Though fall is only just starting to make itself here in southern Oregon, the wild animals in the woods and fields are already getting ready for the winter months. In this gorgeous picture book we see, through the eyes of a young girl, scenes that capture animals in their natural habitats as they prepare for the cold months of the year.
Winter is Coming
Winter is Coming
Tony Johnston
Illustrated by Jim LaMarche
Picture Book
For ages 5 to 7
Simon and Schuster, 2014, 978-1-4424-9900-3
It is a cold fall day and a young girl senses that winter
is coming because she can feel that “ice is in the air.” The girl climbs up to
her tree platform with a pad of paper, some pencils and a pair of binoculars.
From there she sees a red fox and becasue she manages to stay very quiet, the
fox goes about its business below her
Next a mother
bear and her cub arrive on the scene, walking through the trees on the fallen
red and gold leaves. The two animals snuffle around looking for food. Winter is
coming and they need to eat as much as they can now.
In October the
girl is lying on her platform when a family of skunks waddles around the base
of her tree. Lying on her stomach she watches as the mother skunk and her three
babies look for food.
One morning the
girl gets up at dawn and she is lucky enough to see a pair of woodpeckers
drilling holes in a tree. Diligently the two birds fill the holes they made
with acorns that they have collected. They know full well that winter is coming
and they are going to need those acorns in the months to come.
In this
remarkable book a lyrical, image-rich text is paired with beautiful
illustrations to give us a wonderful journey through the months of fall. From
her perch in the tree the girl sees all kinds of animals preparing for winter,
and she shares with us the wisdom she has learned from her family members about
animals and their ways. She knows that there is a lot that she can learn from
animals “About patience. About Truth. About quiet. About taking only what you
need from the land because we are its keepers.”
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