{"id":25403,"date":"2014-10-10T21:52:29","date_gmt":"2014-10-11T01:52:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/?p=25403"},"modified":"2014-10-10T21:52:29","modified_gmt":"2014-10-11T01:52:29","slug":"review-of-winter-is-coming-by-tony-johnston-illustrated-by-jim-lamarche","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/?p=25403","title":{"rendered":"Review of Winter Is Coming, by Tony Johnston, illustrated by Jim LaMarche"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"winter_is_coming_large\"<\/a>Winter is Coming<\/em><\/p>\n

by Tony Johnston
\nillustrated by Jim LaMarche<\/p>\n

A Paula Wiseman Book (Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers), New York, 2014. 32 pages.
\nStarred Review<\/p>\n

I usually don\u2019t fall for quiet, meditative picture books. They need some zing to keep kids from squirming in Storytime. And surely Autumn has been done to death?<\/p>\n

However, this book is so completely gorgeous, it won my heart. The text is gentle and lovely, and the story in pictures of a girl watching the natural world, observing and sketching, snuck its way into my heart.<\/p>\n

The girl has a platform set up in a moss-covered old tree. She has binoculars and a sketch book. The book starts in early Autumn. The girl comes and sees wildlife come to the clearing, first a fox sniffing the last apple on their apple tree. Each new scene ends with the words \u201cWinter is coming.\u201d<\/p>\n

Over the months that follow, she sees a bear and her cub, a family of skunks, a pair of woodpeckers, a group of rabbits, a lynx, chipmunks, deer, geese flying south, and finally a flock of wild turkeys. With each new day, the girl observes the animals and how they are getting ready for winter. Finally:<\/p>\n

It\u2019s late November now.
\nGray as honkers, clouds crowd low.
\nThe red fox returns,
\nprowling, prying, poking.
\nBut the apples are gone.
\nThe day goes still.
\nThe red fox is quiet, quiet.
\nI am quiet, quiet. Then \u2013
\nthe clouds dust us with
\nsnow.
\nSoon snow lies everywhere.<\/p>\n

Winter is here.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Besides being beautiful to look at, the pictures, even though they are all from the same basic setting, are presented from a wide variety of angles and perspectives. Paired with the poetic language and insights about nature, this book won my heart.<\/p>\n

We can learn from animals, my father says.
\nAbout patience. About truth. About quiet.
\nAbout taking only what you need
\nfrom the land because
\nwe are just its keepers.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

KIDS.SimonandSchuster.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Buy from Amazon.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Find this review on Sonderbooks<\/a> at: www.sonderbooks.com\/Picture_Books\/winter_is_coming.html<\/a><\/p>\n

Disclosure: I am an Amazon Affiliate, and will earn a small percentage if you order a book on Amazon after clicking through from my site.<\/p>\n

Source: This review is based on a library book from Fairfax County Public Library.<\/p>\n

Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but I maintain my website and blogs on my own time. The views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.<\/p>\n

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