{"id":6979,"date":"2023-11-16T10:21:40","date_gmt":"2023-11-16T10:21:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.florisbooks.co.uk\/blog\/?p=6979"},"modified":"2023-11-22T09:19:00","modified_gmt":"2023-11-22T09:19:00","slug":"__otto","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.florisbooks.co.uk\/blog\/2023\/11\/16\/__otto\/","title":{"rendered":"Otto and the Secret Light of Christmas"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Adventurous elf Otto journeys to Lapland to find the light of Christmas in this beautifully illustrated storybook, which joyfully celebrates Finnish folklore and culture. Pirkko-Liisa and Nora Surojegin bring magical creatures, traditional villages and stunning landscape to life through expressive and intricate illustrations. Otto and the Secret Light of Christmas<\/a><\/em> shares a positive message about truth, friendship and the spirit of Christmas.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Step inside the story with this extract from the chapter titled, Frosted Bear. While looking to the stars to guide him on his journey, Otto encounters a great bear, the biggest he has ever seen. To Otto’s surprise, instead of eating him, the guardian of the forest offers Otto shelter from the snow and shows him the way forward. The unique pair become fast friends. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The chapter is a warm reminder that creatures are not always as they first appear and friendship can blossom even in the most unlikely of places.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Frosted Bear<\/h1>\n\n\n
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The night was bright and the wind had subsided. Otto looked at the clear, black sky with its twinkling stars. The world felt vast beneath it.

Frost spread over the forest. Dewdrops froze into strings of pearls, moss became a sparkling blanket and the cold air chilled pine trunks into great silver pillars. The whole wood glistened in the moonlight and was so quiet that even thinking a small thought felt like speaking aloud.

Otto tried to find the North Star. First he looked for the constellation of Ursa Major, the Great Bear, to guide him north.

Suddenly something big and black blocked the constellation from view: the starlight lit up a fur coat sprinkled with glittering frost and Otto could see a huge real bear standing before him.

The bear looked at Otto. In her eyes he was just a small grey dot, but the enormous creature responded to the stranger with quiet curiosity. Otto did not look threatening to the bear who, it turned out, was respected by the whole forest, even the mighty King Kekri.

Otto was afraid she might pop him into her mouth. Should he have stayed at home after all and been flattened to the size of a mouse dropping under a collapsed roof?

The bear was big, even for a bear. She was used to seeing forest dwellers trembling in her presence, but Otto was different. The bear was intrigued by the flash in Otto\u2019s eyes and above all, by his absurd hat.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\u201cTomorrow it will snow,\u201d she said in a soft voice. \u201cI recommend you look for shelter or you will be buried. Your path will vanish.\u201d

The great bear\u2019s thoughtfulness took Otto by surprise. He replied, \u201cThank you for the advice, good friend. My name is Otto. I was intending to sleep in a hollow spruce.\u201d

\u201cThat doesn\u2019t sound good,\u201d the bear mused. \u201cWhere are you headed?\u201d

\u201cI\u2019m heading north,\u201d Otto told her. \u201cI\u2019m looking for Father Yule who I hope can tell me about the secret light of Christmas.\u201d

She looked at Otto with interest. \u201cOne time, long ago, I met Father Yule,\u201d the bear reminisced. \u201cHe advised me how to become a good leader for the forest. I\u2019m sure he will be able to tell you about Christmas and the winter lights.\u201d The bear dropped her forepaws to the ground and looked at little Otto. \u201cWhy don\u2019t you tell me more about your adventures,\u201d she said gently. \u201cI can offer you a warm place for the night so you don\u2019t get buried under the snow.\u201d

\u201cThat\u2019s very kind of you,\u201d Otto said with relief. How very lucky, he thought, that the bear had not even considered having him for a snack.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The bear lifted Otto onto her back and set off walking calmly through the forest. Otto told her about his journey and the bear laughed when he described the bustling mupples. The new friends also discovered they shared a love of fishing.

\u201cNothing can beat the feeling when your wait is rewarded and you hook a big fat trout!\u201d said the bear. The friends chatted merrily as snowflakes drifted down from the black sky.

By the time its den came into view at the base of a cliff, the path was already hard to see under the snow. The bear lowered Otto to the ground at the entrance and shook snowflakes from her fur. Otto\u2019s hat had fallen over his eyes from the weight of the snow and he shook the powder off. The bear stretched and showed Otto which direction to take when he woke in the morning.

\u201cI sleep deeply,\u201d the bear explained. \u201cI may not wake for a few months. You are welcome to stay as long as you wish, but if you continue your trip now, while there\u2019s still some daylight, I believe you\u2019ll find what you\u2019re seeking.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Find out More about Otto and the Secret Light of Christmas<\/em><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Join our mailing<\/a> list to keep up to date on our beautiful books and receive exclusive discounts.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Adventurous elf Otto journeys to Lapland to find the light of Christmas in this beautifully illustrated storybook, which joyfully celebrates Finnish folklore and culture. Pirkko-Liisa and Nora Surojegin bring magical creatures, traditional villages and stunning landscape to life through expressive and intricate illustrations. Otto and the Secret Light of Christmas shares a positive message about […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7005,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13,684,788],"tags":[1122,967,948,1334,969,1333,1092],"class_list":["post-6979","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-childrens-books","category-christmas-2","category-extract","tag-beautiful-books","tag-christmas-books","tag-christmas-gift","tag-lapland","tag-nora-surojegin","tag-nordic-books","tag-pirkko-liisa-surojegin","odd"],"yoast_head":"\nOtto and the Secret Light of Christmas - Floris Books Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Step inside the story with this free extract from the chapter, Frosted Bear -- a friendly reminder that friendship can blossom in unlikely places.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.florisbooks.co.uk\/blog\/2023\/11\/16\/__otto\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Otto and the Secret Light of Christmas - 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