Staff Book Review

Meet Jennifer – Jennifer is the Youth Services Coordinator for the Washington County Public Libraries. Outside of work, she loves being outdoors, playing games of all kinds, and spending time with her husband and cat.

This month, Jennifer reviewed The Wheel of the Year: An Illustrated Guide to Nature’s Rhythms by Fiona Cook, illustrated by Jessica Roux!

“Magic is real. It’s all around you; it’s inside of you.”

The Wheel of the Year by Fiona Cook invites readers to capture that magic throughout the seasons. The wheel of the year is an ancient European “calendar” of sorts that uses the solstices, equinoxes, and midway points between these events to break down the year into smaller “seasons.” Each section of the book is dedicated to one of the eight spokes on the wheel and the changes happening in nature during those times.

During each season, readers will find information about the various celebrations that take place around the world, musings on the ebb and flow of natural processes, and activities they can do to celebrate and acknowledge the cycles of the earth, ranging from outdoor scavenger hunts to delicious recipes to arts and crafts and everything in between.

The illustrations by Jessica Roux are a perfectly evocative accompaniment to the text, encapsulating the small details that make each season unique.

The one drawback of this book is that there are no cited sources in the back to help readers learn more about the concepts discussed, although there is a helpful glossary for potentially unfamiliar terms.

While this book is intended for juvenile audiences, it is highly accessible for anyone wishing to slow down and appreciate nature’s rhythms throughout the year.