Building on the dazzling success of "Good Faeries/Bad Faeries, " Windling and the brilliantly talented dollmaker Wendy Froud present a charming and visually stunning faery tale about true love and simple truths. 22 color photos.

Carefully combing his ears and tail and wearing his finest red felt boots, a furry young faery named Sneezle prepares for the Midwinter festival in Old Oak Wood—the oldest faery court in the British Isles. All the denizens of the wood have gathered for this grand winter holiday...but this year something is strangely wrong. By now the forest should be blanketed with snow, but the air remains warm, the leaves have not fallen, and branches remain laden with autumn's fruit. Somehow, the cycle of nature has been halted, and even the faery king, Oberon, cannot fathom why winter has not arrived. From this mystery will come a great adventure, one in which young Sneezle and his best friend, Twig, will confront menacing goblins and an evil sorcerer. By turns charming, menacing, and hilarious, "The Winter Child" follows Sneezle and Twig as they bravely ferret out the terrible truth behind Winter's absence and witness a dramatic duel of sorcerers in which the future of the faery kingdom hangs in the balance. In this marvelous collaboration between renowned doll maker Wendy Froud and award-winning writer Terri Windling, the entrancing story twists and turns its way through the magical beauty and ominous shadows of the faeries' world. Art-directed by Brian Froud, beloved creator of such classics as "Good Faeries/Bad Faeries," the book's spectacular photographs capture Sneezle, Twig, King Oberon and Queen Titania, the sorcerer Malagan, the Royal Council of Sorcerers, and the faeries of Old Oak Wood, all in such vivid detail that they seem to come alive...as indeed, perhaps, they are. Following the success of Wendy Froud and Terri Windling's first Sneezle adventure, "A Midsummer Night'sFaery Tale," this new volume opens the magical window of enchantment once more with an extraordinary combination of story and art. A mythic tale of nature humbled by whim and ambition—and of good and simple souls triumphant — "The Winter Child" will be a classic among lovers of fairy tales, fantasy literature, and all things Froudian.

While searching for shelter from a rainstorm, a little faery named Sneezle is pursued by a band of strange creatures with wooden swords. They're not faeries, they're not goblins...in fact, he doesn't know what they are. With their long sticklike limbs, gnarled faces, and mouths full of knife-sharp teeth, they aren't like anything the denizens of Old Oak Wood have ever seen. Sneezle barely escapes, but another band of the ugly little creatures chases him out of the safety of the woods. Fleeing for his life, the little faery is forced to find refuge in a place that is almost as frightening as the stick men themselves—in an old stone cottage at the edge of the forest. It is here that Sneezle must confront his greatest adventure and biggest fear. In The Faeries of Spring Cottage, fans of young Sneezle will be delighted to see that their reluctant hero is journeying out of Old Oak Wood (even if it is against his will) and encountering humans for the first time, as well as other enchanting, mysterious—and sometimes scary—new beings. This dazzling collaboration between renowned doll maker Wendy Froud and award-winning writer Terri Windling introduces a host of magical new characters, including a strange faery court beneath a kitchen sink, rat-faery warriors, and faery dolls that magically come to life. Art-directed by Brian Froud, creator of Good Faeries/Bad Faeries, this latest volume in the Sneezle series captures the diminutive hero on his latest adventure in vivid detail. Following the success of Wendy Froud and Terri Windling's first two Sneezle stories, A Midsummer Night's Faery Tale and The Winter Child, this new volume opens the magical window of enchantment once more with an extraordinary combination of story and art. The Faeries of Spring Cottage is destined to charm and captivate lovers of fairy tales, fantasy literature, and all things Froudian.