Description

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‘A delightful compendium that
brings together language, culture and adventure through frozen landscapes as it
shares the meanings behind 50 words for snow, gathered from around the globe.’ – The
Herald, Christmas Books 2020

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Snow. Every language has its own words for the
feather-like flakes that come from the sky. In Japanese we find Yuki-onna – a
‘snow woman’ who drifts through the frosted land. In Icelandic falls
Hundslappadrifa – ‘big as a dog’s paw’. And in Maori we meet Huka-rere – ‘one
of the children of rain and wind’.

From mountain tops and frozen seas to city parks
and desert hills, writer and Arctic traveller Nancy Campbell digs deep into the
meanings of fifty words for snow. Under her gaze, each of these linguistic snow
crystals offers a whole world of myth and story.

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Publisher Review

'A miraculous snow bank of niveous names and knowledge as delicate and multifaceted as the flakes it celebrates. A glittering cloud of Inupiaq, Icelandic, compound Maori, Finnish, Scots, Thai, Hebrew, American Sign Language.' - Dan Richards, author of Outpost: A Wild Journey to the Ends of the Earth