Have you ever wondered where the snow comes from? If you have, then you’ll find the answer in this book...
Lettie Peppercorn is a 12-year-old girl. She is the landlady of White Horse Inn, a house on stilts. The little girl has to look after the guests all day, while her father spends his time in pubs. Lettie’s mother, who is an alchemist, disappeared a long time ago. The only thing left behind her is a note. It says that if Lettie leaves her house, she could be in terrible danger and die. Also, Lettie’s mother mentions that she would return one day... Until then, the girl is stuck in her house. Her only friends are a pigeon, Periwinkle, and the Wind.
One cold wintry evening, an unusual man with blue teeth and an icicle beard named Blüstav arrives at White Horse Inn.
He carries a strange luggage. The old man has got magic powers. For example, he can turn pebbles into shillings. The man claims to be a snow merchant. Lettie is his new customer. She can buy his latest invention: snow.
No one knows what snow is. Winter is just a cold season with lots of windy days. This snow merchant is about to change everything... He mixes a few potions and then a cloud appears in Lettie’s house. After a few seconds, tiny snowflakes start to fall from the cloud. Soon the floor is covered with beautiful white snow.
Blüstav seems to know where Lettie’s mother is. The girl asks him if he could take her to her mother. The man doesn’t want to help the girl, so he runs away, taking the cloud with him. Lettie has to chase him. She knows that she isn’t allowed to leave her house, but she has no choice. With the help of the Wind, Lettie and Noah (a new friend who is a sailor) run after the old man. On their way, they bump into Lettie’s father. He is drunk and can’t think straight. He’s quite surprised to see his daughter wandering on the streets of Albion. Suddenly, Blüstav transforms him into a bottle of beer. Lettie takes her transformed dad with her. Along with Noah, the girl starts a new journey on the sea, following the snow merchant.
Unfortunately, the children aren’t the only ones chasing the old man. Two insane women (the Walrus and the Goggler), who were guests at White Horse Inn, desperately want the snow cloud to use the snowflakes for jewelry. They would do anything to get their hands on the amazing invention!
The journey is long, full of obstacles. But Lettie and Noah manage to catch Blüstav. The old man slowly begins to act less rude. He tells Lettie a few things about her mother.
Mrs. Peppercorn was definitely the best alchemist in the whole world! The snow merchant used her inventions to become rich. But one day, Lettie’s mother met Mr. Peppercorn and they both fell in love with each other. Mrs. Peppercorn started a new life, leaving Blüstav with absolutely nothing. She created Periwinkle and Lettie using stone... and love. Soon after that, Mrs. Peppercorn also invented the snow. Blüstav managed somehow to steal the new invention and the ingredients. He locked Lettie’s mother in a secret place.
Meanwhile, something unusual happens to the little girl... She slowly begins to transform herself back into stone, just like Periwinkle, the pigeon. That’s why her mother told her to stay forever in her house; it was the only place where she was safe! But Lettie doesn’t take a single step back. She wants to find her mother and nothing can stop her!
My favorite character is Noah. He is such a warm-hearted boy! He doesn’t lose his hope at all and he always wants to help Lettie. The tree growing on his shoulder is quite interesting. It reveals the boy’s moods. When Noah is happy, lovely flowers blossom. When he is sad, the tree becomes more like a weeping willow.
There is only one word that can describe the whole story: magical. I think the ending is the nicest part I’ve read in the book: “But what does snow do?” The girl with wonderful eyes smiled at that question, as if it had been asked many times before. “It makes winter beautiful,” she said.” (page 275)
If you love winter and snow, you should read the book! There will be no cold shivers... In fact, the story will warm up your heart! :)
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