Welcome back to Day 2 of FFF! Our theme today is Traditions.

Traditions. Hmm. Our family has some, but not any autumn traditions. (Unless you count flying to Connecticut for Compass Games' Fall Expo, which we've only done once before (but will be doing again this year), so that can't quite be considered a tradition yet.) Or reenacting (with ever more ridiculous additions) the founding of Plymouth Colony on Thanksgiving Day. Or buying miniature pumpkins at the store. Or passing out tracts and candy on Halloween.

Okay, so maybe we do have traditions. 😂 Just not typical ones.

1. Winter Story by Jill Barklem

To be honest, I can't think of many books that strongly feature traditions, except for more Redwall books. But I just featured one yesterday, so we'll go with something similar; Winter Story from the Brambly Hedge series by Jill Barklem.

(Yes, I know this is Five Fall Favorites, and it's Winter Story. But I don't care, and they amount to pretty much the same in Wyoming anyway. Shush. 🤫)

Oh, I love this series. The illustrations are just delightful, so detailed and cozy, and they feel like they could be the descendants of the Redwall mice. And this book was always one of my favorites.

There's been a big snowstorm, of the type that hasn't been seen in long mouse years - enough for the mice of Brambly Hedge to have a Snow Ball! Much preparation takes place ahead of the merriment. The pictures in this are especially lovely, and I always thought the ballroom they built for the Snow Ball was BEAUTIFUL.

2. The Candle in the Window by Margaret Hill McCarter

Oh, I love this book so much. It's one of the few books I've read that set during World War One, and while there are a few minor inaccuracies, it doesn't detract from the story at all. Yesyes, it's a Christmas story, but hey - I'm already looking forward. 😆 The characters are so charming, and since my dad used to be a mailman, that makes it extra relevant to me. This story is the reason why I always keep an electric candle in my bedroom window now!

3. Christopher Robin Gives Pooh a Party by A.A. Milne

I'm going to take a cue from Ryana here and give us some Winnie-the-Pooh. 🤭 I'm sure most of y'all know this story - Pooh rescued Piglet from a flood, so Christopher Robin is throwing a party to celebrate him. But poor muddled Eeyore thinks the party is for him . . . my goodness, I love Eeyore so much. He's pathetic and hilarious. 😆

4. The Happy Hollisters and the Ice Carnival Mystery by Jerry West

This one's for you, Katja! 😁

For a long time, this was one of the few Happy Hollisters books I owned, so I read it over and over. I love books from this era, because they often travel to different locations and you get to learn about the places they visit. So in this case, the Hollisters are going to the Ice Carnival in Quebec. Several years later, during high school French, one of the lessons was on Quebec, and it talked about this carnival - all of which I knew from reading this. 🙂‍↕️

5. The Great Redwall Feast by Brian Jacques

I lied and used a Redwall book after all 😅 but isn't it ADORABLE??? This is one of the illustrated kid's Redwall books, and the pictures by Christopher Denise are just delightful. All the animals of Redwall are planning a feast to celebrate their Abbot, and they're trying to do it without him knowing. So there's much scurrying and hurrying, making food and picking flowers, decorating the Abbey and getting ready for the festivities. It's so charming and I wish I could do art like that. 🥰

🎉 WINNER, WINNER, CHICKEN DINNER! One of my books is the freebie for today! (Well, one of two freebies.) The ebook for To Stand is currently FREE on Amazon - here is the link!

Don't forget to check out the other bloggers on Team Hedgehog! (Isn't that graphic adorable?!)

• Abigail @Read Review Rejoice
• Madisyn @Madi's Musings
• Ryana Lynn @Life of Heritage Corner
• Savannah @Blue Flower Story Company

Also be sure to visit Katja and/or Kate for the other teams, and info about the daily freebies. And make sure you enter the giveaway!