King Winter's Birthday

A gorgeously illustrated and magical original fairy tale celebrating the seasons.

The beautiful story of the seasons gathering to revel in the magic of the natural world, adapted from a rediscovered work by a Jewish author during World War II.

It's King Winter's birthday, and he wants it to be really special. He wants all of his brothers and sisters to be there: King Summer, Queen Spring and Queen Autumn. But the leaves and the trees whisper a warning, and as the four play magical games, something strange begins to happen outside.

This timeless fairy tale is a celebration of nature's rhythms, and of a chaotic world restored to order. It was adapted from a story by Ulrich Alexander Boschwitz, celebrated author of The Passenger. Boschwitz was a refugee from Nazi Germany: he fled, aged 20, in 1935. Young as he was, he understood that it was not safe for someone like him, with a Jewish-born father, to stay. He went from country to country until he made it to England in 1939.

Before long, Britain was at war with Germany, which meant Ulrich was branded an "enemy alien" and so, along with other German Jews, he was interned in a camp in the Isle of Man. There he wrote King Winter's Birthday, which he called A Fairy Tale. The story was never published, and Boschwitz was tragically killed in an attack by a German submarine when he was being transported from Australia back to England.

This story of the four seasons and a demanding birthday boy lay undiscovered for decades - until now.

Author: Jonathan Freedland
Publisher: Pushkin Children's Books
Published: 11/04/2025
Pages: 40
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.05lbs
Size: 12.10h x 9.30w x 0.60d
ISBN: 9781782694670
Audience: Ages 4-8


Review Citation(s):
Kirkus Reviews 08/01/2025

About the Author
Jonathan Freedland is a Guardian columnist and the presenter of BBC Radio 4's contemporary history series, The Long View and host of the podcast Unholy. He is the author of twelve books, the latest being The Escape Artist. He has written nine thrillers, mostly as Sam Bourne, including The Righteous Men, a Sunday Times number one bestseller.

Emily Sutton is an artist and illustrator based in York, England. She has worked on numerous picture books, including The Christmas Eve Tree by Delia Huddy, as well as Tiny, Lots, Many and Grow by author Nicola Davies. Her illustrated edition of Shakespeare's First Folio is published in April 2024.