"…the snowflakes tumbling from the skies like clumsy, half-frozen bumble bees out of a freezer up in the cloud. There was something in him still that reminded him of the kindness of people, and he let one or two of these snowflakes alight on his hand, and they melted and ceased to exist. How sad, he thought to himself, how just, and yes, how poetic. And he recalled once upon a time being a poet, and that's when he decided to capture and keep them."

The Snowflake Collector has withdrawn himself to a remote mountain valley, where he lives on his own, enjoying only the occasional long walk down to the inn where Yolanda serves him an ale, or up to the mountain peaks, where he feels safe at a distance from everything else in the world. His one friend is Yolanda's son Yanosh, with whom he can sit for hours and appreciate the silence.

One day, almost at a whim, he decides to collect the snowflakes that descend on him and to find a way of preserving them, in the fullness of their many dimensions. Not all of them, obviously, only some. And with the help of Yanosh who takes pictures of these snowflakes, which he then posts online, The Snowflake Collector becomes not only an expert, but a master at snowflake collecting, developing his own, genuinely unique method; and so gradually, without ever meaning to, he acquires some fame and recognition. But much more than that he finds a purpose to his existence and he discovers a way to communicate his understanding of snowflakes and reconcile himself with the universe.

The Snowflake Collector by Sebastian Michael, illustrated by Diego Cassia, is a poetic picture story book for grown ups who, just like The Snowflake Collector, have kept a sense of wonder…

Sebastian Michael

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