How can you not miss the winter holidays and make the most of your time? Without a doubt, the American writer Mary Maple Dodge knows the answer. After all, her story "Silver Skates" has been read by adults and children all over the world for many years. The main characters of this story are a Dutch brother and sister, Hans and Gretel, who love ice skating more than anything else in the world. But, alas, their family is poor and cannot afford such luxury. It would seem that the dream of skating is unattainable, when suddenly it turns out that in their native village of Brook there will be competitions for young skaters and silver skates have been announced as the main prize. Friends Jack and Jill, the heroes of the famous Louisa May Alcott's novel of the same name, also know firsthand how to spend winter holidays properly. But it never occurred to Jack that sledding down a slide could end in big trouble and it would take a lot of courage to cope with the ordeal. Two wonderful winter stories are illustrated by American artists of the late 19th century, Allen Doggett and Harriet Roosevelt Richards.