Jonker, Travis. Just One Flake. Abrams Books for Young Readers. 2023. 978-1-419-76011-2. 32 p. $18.99. Grades K-2.
Liam is determined to catch one snowflake…on his tongue! He bundles up and heads outside. Can he do it? Can he catch just one flake on his tongue before it’s time to go inside?
THOUGHTS: I love this book. It is a perfect way to introduce a lesson on snowflakes, and it’s so adorable. The simple illustrations perfectly capture the feeling of this story.
Picture Book
Young, Kevin. Emile and the Field. Illustrated by Chioma Ebinama. Make Me a World, an imprint of Random House Children’s Books, 2022. 978-1-984-85042-3. Unpaged. $17.99. Grades K-2.
Emile, a young black boy, falls in love with a field. He loves everything about it–the bees, the flowers, the trees. The only thing he doesn’t like is having to share the field with other children in the winter, children who build snowmen and ride down the face of the field without his permission. Emile’s father explains that the other children love the field, too, and while no one owns the field, they will be able to enjoy it for many years to come if they all share it and take care of it. Impressionistic illustrations, rendered in watercolor and ink, are absolutely stunning and depict the field in various seasons and at various times of the day.
THOUGHTS: Nature and art lovers will absolutely adore this book. Its subtle message about appreciating nature and coming together to take care of it is an important one, and the gorgeous illustrations will not soon be forgotten.
Picture Book Julie Ritter, PSLA Member
Kulekjian, Jessica. Hiders Seekers Finders Keepers: How Animals Adapt in Winter. Kids Can Press. 978-1-525-30485-9. 32 p. $19.99. Grades K-3.
As the seasons change, it’s also necessary for animals to adapt. This sparse, but lyrical, text divides animals into three categories: hiders, seekers, and finders. The hiders search out cozy places and spend the winter huddled together. The seekers journey to milder locations where food is easier to locate. And, the finders keep warm in their thick coats and by relying on food they’ve stowed away. The digitally created illustrations burst with life and color and feature a father and daughter hiking through each season and noting the changes in scenery and animal life. Each page also features text bubbles that share additional detailed facts about the pictured animals and the ways they cope with the cold weather. Backmatter includes an animal tracking guide.
THOUGHTS: This title transports readers through the changing seasons and highlights the many unique ways animals adapt to cold weather conditions. The succinct text is perfect for young readers, and they’ll also pore over the illustrations, searching for each animal in its burrow, den, cave, log, and nest. This will be a good fit for units about hibernation, migration, and animal adaptations.
578.4 Animal Adaptation Anne Bozievich, Southern York County SD
Cordell, Matthew. Cornbread & Poppy. Little, Brown and Company, 2022. 978-0-759-55486-3. 80 p. $6.99. Grades K-2.
Two mice who are the very best of friends have a real adventure in this charming chapter book! Cornbread is a planner. He is ready for the first snowfall, and his well-stocked larder is full of delicious fruit preserves, grains, and cheeses. Poppy is more carefree. She loves to hike, ride bikes, and go on adventures. Despite Cornbread’s reminders, she has put off foraging until it is all but too late. Cornbread can’t let his best friend go hungry, so he agrees to accompany Poppy up Holler Mountain in search of food for the long winter. But Holler Mountain is a scary place, with steep hills, snow, and predatory owls! Matthew Cordell’s irresistible illustrations, in pen and ink with cool watercolors, bring humor and gentle thrills to the little friends’ big excursion.
THOUGHTS: Both a friendship tale and a mild adventure story, Cornbread & Poppy is a book to read over and over again for the sweet scenes and special details.
Chapter Book Amy V. Pickett, Ridley SD
O’Farrell, Maggie. Where Snow Angels Go. Candlewick, 2021. 978-1-536-21937-1. 72 p. $18.99. Grades 3-6.
A magical holiday story that doesn’t focus on a particular celebration, but instead focuses on the winter season. Slyvie makes a snow angel one night and much to her surprise the angel comes to life as her protector. In a fairy tale or mythical way, the angel says that he will always watch over her because water has a memory and despite being in different forms and places, she will have her angel watching over her. The angel despises the thought of being magic, or simply scientific.
THOUGHTS: A great update to the winter collection in any elementary library. The potential tie-ins to lessons related to the water system, winter solstice, and fairy tales make this title universally appealing for the upper grades at the elementary level.
Picture Book Samantha Hull, Ephrata Area SD
Trevino, Charles. Seaside Stroll. Charlesbridge, 2021. 978-1-580-89932-1. 32 p. $16.99. Grades K-3.
Bundle up, and prepare for a seaside walk…in the winter! This beachy tale is even more unique because it uses only words beginning with the letter “s.” A little girl, her doll, and her mother layer on their warmest clothes for a wintery walk to the seashore. From snow on the sand to flocks of seagulls, there’s lots to look at on a wintery afternoon. But, when the little girl slips on the rocky side of a tidepool and the doll splashes in, will the day be salvaged? Trevino, the author, was inspired by American Sign Language (ASL) poetry when he created the structure for this text. In his author’s note, he describes how the story reads like a poem, and its rhythm and pace are designed to capture the wonder of exploration and discovery. Additional backmatter includes a list of things to look for if you visit a beach in the winter, including birds, wintery cloud formations, animals in tidepools, and snow and sand sculptures.
THOUGHTS: This gentle text shares a unique perspective of the beach during the off-season. It’s full of sensory words, so teachers could task students with listening carefully for them as the story unfolds. This will be an unexpected addition to wintery storytimes.
Picture Book Anne Bozievich, Southern York County SD
Cooney, Caroline B. I’m Going to Give You a Polar Bear Hug. ZonderKidz, 2020. $17.99. 32 p. 978-0-310-76780-8. Grades PK-1.
An inventive young girl enjoys a day of playing in the snow with a cardboard sled of stuffed animals. First, Dad helps her dress in a furry white snowsuit while she imagines he is a cuddly polar bear giving her a “shivery, quivery forty below hug.” Outside, bundled in a bright yellow coat with a fur lined hood paired with red boots, she envisions more hugging fun inspired by her sled full of plush friends. Reindeer, walrus, goose, seal, and other wintry critters are featured in unique hugging styles. Brief rhyming text is paired with full page illustrations of frolicking, cuddly animals. Back inside, the fun and hugs continue with Dad and younger brother all playing together on the floor. The whole family has Brown skin and short curly dark hair.
THOUGHTS: Great for the preschool crowd this book is a joyful celebration of childhood imagination paired with loving family fun. The animal hugs offer an opportunity to add gross motor play to a winter story time with learners reenacting the seal stands, bunny hops, and cardinal flight of the protagonist’s vivid imagination.
Picture Book Jackie Fulton, Mt. Lebanon SD
McGhee, Alison. Where We Are. Atheneum/A Caitlyn Dlougy Book, 2020. 978-1-534-44612-0. $18.99. Grades 7-10.
Micah and Sesame had a plan. If Micah and his parents mysteriously disappeared from their home in present-day, downtown Minneapolis, Micah would text Sesame and she would find him. When Deacon comes to escort the Stone family to the South Compound, he confiscates their cell phones so Micah leaves a cryptic note on the wipe-off board on the refrigerator. The Stones have joined a cult that scorns all worldly things—even pencils—and cower and obey the harsh and unreasonable mandates of one man they call the Prophet. Not Micah. He resists and accumulates so many infractions for what the cold and domineering Prophet deems insubordination that the young man barely exists in solitary confinement. Though free, Sesame Gray lives a secret life. After her mother dies (she calls her grandmother because the woman was older when she adopted Sesame), she concocts stories so that neither her friends nor her solicitous neighbors suspect she is living alone in an abandoned garage. Throughout the book, Sesame reflects on both her grandmother’s goodness and also her habit of keeping them isolated and self-sufficient. That behavior serves Sesame well in her current situation, but her experience relying on others to help in the search for Micah brings a new realization that every person needs to depend on someone. High school seniors and sweethearts, Micah and Sesame narrate this curious story in alternating chapters: faithful Sesame on the outside, remains single-mindedly determined to find her lost boyfriend; resilient Micah, imprisoned in a basement laundry and wasting away, continues to leave clues, sure Sesame will find him. In the hands of a different writer, this book about cults and loss would be a toss off. Author Alison McGhee’s writing pulls the reader along this strange tale and makes us care about these two sensitive and insightful characters. Still, the subject manner is very particular and though there is the element of romance, their love is played out through devotion rather than a relationship, leaving the book with limited appeal. It is unclear what ethnicity the characters are (the cult and its members seem white); two neighbor couples are gay; it all is seamless.
THOUGHTS: I have read other books by Ghee (Maybe a Fox), and admired her unique plot selections. A hide-and-seek love story centered around a cult but not really about the cult is unique, but not so interesting. The fact that present-day Minneapolis is the focal point of so much foment, violence, and pain, and Ghee picks that city to be the setting for a cult/kidnap/romance seems to me an odd-and avoidable-choice. The dust jacket states Ms. McGhee splits her residence between Minneapolis and another place, so perhaps the setting doesn’t matter. Though I couldn’t, I thought these factors promoted this book: subtle but solid theme, good writing, clever idea of creative Sesame to leave poems boxes around town, appealing characters. Like McGhee’s other books, this one fits only a narrow audience.
Realistic Fiction Bernadette Cooke, School District of Philadelphia
Hills, Tad. Mistletoe. Schwartz & Wade Books, 2020. 978-0-593-17442-5. $17.99. Unpaged. Grades PreK-1.
“Mistletoe” falls in with my favorite themes for holiday stories: friendship, homemade gifts, and kindness. Mistletoe the mouse loves chilly mornings, knitting, and her pal Norwell. Norwell the elephant loves cozy fires, decorating for Christmas, and his pal Mistletoe. Mistletoe tries to convince Norwell that strolling through the snow and catching snowflakes on your tongue is a delightful way to spend the day, but Norwell seems cold just looking outside. The solution for these friends? A thoughtful friend, some quick knitting needles, and an extra-extra-extra large elephant sized snowsuit. In typical Tad Hills fashion, the story is warm and enjoyable just like the illustrations.
THOUGHTS: Fans of Hills’s Rocket or Duck and Goose will love Mistletoe the mouse, but any young reader with a dash of Christmas spirit will enjoy this sweet story.
Picture Book Lindsey Long, Lower Dauphin SD
Hall, Kirsten. Snow Birds. Abrams, 2020. 978-1-419-74203-3. Unpaged. $17.99. Grades K-3.
This delightful work of poetry pays tribute to those birds that stay behind and face the harsh winter. Each two page spread focuses on a different bird. The text is written in assorted rhyming patterns and includes the calls that each species makes. The work begins in autumn with a blue jay foraging for nuts and a wren looking for a home. As the snow begins to fall, snow geese and snow buntings are seen flying amidst the snowflakes. As winter deepens and darkens, a great gray owl chases its prey while a ruffed grouse burrows into its snowy home. A woodpecker searching for insects, and blue jays preparing a nest signal the arrival of spring. The back matter contains more information about each of the seventeen featured birds and how they adapt to a wintry climate. The beautiful full bleed illustrations by Desmond are done in assorted media and deftly add atmosphere to the text. One can almost feel a chill when reading about the “shaking quaking” chickadee’s struggles to stay warm and the snowy owl’s venture into the black frozen night.
THOUGHTS: This poetic work is a great introduction to winter birds for primary students and is perfect for a winter themed story time. This is a first purchase for elementary collections.
811.54 Poetry Denise Medwick, Retired, PSLA Member