Village.