Review by Booklist Review
PreS-Gr. 2. The book's title is bland, but the poetry inside is invigorating, just like a crisp winter day. The poems follow one girl who awakens to see that "In violet slippers / and pink-striped robe, / dawn peeks at the world in its white nightclothes." The plow "crowds" the snow, paving the way for a mother-daughter excursion. Once outside, the girl spies something: "a cold hand / hides, / a numb thumb seeks / what I have spied." She grabs the mitten, and soon enough, the owner shows up. Other winter moments get their own poems: "Winter breath," is a "ghost horse, all wispy mane and misty tail." Then there's the squirrel unable to find the "fat nut tucked in the hidey hole," and hot chocolate whose steam is an invitation. Kids will especially like the concrete poem "Sledding," with words slipping down the side of page, mirroring the children "swooping" and "speeding" down the adjacent hill. Nakata mines all the frosty fun in his winsome watercolor illustrations, which are as varied in composition and effect as the poetry. A book that provides something to smile about with each new reading. --Ilene Cooper Copyright 2005 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
I cold-toe creep/ to the window to see/ the covers heaped/ on each bare tree," begins the girl narrator of a series of clever, gentle poems that detail wintertime activities. Nakata's (Got to Dance) watercolors capture the girl peering out of an apartment window at a rosy dawn and "the world/ in its white nightclothes." The text appeals to all five senses, as the heroine listens to a snowplow "Large and loud... breaking the hush/ like a clock alarm." Although each poem can stand alone, together they form a simple story about a lost mitten. Quattlebaums's (Jackson Jones and the Puddle of Thorns) meticulous text and Nakata's bright watercolors are stylish and elegantly concise. The collaborators uniquely reimagine traditional scenes: the girl sees an "Icicle Piano" hanging from a roof and watches her breath form "ghost horse[s]" that gallop away. The heroine's early discovery of a lost blue mitten gives the narrative dramatic force, and when she searches out its owner ("His shyly waving/ hand is bare"), she makes a new friend. By book's end, all the people the children have met gather in the girl's apartment for an impromptu cocoa party. In addition to capturing the feel of winter from a child's point of view, the book quietly celebrates citydwellers sharing warmth on a cold day. As the ending poem suggests, the city in winter is a place where the wind can whisper "a thousand tiny promises." Ages 2-5. (Oct.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 1-In 16 brief poems, a girl perfectly describes a day spent making snow angels, watching-and listening to-icicles drip, finding a lost mitten, and making a new friend. From the first sight of new snow at dawn to the wind "whispering a thousand tiny promises" at night, the joy of discovery permeates the book. Each poem is different stylistically, which helps keep the text fluent. Even better, the child's voice is clear and believable. Nakata's inspired illustrations perfectly complement the effortless verse. Full of colorful coats and hats, evergreens and cardinals, they are a happy reminder that winter is not always gray and glum. A great addition to any picture-book collection, as well as a charming introduction to poetry.-Kara Schaff Dean, Needham Public Library, MA (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
After a snowstorm, a child finds a lost mitten and its owner, builds a snowman, goes sledding, and returns home to a cup of hot cocoa. What makes her adventures special is the poetry that captures the spirit and excitement of her day. Joyful, delicate illustrations add engaging details to the rhymes, blank verse, and haiku. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
An uneven collection of poems tells the story of one winter day spent playing outside and making new friends. Quattlebaum's verses give voice to a young girl's observations, and many of them are evocative and believably childlike. She uses a variety of forms to good effect, including haiku and concrete poems. Occasionally, however, her rhymes seem forced (a dog says "yop" to rhyme with "stop") or sing-song-y. And some poems seem too sophisticated in vocabulary or concept to fit the child's narrative voice. Nakata's colorful watercolors extend the story considerably while also contributing to the sense of disconnect with the more complex poems. They show a cheerful blond preschooler (at the most--in some pictures she looks like a toddler) waking up on a snowy day, heading outside with her mother, finding a blue mitten, connecting with the young boy who lost it, sledding in the park and finishing the day with a cozy cocoa party. Bright colors and simple rounded shapes show up well against the snowy white backgrounds. Not essential, but fun. (Picture book/poetry. 5-8) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
