When Winter Comes: Discovering Wildlife in Our Snowy Woods

PreS-Gr 2--As one intrepid human family goes to the woods to play on a snowy day, readers are privy to all the ingenious and hidden shelters that animals create during the harsh, cold months. The family, whose members are white, ducks behind a fallen log during a playful snowball fight, where readers see a group of tree frogs sheltering within. When they snowshoe through the woods, intricate tunnels are shown below them, made by mice who are looking for seeds and bark. The frozen lake, where they ice fish, is actually hosting a "slushy slumber party of sleepily swimming rainbow trout." Though it may look as if the woods are empty in winter, Bissonette (North Woods Girl) creatively displays how they are not. Hourigan's joyful illustrations will encourage children to take a closer look at the world around them. VERDICT A wonderful purchase to add to collections on nature and the seasons.--Amy Nolan, St. Joseph P.L., MI

"When winter comes... some people think our woods are empty. But we know better." This lyrical, informative tale features a family of four spending time in the snow while pointing out the surrounding fauna's wintertime activities. Bissonette's prose sparkles even as she imparts factual information: "We know/ the windswept drifts we snowshoe across/ cover tangles of tunnels below the snow...// made by meadow mice/ in search of seeds/ and bark." In detailed cutaways, Hourigan emphasizes the delight of the frolicking family as they lob snowballs, snowshoe, and ice-fish, while balancing the close proximity and contrasting experiences of the animals, who hibernate and hunt, swim and wander. A familial picture book that expertly depicts wintry human behaviors alongside those of the natural world--one that is "very much alive" in winter. Ages 4-8. (Oct.)