Winter Is Here

Product Description This picture book about winter celebrates the sights, sounds, and smells of the season. From Caldecott Medalist and Newbery Honor author Kevin Henkes and acclaimed painter Laura Dronzek, the bestselling and award-winning creators of seasonal favorites When Spring Comes and In the Middle of Fall. Snow falls, animals burrow, and children prepare for the wonders winter brings. Caldecott Medalist and award-winning author Kevin Henkes’s striking text introduces basic concepts of language and the unique beauty of the winter season. Laura Dronzek’s expressive paintings beautifully capture the joyful wonders of winter. This is an engaging companion to the bestselling When Spring Comes and In the Middle of Fall. Winter Is Here is an ideal choice for story time, seasonal curriculums, and bedtime reading. From School Library Journal PreS-Gr 1-Another must-have seasonal picture book created through the amazing collaboration of Henkes and Dronzek. Here they describe winter and its many delights, such as its natural beauty, and the opportunity for people to ice skate and sled down pillowy hills. The cold and ice also present challenges, like dressing in layers full of snaps and buttons, scarves and hats. It can be quiet and peaceful yet it can be loud and fierce. It is white yet is often dark. Winter lasts a while, but peels away to reveal the beauty of spring. The text is smooth and uncomplicated yet interesting and engaging. The descriptive word choice is able to set the scene perfectly with so few words, and the soft illustrations match and enrich the text seamlessly. The acrylic paintings not only portray the wonder and beauty of a large snowfall but they also evoke a feeling of warmth and peaceful comfort. The diverse array of animals in preparation will entertain readers and leave them curious to the very end of the story. VERDICT Bundle up for this wonderful wintry tale of all of the highs and lows that the season has to offer.-Amy Shepherd, St. Anne's Episcopal School, Middleton, DEα(c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. Review “This accomplished picture book details the season of winter. Author Henkes’ text is simple but evocative, observing winter in perceptive and sometimes-playful detail. Illustrator Dronzek’s acrylic illustrations...enrich and deepen the text as they add story details and warmth. ...A polished, playful story in which words and pictures dance in perfect harmony.” -- Kirkus Reviews  (starred review) “Gorgeous...An appealing series of pictures shows the boy donning boots and zippers, vests and zippers, and jackets and zippers, wryly underscored by humorous text. ...The gentle repetitions continue as winter stays, and stays and stays, until it finally shrinks away and slips around the corner into a gorgeous, green spring. ...The large format, language, and pictures merge in a just-right read-aloud for fans of winter’s charms.” -- ALA Booklist (starred review) “Another must-have seasonal picture book created through the amazing collaboration of Henkes and Dronzek. . . .The descriptive word choice is able to set the scene perfectly with so few words, and the soft illustrations match and enrich the text seamlessly. . . .Bundle up for this wonderful wintry tale of all the highs and lows that the season has to offer.” -- School Library Journal (starred review) “Henkes and Dronzek present a lyrical ode to winter and its many moods. The text, marked by a gentle rhythm, uses descriptive language to bring the season to vivid life...Expressive, full-bleed spreads steal the show.” -- The Horn Book “A cinematically enticing take on winter, and the atmospheric lyricism is seasonally suitable. ...A cozy evocation both of the real and imagined experience of days measured by the white stuff.” -- Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books “Acrylic paintings that spill off the pages set the scene t