[2] They were translated into English from the original Swedish by Silvester Mazzarella, David McDuff and Kingsley Hart.

[1] In a review for The Guardian, Josh Lacey described it as a "short, brittle book" and "an oddly satisfying jumble" featuring several of Jansson's recurring tropes: "strange creatures with surprising powers, islands and small boats and the sea, loneliness and introspection, the vital influence of art and the imagination".

[3] Stories in A Winter Book include "Squirrel", in which a woman's isolated life on an island is shared for a time with a squirrel, and the last story, "Taking Leave", in which two women realise that they have become too frail to spend their summers on the island they love.

A Winter Book is arranged in three sections, "Snow", "Flotsam and Jetsam" and "Travelling Light".

Introduction by Ali Smith Snow Flotsam and Jetsam Travelling Light Afterword by Philip Pullman