Winter Dance: A Winter and Holiday Book for Kids

by Marion Dane Bauer, Richard Jones (Illustrator)

Overview

Snow is coming, and it's time to get ready! The squirrel gathers nuts, the geese soar south, and the snowshoe hare puts on its new white coat. But what should the fox do? Each animal advises the fox that its own plan is best, but the fox thinks otherwise—yet it's not until he meets a golden-eyed friend that he finds the perfect way to celebrate the snowfall.

Stunning illustrations by the new talent Richard Jones are the perfect complement to the Newbery Honor winner Marion Dane Bauer's lyrical and playful homage to the natural world.    

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780544313347
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	10/24/2017
Pages:	40
Sales rank:	403,893
Product dimensions:	8.00(w) x 10.00(h) x 0.38(d)
Lexile:	AD520L (what's this?)
Age Range:	4 - 7 Years

About the Author

Marion Dane Bauer has written more than one hundred children's books, including picture books, easy readers, early chapter books, and novels. She won a Newbery Honor for On My Honor, a middle grade coming-of-age story. She lives in Falcon Heights, Minnesota. www.mariondanebauer.com.

Richard Jones has more than fifteen years of experience in the creative arts and worked in a children's library for over a decade. Combining his two passions, he began illustrating children's books in 2016. Winter Dance is his first picture book in the US. He lives in Devon, England. www.paintedmouse.com

Editorial Reviews

★ 10/02/2017
With winter fast approaching, geese know to fly away and bears know to hibernate, but a red fox is at a loss. One by one, animals offer the fox advice, and one by one the fox rejects their suggestions. “Gather, gather, gather./ Then quick,/ quick,/ hide everything away,” says a squirrel. “That won’t do for me,” the fox muses. “I don’t even like acorns.” Eventually, another red fox shows up with an idea that works: “When a million snowflakes/ fill the air,/ twirling,/ tumbling,/ spinning,/ waltzing,/ you and I/ join them.” Bauer’s verselike text pairs gracefully with smudgy and similarly understated scenes from British illustrator Jones: the text and artwork work in tandem to suggest the hushed onset of winter while carrying readers forward with the swiftness of a snow flurry. Ages 4–7. Author’s agent: Rubin Pfeffer, Rubin Pfeffer Content. Illustrator’s agent: Arabella Stein, Bright Group. (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly

? "An exemplary addition to the shelves of nature-themed picture books." —Kirkus, starred review "Bauer’s verselike text pairs gracefully with smudgy and similarly understated scenes from British illustrator Jones: the text and artwork work in tandem to suggest the hushed onset of winter while carrying readers forward with the swiftness of a snow flurry." –Publishers Weekly, starred review "The regular pattern of Bauer’s text provides excellent support for pre-readers, while remaining sweetly simple. However, it’s Jones’ soft-lined, textured illustrations that steal the show, as they cast beautiful forest scenes across the page, using a cool wintry palette against which the fox’s orangey-red fur pops. Eventually, the fox finds another of his kind, who has the answer to his question, providing a lovely finish to this finely crafted winter’s tale." —Booklist, starred review "Inspired by the author’s discovery of the foxes’ dance in the woods of the North, the descriptive, lyrical text and its placement imitate the dance’s movement...A suggested first purchase suitable for young readers in libraries and classrooms studying seasons and animal behavior." –School Library Journal —

From the Publisher

10/01/2017
PreS-Gr 2— Winter approaches with the arrival of a solitary snowflake, while a young red fox questions what to do when the air grows colder and the ground slowly covers with snow. A softly painted palette that gently mimics a snowy landscape presents the change in seasons and the still quiet of nature through varied perspectives as, one by one, the fox asks the creatures of the forest, "What should I do?" Each answers with the instinct or innate behavior of their species—helpful advice comes from a caterpillar, turtle, bat, squirrel, goose, and snowshoe hare. Lastly, a "great black bear," advises "Curl beneath the roots of a toppled balsam tree, and tuck all your growls away." No advice seems quite right until another fox invites him to watch as "a million snowflakes fill the air" and join in a celebratory dance. Inspired by the author's discovery of the foxes' dance in the woods of the North, the descriptive, lyrical text and its placement imitate the dance's movement. VERDICT A suggested first purchase suitable for young readers in libraries and classrooms studying seasons and animal behavior.— Mary Elam, Learning Media Services, Plano ISD, TX

School Library Journal

★ 2017-08-02
As winter begins to set in, a curious fox wonders what he ought to do. Winter is coming—a snowflake has just fallen on the nose of the "fine red fox"—and he wonders what he should do. With each page turn, he encounters a critter that gives him advice. A caterpillar tells him to wrap himself in a chrysalis and become a butterfly in the spring, but the fox replies that he was "not meant to fly." The bat tells him to find a cave, hang by his toes, and go to sleep, but the fox says his "toes would get tired." The squirrel tells him to "gather, gather, gather," but the fox replies, "I don't even like acorns." In this cheerful way, readers follow the fox through his rambles while learning what different creatures do during the winter. Bauer's free-verse narrative is sprightly and accomplished, with a playful touch and earnest humor. Jones' full-page illustrations, done in rich, muted earth tones, are stunningly designed and executed—the hare is particularly effective—while the book's illustrated endpapers amplify the story with satisfying detail. What the fox ultimately finds to do may surprise readers, but it is, like the rest of the book, based in fact. An exemplary addition to the shelves of nature-themed picture books. (Picture book. 3-6)

Kirkus Reviews