The winter that Petra turned ten was the longest and coldest anyone in the town could remember. By February, the snow was up to the windowsills and school had been cancelled for eight days in a row. The whole family was restless.
Petra's little brother Soren had run out of things to do. He had built every LEGO set twice, finished all his library books, and watched every cartoon he was allowed to watch. He trailed after Petra asking for ideas.
Petra decided to take the situation seriously. She got out a large piece of paper and drew a grid. At the top she wrote The Long Winter Activity Plan. She and Soren filled every box together.
They learned origami from a library book and folded a hundred paper cranes, which they hung from the bedroom ceiling. They taught themselves to play chess using a dusty set from the back of the closet and watched videos to learn the rules.
They built a fort in the living room so elaborate that it had rooms, a skylight made from a clear shower curtain, and a snack station. Mom and Dad were formally invited in for a candlelight tea party.
Petra taught Soren to knit, which she had learned from their grandmother the previous summer. His first scarf was lumpy and uneven, and he was incredibly proud of it. He gave it to the dog.
On the last snow day, they made a book together. Petra wrote and Soren drew pictures. It was called Everything We Learned During the Long Winter and had thirty-two pages. Grandma called it a masterpiece.
When the snow finally melted and they ran outside blinking into the cold sunshine, Petra realized something surprising. She was actually a little sad the long winter was over. She had never spent so much time making things, and she was not sure she wanted to stop.