Review by Booklist Review
Ages 5^-7. Plourde offers a mild reprimand to overly busy fathers by suggesting that even Father Time himself has parental responsibilities. Little Winter wants to play, but Father Time repeatedly puts him off. While waiting, Little Winter "whistens and glistens the world in white," then proudly shows it all to Father Time, who "tosses / his son way up high. / `Enough work for now. / Let's play in the sky.'" Flowing lines and a rich palette give Couch's billowing, starry scenes a dreamlike quality. Little Winter has a long, pointy nose and a nightcap like a comet's tail; Father, a sphere surrounded by the planets and clockwork, is more a presence than a distinct figure. Later, as Father snuggles down with his son, Mother Earth quietly flows away to "make sure / Spring doesn't oversleep." The message is delivered in a humorous, nonpreachy way, and the metaphorical nature of the cast adds an intriguing subplot. Pair this playful vision with Stephen Gammell's Is That You, Winter? (1997) or Robert Sabuda's Blizzard's Robe (1999). John Peters
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Plourde and Couch pick up where they left off with the autumnal Wild Child, this time featuring a boy who personifies winter. The fantasy is more complex and abstract than the previous title and may well puzzle more than challenge or entertain youngest readers. When small Winter in his Wee Willie Winkle hat wants his father's attention, Father Time answers, "Just a minute, big guy./ My work's not done." His father ignores him until Winter presents him with a spectacular snowflake, at which point Father Time, with a "tear in his eye," agrees to play. As he gives Winter a goodnight kiss, he acknowledges the lesson he's learned about making time for his son. Couch's frosty paintings are both dazzling and inventive. Wheels and clock parts surround Father Time's cubist moon face; stars and planets encircle his head like a halo. But the arresting images and sophisticated artwork may be as confusing to youngsters as the text. Unfortunately, Plourde's problematic story seems to suggest that the only surefire way a child can get his father's attention is to impress him. Despite the use of playful nonsense words that fill out the rhythm (father and son "wristle and wrestle" and they "rizzle and romp"), the book's message seems addressed more to workaholic fathers than to children. Ages 4-8. (Nov.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 2-When Mother Earth sees Winter bouncing on the bed, she sends him off to find Father Time, who says that he is too busy to play. Winter finds ways to pass the time: painting the grass with frost, carving ice sculptures, and cutting out snowflakes. When Father Time's work is done, the two wrestle in the sky, causing a blizzard below. As father and son settle in for a cozy nap, Mother Earth tiptoes past, on her way to wake up Spring. Plourde's rhyming text flows well and the language trips off the tongue: "He snizzes and snips/lacy designs./Sprools and sprinkles them/on meadows and pines." However, Couch's sumptuous illustrations are the real attention-grabbers here. Using acrylic paint and colored pencils, the artist creates a beautiful frosty landscape out of deep blues, purples, and whites. Each small touch, from Father Time's half-night/half-day face to Winter's impishly pointed icicle of a nose, adds to the otherworldly feel of the artwork. Anyone who has ever recognized the quiet magic of a snowy day will feel right at home with these atmospheric paintings. A lovely mood piece about a perennially popular topic.-Kathleen Kelly MacMillan, Carroll County Public Library, Eldersburg, MD (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
Winter is a young child who amuses himself by creating wintry weather while waiting for his busy parent, Father Time, to come and play. The eye-catching illustrations depict a luminous, ice-blue child and his star-studded father, with Time's clockwork gears spinning in the background. The rhyming text is uneven, but the father-son interactions are lively and well characterized. From HORN BOOK Fall 2001, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Plourde and Couch continue their seasonally themed picture-book partnership, which began with Wild Child (1999), a well-received story of young Autumn and Mother Nature. In this beautifully illustrated sequel, Winter is a barefoot boy in flowing robes made of snow drifts, a Jack Frost figure in icy shades of blue and silver with an icicle nose and snowflake eyes. He waits impatiently for Father Time to have time to play, amusing himself by creating frosty pictures, ice sculptures, and a special giant snowflake as a gift to please his daddy. Plourde tells her story in rhymes that freeze up occasionally, but she also has a flair for rich vocabulary and some ingenious made-up words. The dark, crystalline world of a winter night is wonderfully captured in Couchs swirling double-page-spread illustrations done in acrylics and colored pencils, and he works wonders with the personification of Winter and Father Time. Mother Earth appears on the last page, promising not to let Spring oversleep, so another seasonal saga seems in the works from this talented team. This wont be a favorite with literal-minded little ones, but will be enjoyed by those imaginative children who can appreciate an absorbing allegorical adventure along the lines of Barbara Helen Bergers Grandfather Twilight (1984). Teachers of older children will also use this oversized picture book as an introduction to mythical characters or allegory or as a springboard to creative-writing assignments. (Picture book. 4-8)
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