Luke & the Longest Night: A Wheel of the Year Book by Kathleen Converse, Hanna Sultanova

A Yule story for children. The winter solstice, told as a warm story rather than a lesson.

Illustrated spells included. Simple workings that follow the story, drawn for children.

Back matter on the solstice. Notes on winter solstice celebrations, for the adults reading along.

• Author: Kathleen Converse; illustrator: Hanna Sultanova
• Publisher: Moon Dust Press
• Second in the Wheel of the Year series
• Hardcover picture book
• SKU: BLUKLON

The winter solstice is the longest night of the year, and nearly every northern culture has marked it, on the same reasonable logic: the dark stops deepening, and the light begins to come back. That is genuinely worth celebrating, and it is why so many midwinter festivals sit on top of each other.

What the book does well is put the point in a form a child can hold. The lights go out; the party is ruined; and what is left is the people in the room. That is a fair reading of what the longest night actually teaches, and it lands better in a story than in an explanation. For pagan families it is a rare thing: a Yule book that assumes the holiday rather than explaining it apologetically.

1. Read it at Yule, which is what it is for.
2. Try the illustrated spells with a child, if that suits your household.
3. Read the back matter yourself for context on solstice traditions.
4. Pair it with Flora and the First Day of Spring, the first in the series.
5. Keep it with the seasonal books rather than the shelf, so it comes out each year.

• Flora and the First Day of Spring: the first book in the same series.
• Yule Sabbat Lailokens Awen Candle: the Yule candle, for the same night.
• White Chime Candles, Set of 20: candles for the longest night.
• Llewellyn's Complete Book of Correspondences: the reference, for the adults.
• Lavender Incense Sticks by Sonavi: a calm scent for a bedtime read.

What age is it for?

A picture book, so early readers and younger children read to.

What is it about?

Yule, and what is left when the lights go out and the party stops: the people you are with.

Are there spells in it?

Yes, a set of simple illustrated spells that follow the story, drawn for children.

Is it part of a series?

Yes, the second in the Wheel of the Year series, after Flora and the First Day of Spring.

Who illustrated it?

Hanna Sultanova.