Hush Hush, Forest

by Mary Casanova, Nick Wroblewski (Illustrator)

Overview

Lyrical words and elegant woodcuts capture the quiet beauty of the forest as day fades to night and autumn gives way to the North Woods winter

While we are tucked in, snug in warm blankets as we listen to bedtime stories, the woods around us whisper another tale. As the golden leaves waft through the lengthening shadows, the loon sings one last lullaby, the whirring hummingbird takes one last sip, the industrious beaver saws one last branch for her lodge. Here, in enchanting words and woodcuts, is the magic of night falling and winter approaching in the North Woods. Hush Hush, Forest peers through twilight’s window at the raccoon preening, the doe and fawn bedding down, the last bat of the season flitting away. The owl surveys, the rabbit scurries, the bear hunkers, readying her den.

Marking the rhythm between the falling leaf and the falling snowflake, picturing the rituals of creatures big and small as they prepare for the long winter’s sleep, this charming book captures a time of surpassing wonder for readers of all ages—and bids everyone in the hushed forest a peaceful good night.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780816694259
Publisher:	University of Minnesota Press
Publication date:	10/09/2018
Pages:	40
Sales rank:	1,099,489
Product dimensions:	8.10(w) x 11.10(h) x 0.50(d)
Age Range:	3 Months to 5 Years

About the Author

Mary Casanova is author of more than thirty books for young readers, ranging from picture books such as One-Dog Canoe and Wake Up, Island (Minnesota, 2016) to the novels Moose Tracks (Minnesota, 2013) and Frozen (Minnesota, 2012). Her books have earned the American Library Association Notable Award, Aesop Accolades from the American Folklore Society, Parents’ Choice Gold Award, and Booklist Editors’ Choice, as well as two Minnesota Book Awards. She and her husband live in northern Minnesota near the Canadian border. 

Nick Wroblewski is an artist and printmaker specializing in handmade woodcut blockprints; his art is in private collections and galleries throughout the country. He illustrated Mary Casanova’s book Wake Up, Island (Minnesota, 2016) and lives in Duluth, Minnesota, with his wife and two children.

Editorial Reviews

"The narrative soothes and quiets readers' spirits with its gentle and lyrical telling of preparation and rest. A soothing and superb story to read to nature lovers at bedtime."—Kirkus Reviews

"It’s winter in this lovely and lyrical picture book that captures animals preparing for the long cold."—Pioneer Press

"The illustrations are serious, artful and dramatic. The words are more verse than narrative and leave space for our musings and woodland wanderings."—Wilderness News

"Casanova’s simple lyrical language cups the annual change in few well-chosen words, leaving a parent and child in cozy, indoor sleep as winter’s first snow coats the ground. Strong illustrations and a carefully crafted text illuminate a forest habitat as the seasons change."—Library Journal

"As a last book before bed, Hush Hush will set the stage for charming dreams and snuggling under the covers on chilly winter nights."—Lake Superior Magazine

"What a good book! It feels like us—the woods and winter. It feels like home."—Mesabi Daily News

"Casanova's free-form poetry transports the reader outdoors, where the landscape is shifting from fall to winter. In brief but buoyantly descriptive phrases, she unfolds the complex phenology of this ‘shoulder season’— from migration and hibernation to the first snowfall and appearance of the northern lights."—Star Tribune

"With evocative and lyrical word pictures, and beautiful woodcuts, the creators of this book bring readers a spectacular picture of the changing seasons as they are unfolded in the north woods in North America."—Through the Looking Glass Children’s Book Reviews

From the Publisher

12/01/2018
PreS-Gr 2—Bold woodcuts limn the cyclical text as the woodland season turns from fall to winter, captured in amber, gold, pale sage, and light cerulean with black accents. Leaves swirl in the wind, birds set off on southward courses, bears slip into comfy dens, and the rest hunker down for a cold, dark season. Casanova's simple lyrical language cups the annual change in few well-chosen words, leaving a parent and child in cozy, indoor sleep as winter's first snow coats the ground. Strong illustrations and a carefully crafted text illuminate a forest habitat as the seasons change. VERDICT A lovely choice for one-on-one and small group sharing.—Patricia Manning, formerly at Eastchester Public Library, NY

School Library Journal

2018-07-24

This nature-themed picture book brings readers through autumn and just into winter.

Author Casanova and illustrator Wroblewski team up to deliver an homage to the North American woods as autumn slips into winter. Casanova's singsong rhyming text is filled with evocations of the quiet busyness of common forest animals—deer, bear, beaver, and owl, among year-round residents, and such summer visitors as loon and hummingbird—as they prepare for winter months ahead. The narrative doesn't give nature information so much as it soothes and quiets readers' spirits with its gentle and lyrical telling of preparation and rest. Wroblewski's full-color woodcut illustrations feature masterful design in their overall composition and accuracy in their depiction of nature—and here is where more information about the nature of the animals and the environment can be found. Beavers fell trees, and the illustration shows exactly how that tree trunk looks after it has been gnawed by the animal's large front teeth. Raccoons catch crayfish, and the illustration shows them rolling the crustaceans in the stream before eating, as they do. In the illustrations' splendid accuracy, the grandeur of the natural world speaks for itself. The illustrations' movement and flow belie their laborious technique; fur appears textured, the sky is subtle, viewpoints are stimulating, and the animals move fluidly. The two humans shown appear white.

A soothing and superb story to read to nature lovers at bedtime. (Picture book. 3-7)

Kirkus Reviews