When six-year-old Ollie is finally given his first pair of real skis - something he has long anticipated - he can't wait for it to snow, so he can try them out. Setting out into the snowy woods, the first opportunity he gets, Ollie is befriended by Jack Frost, sees Mrs. Thaw (who is quickly driven away), and is taken on a visit to the icy, polar bear-guarded palace of the Winter King. Here he spends a day watching the king's assistants make everything from ski boots to skate blades, and joining in the workers' break-time play, before heading home. The story concludes with the eventual coming of Spring - as heralded by the reappearance of Mrs. Thaw - which is at first resisted by Ollie and his little brother (who want to keep playing in the snow), and then accepted and celebrated.

It's hard to say, really, why I enjoyed Ollie's Ski Trip - first published as Olles Skidfärd in 1907 - so much more than the other Elsa Beskow picture-book (Woody, Hazel and Little Pip) I read today. Perhaps Ollie's tale felt more real to me, not because he was a "real" boy (as opposed to a forest brownie), but because his longing for a specific event - the coming of the snow - resonated with me? Didn't we all, as children, look forward to certain specific seasonal markers? Whatever the case may be, I found this a charming book, one which paired an engaging Winter story with delightful illustrations. Highly recommended to any young skiers and winter lovers, as well as to Elsa Beskow fans. ( )