Review by Booklist Review
Calling upon years of family life in Alaska, venerable author Carlstrom numbers the natural wonders of winter. Presented in growing numbers, native animals experience the wintry tundra. Spare, nuanced poems--elegantly complete in just four to five lines--celebrate the vitality of this world of chilled beauty. Echoing the book's title, each poem's final line poignantly evokes the animals' unique embrace of this world: a lone fox is quietly stalking winter, while three snowshoe rabbits are silently tracking and four squirrels are hungrily cracking. Number twelve's melting ice and children "happily meeting spring" brings a reassuring reminder of the cycle of seasons. Both bold and intricate, dramatic illustrations magnificently enhance the poetry. Colorful watercolor washes over emphatic black scratchboard strokes convey both the frozen stillness and the lively energy of this winter world. McGehee's accurate yet stylized rendering presents realistic detail with an authentic folk art resonance. Following an illustrated spread with details on animals and habitats, author and illustrator notes reflect on their experiences and inspiration toward creating this splendid celebration of a wild winter world.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 2--From one red fox to 12 excited children, onlookers count through the Alaskan winter in this picture book poem. Each bold scratchboard and watercolor spread illustrates a single sentence that rhymes internally with the line on the following spread. Seven musk oxen stand in the snow, "sturdily/ facing winter," while eight sled dogs are "heartily/ racing winter." Ravens, snowshoe hares, red squirrels, and owls each experience winter in the far north in their own way until the children come out to slip and slide on the melting ice, "merrily/ meeting spring." Children will want to linger over the pictures in which creatures and landscape are captured in striking scenes. The jet black of the scratchboard tinted with strong, translucent color stands out beautifully against the bright winter white. A final wordless spread includes all of the critters in the book for a bit of seek-and-find fun. The back matter includes an additional fact about each of the animals as well as author's and illustrator's notes. VERDICT A visual treat that cheerfully celebrates winter through lyrical facts found in the natural world, while incidentally also being a counting book. A worthy purchase for most collections.--Jan Aldrich Solow
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
Various animals adapt to live through winter in this atmospheric counting book that honors the snow and cold. Metaphorically, a red fox stalks winter, three snowshoe hares track it, and eight sled dogs race it. The smooth, steady rhythm of Carlstrom's poetic writing makes this inviting book well suited for a read-aloud, while McGehee's dynamic scratchboard and watercolor illustrations, primarily in shades of blue, white, and black, add texture. Profiles of all the animals featured and notes from the author and illustrator are appended. Marva Anne HintonNovember/December 2024 p.10 (c) Copyright 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
It's a counting book. It's a winter animal book. It's a just plain beautiful book! "One red fox walks / across the white snow / quietly / stalking winter." Meanwhile, the fox looks boldly at readers, a single paw raised. Though weather and color palettes may change from page to page as the book counts to 12, the one thing that remains the same is the sense of awe readers will feel while observing these animals in their native Alaskan environments. Each animal's relationship to the season is described in evocative verse, whether they're "talking winter" or "tracking," "riding," "hiding," "facing," "racing," "naming," "taming," "feeding," or "meeting" it. The final animals on display--human kids of various skin tones--slip and slide on ice that's rapidly melting as spring arrives. With lines such as "Four red squirrels feast / at their midden full of cones / hungrily / cracking winter," Carlstrom's writing deftly sets this title apart from other counting books. Meanwhile, McGehee's art conjures up both the silly side of nature and its incredible dignity and variety. Backmatter consists of animal profiles, with fun facts about each one pictured. In her author's note, Carlstrom reminisces about observing wildlife while living in Alaska; in an illustrator's note, McGehee discusses researching the animals she drew. A little scratchboard, a little watercolor, and voilà! The prettiest nondenominational winter book seen in ages. (Picture book. 3-5) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
