It began in the early afternoon yesterday. It was not stopping. The entire landscape looked as though it was dipped in vanilla frosting. The wind gusts sculpted lovely shapes and rang my three sets of wind chimes. Winter is back full throttle. 
Late, late last night the snow finally stopped but the winds are still howling. The big lake, Lake Michigan, is wild and beautiful today. A walk along the shoreline needs to be done with respect.
Two of three publications released in November 2019 remind us of all the fun-filled activities to be enjoyed outside in winter. The third book focuses on a hesitate hibernator. In an alphabetical journey with a new-found friend, he makes his way back home.
When The Snow Is Deeper Than My Boots Are Tall (Godwin Books, Henry Holt and Company, November 5, 2019) written by Jean Reidy with illustrations by Joey Chou will have eager readers ready for a romp in the out-of-doors. There is something special about an unexpected snowstorm. It's an open invitation brimming with possibilities.Jump up in the morning.
Winter's here at last!
Gobble down my pancakes.
Getting dressed so fast.
Our happy narrator compares the snow depth throughout the story by his size. It begins as
deeper than my toes are tall.
Before he gets garbed in his winter gear and sets foot outside, it's much deeper. He joyfully leaves prints wherever he goes. The family cat and dog join in his snowball fight with the neighborhood children and when he makes a snowman.
It keeps on snowing and the wind is still blowing. A huge gust snatches his hat and now the snow depth matches the book's title. This little guy is in need of rescue.
Near but not too near, loving parents pick him up. The adventuresome boy, dog and cat are carried through the snow until they all take a minute or two or three to leave their shapes in the snow. A final gaze at a vast starry sky is a prelude to an appreciative snuggle inside by a cozy, crackling fire.
Author Jean Reidy pens a wonderful rhyming story which will have readers clapping and toe-tapping by the second page turn. Repeating the deeper than phrase but adding to its descriptions asks for reader participation. Jean Reidy also includes single alliterative action words and the repetition of certain words together to heighten the rhythm. Here is a passage.
Step!
Stamp!
Stomp!
Run!
Tracks in the white.
Splet!
Splat!
Splot!
Fun!
Snowball fight!
Illustrator Joey Chou using hues of blue and purple contrasting with vivid colors in clothing and interior and exterior scenes of the boy's home manages to portray a winter's snowy, blowy and chilly day with excellence. On the front of the dust jacket the boy is gleefully swung between his parents as the family pets watch. To the left, on the back, we are brought in close, to the boy and his pets engaged in making snow angels as two birds fly over them. Specific elements are varnished to reflect light on the snow and title text.
On the book case in shades of turquoise as a background with large snowflakes in darker turquoise, white and purple, an interior illustration is featured. It shows the boy romping in the snow, leaving his footprints and handprints. He moves from left to right into four different positions before running toward the right-hand corner.
The opening and closing endpapers are covered in a bright orange similar to the boy's scarf. The images, rendered by digitally painting in Adobe Photoshop, are all double-page pictures with shifting perspectives to enhance the pacing. Several times we get a bird's eye view. We are brought close to the characters for emotional impact. Readers will delight in the extra details like the cat and dog paw prints on the frost-covered window pane
One of my many favorite illustrations is of the boy making a snowman. On the left he is rolling the head toward the two other large snowballs on the right. His snowball on the left already has eyes, a smiling mouth, a carrot nose and twigs sticking out the top for hair. The medium snowball has a red bow tie on it. The cat is peeking out the top. The largest snowball has yellow boots for feet. The dog, paws on top, is looking at the cat and his boy and is barking.
To learn more about Jean Reidy and Joey Chou and their other work, please follow the links attached to their names to access their respective websites. Jean Reidy has accounts on Facebook and Twitter. Joey Chou has accounts on Instagram, Tumblr and Twitter. At the publisher's website you can view interior images. The link is attached to their name.
A Day for Skating (Candlewick Press, November 5, 2019) written by Sarah Sullivan with illustrations by Madeline Valentine is sure to have readers reaching for their skates and searching for the nearest ice. If you can't walk to it, it's time for a trip. Then, get ready to glide, twirl and zoom over the frozen surface.Mittens, boots, parka, cap.
Crisp cold. Branches snap.
Clear pond, shining ice.
Laced-up skates---check them twice.
An adult, little girl and pet dog head to the skating pond in their car. At the ice, the little girl struggles to maintain her balance but her companions, human and canine are there to offer support and help. After the tumble, the trio head inside the warming hut with others for a snack and hot chocolate.
Later, back outside, we watch others skating hand-in-hand, playing hockey, dancing and racing. Everyone seems to be enjoying their day on the ice. At dusk, a roaring fire in a brick pit outside is a place to get warm and change from skates to boots. Others gather by the fire with the adult, little girl and their dog.
Back home there's a warm bath to take off the chill, and a favorite book to read in bed. What's happening at the ice now that everyone is home? Only the full moon knows for sure.
Through the words written by author Sarah Sullivan is seems as if we are there at the pond and at the child's home at the end. Most of the two lines rhyme at the end, giving us a descriptive vision of place, time and the emotional mood. There is a distinctive flow mirroring the actions of the characters until we, like the little girl, are lulled into calm at the conclusion. Here is a passage.
Good friends gliding in a row.
Holding on and letting go.
Rendered digitally and using watercolor and colored pencil, the illustrations by Madeline Valentine transport us to the pond on the matching and open dust jacket and book case. On the front the girl and her parent skate together amid a hockey player and group of figure skaters. The crisp, cold setting is deftly depicted in cooler colors with bright splashes in the clothing worn by the skaters.
The scene continues over the spine to the left. Five skaters, hand-in-hand fashion a line whipping around on the ice. Behind them is the warming hut, the dog and another father and his son. Readers will be pleased to see different ethnic groups represented.
On the opening endpapers, the parent, little girl and dog are riding in their car to the pond down a county road with a snowy landscape behind them. On the closing endpapers we are at the pond at night. We can see the warming hut and a portion of the pond. Deep purples broken with white snowflakes and a large shining moon portray an atmospheric scene. On the verso and title pages we are treated to an overview of the parking lot, warming hut, ponds with skaters and the bridge.
The majority of the images are double-page pictures with smaller illustrations featuring actions in a short time period. The expressions on the characters are those of pure joy whether they are on the ice, in the warming hut, cozy around the fire outside or when our main characters are happily at home. Readers will appreciate the fine line work and details.
One of my many favorite illustrations is a close-up of people gathered around the outdoor fire pit. On the left are several children and an adult, and the girl, her parent and dog. On the right a child, skates over their arm, is close to the pit, arms and hands outstretched to savor the heat. Careful readers will notice new guests off the edge to the right. They are a hint of things to come.
Links are attached to the names of Sarah Sullivan and Madeline Valentine, so you can learn more about them and their work by accessing their websites. Sarah Sullivan maintains accounts on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and Twitter. Madeline Valentine maintains accounts on Instagram and Twitter. At Candlewick Press and at Penguin Random House you can view interior illustrations. Here is a link to a nine-page activity kit found at the author's website.
Bear Is Awake!: An Alphabet Story (Dial Books For Young Readers, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC, November 26, 2019) written and illustrated by Hannah E. Harrison is an enchanting story of an unlikely and unexpected friendship. A winter's nap is interrupted for reasons unknown. A girl's morning is interrupted, too, but she handles it with pure perfection.Aa awake
Bb big bear
Cc cozy cabin
Dd doorbell ding-dong!
As you might expect, the letter e reveals entirely different responses from the bear and the girl. The bear is thrilled with his entrance into the cottage. The girl is surprised out of her mind. For each letter of the alphabet the story unfolds from one hilarious moment to the next.
The girl decides they need to go on an excursion. She puts a large hat on the bear, and they set off down the road into town. The townspeople and children are terrified. The bear is having a ton of fun and the girl is trying to keep him acting nicely.
After a trip to the market and back at the cottage, a pancake breakfast makes for two happy people. The more she learns (from reading a book she got when they visited the library), the girl knows the bear must go back to his home. The trip is partially fun filled, long and a tiny bit sad. Now tucked in for his long winter's nap, the bear (and readers) will notice the treats and promise left behind.
Every carefully chosen word by Hannah E. Harrison moves us through this delightfully charming narrative laden with humor. The single words, double words, triple words and one group of four are sometimes alliterative but nevertheless, fashion a cadence. Together this collection of alphabetically arranged words do tell a story but they leave plenty of room for the marvelous illustrations. Here are the words for the letter o.
Oo oblivious officer
outlandish outfit
As soon as you look at the front of the matching dust jacket and book case, not a second later, you'll be filled with merriment. That bear and that girl are having the most fun either of them have ever had. Notice the shadows made by their arms and legs as they form their snow angles and their footprints and paw prints in the snow. To the left, on the back, still on a background of white, an interior image of the girl tying the hat on the bear is placed between text that reads:
What would you do if A Bear Came to the Door?
A. Run!
B. Scream!
C. Give the bear a warm hat and head to the library for advice.
On the opening and closing endpapers, with a blue-on-blue color scheme, a map of the community, the girl's cabin and surrounding woods, the stream, mountains and bear's home are shown. There is one difference between the first and second set of endpapers. Readers will have fun with the added detail.
Illustrator Hannah E. Harrison begins the pictorial story on the title page with the bear still sleeping inside his den but by the first page turn, a squirrel has moved to the top of the den when the bear wakes up.
The artwork for this book was created with Winsor & Newton Designers gouache on Strathmore 400 series 184 lb. mixed media paper with vellum surface.
The image sizes vary between double-page pictures, full-page pictures, and several images on a single page. Readers won't know whether to burst out laughing (which they will undoubtedly do) or point out all the tiny elements Hannah E. Harrison includes in her pictures. The bear is using a single sharp claw to ring the doorbell. The bear glances back at the lion on the library steps. The baby touching the bear's fur during story time is completely at ease. All the children are watching the bear or carrying on as usual. The librarian is the one looking rather uncomfortable.
One of my many, many favorite illustrations is on a single page. The bear and the girl are in the supermarket at the check-out counter. The cart is ahead of the girl and the cashier; the items are already in a bag. The big, bulky bear is squashed into the seat, wearing the seatbelt and cautiously waving one paw at the cashier. The cashier is trying to ring the cash register and take the girl's money while keeping an eye on the bear. The girl, her back to us, is holding out her money. This is the nice part of the letter n. (You should see the naughty scene on the previous page.)
Follow the link attached to Hannah E. Harrison's name to access her website and learn all about her other enchanting books. Hannah E. Harrison has an account on Facebook. You might enjoy this interview of Hannah E. Harrison on Brightly. At the publisher's website you can view the title page.
When The Snow Is Deeper Than My Boots Are Tall written by Jean Reidy with illustrations by Joey Chou, A Day for Skating written by Sarah Sullivan with illustrations by Madeline Valentine and Bear Is Awake!: An Alphabet Story written and illustrated by Hannah E. Harrison are three fabulous books for a winter theme whether they are read separately or together. They offer multiple opportunities for story stretcher activities. All of them are lively and full of cheer. Who could ask for anything more? I highly recommend all three for your personal and professional collections.
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