Waiting for Winter
PreSchool-Grade 2—Deer nonchalantly mentions that, "Winter is almost here. I think it is going to snow." Since Squirrel has never seen it, he decides to forgo hibernation, and see what this "white and wet and cold and soft" substance looks like. He waits and waits and waits—but to no avail. He decides to do some exercises in order to stay awake, and along the way he wakes up Hedgehog. They wait and wait, but still no precipitation. Soon, their boredom-busting antics awaken Bear. Based on Deer's definition, each animal finds what he thinks is snow, but readers will know that they're wrong, and will be as delighted as Squirrel, Hedgehog, and Bear when the real flakes begin to fall. One minor quibble with the text and pictures not meshing completely is when Squirrel puts an old tin can on his head, thinking it matches the description of snow, when the picture of the can is clearly shown in shades of gray, not white. The illustrations are deftly drawn in colored pencils, complete with sketching lines that give the renderings depth and maturity. The addition of broadly stroked hues of azure paint when the snow arrives will startle and delight young readers as it makes the white space of the page really come to life. This is a beautiful title to share with children on a lap or with a small group.—Lisa Gangemi Kropp, Half Hollow Hills Community Library, Dix Hills, NYEND