When Winter Comes - Softcover

Nancy Van Laan has written many books perfect for reading aloud, including So Say the Little Monkeys; Little Fish, Lost; With a Whoop and a Holler, an American Library Association Notable Book; and the 1990 Parents' Choice Award winner, Possum Come a-Knockin'. She lives in Bucks County, Pennsylvania.

PreSchool-Grade 2-This lilting book celebrates the onset of winter: "Where oh where do the leaves all go/when winter comes and the cold winds blow?" This question is repeated for flowers, caterpillars, songbirds, field mice, deer, and fish. The rhyming answers use simple and accessible language. Gaber's exuberant acrylic paintings show a child, mother, father, and dog taking a walk through the woods during a snowfall. The use of perspective in the illustrations unifies the book, as broad landscapes appear on the question pages, while close-ups of the family and the animals and plants being discussed appear on the pages with the answers. Through both words and pictures, this book conveys a sense of joy in the changing seasons. From the title page showing the characters bundling up to go outside, to the cozy views of field mice and deer cuddling close for warmth, to the final spread where the child has been tucked into a warm bed, this simple story is the literary equivalent of a cup of hot cocoa on a cold day.
Kathleen Kelly MacMillan, Carroll County Public Library, Eldersburg, MD
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