Poetic, atmospheric, and inspired by a true story, this picture book about family, calling, and belonging tells of an Icelandic weather keeper in a world of ice, sea, and sky.
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.
Praise
? 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
—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....”-Susan Harari, Youth Services Review
—Youth Services Review, Susan Harari
? 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." ––Nick Mullenmeister, Booklist
—Booklist, Nick Mullenmeister
? STARRED REVIEW!"An exceptional collaboration—spare, artful, and genuinely unforgettable."-Kirkus
—Kirkus Reviews
