Status
Available
Call number
Genres
Publication
HMH Books for Young Readers (2014), Edition: Illustrated, 32 pages
Description
"In this outstanding picture book collection of poems by Newbery Honor-winning poet, Joyce Sidman ("Song of the Water Boatman," " Dark Emperor and Other Poems of the Night"), discover how animals stay alive in the wintertime and learn about their secret lives happening under the snow. Paired with stunning linoleum print illustrations by Rick Allen, that celebrate nature's beauty and power."--From the publisher.
User reviews
LibraryThing member Sullywriter
Great poetry and exceptional illustrations.
LibraryThing member katelyndraper
This book provides poems about how animals deal with the winter time. Throughout the poems there are many facts about animals and the season.
LibraryThing member Cheryl_in_CC_NV
Poems art science. Not as appealing to me as my favorite, Ubiquitous, or the Newbery Winner, Dark Emperor of the Night, but nonetheless a must for every library or homeschooling family. A big plus is that I learned something new and significant. Did you know that reptiles hibernate, but it's called
I have to admit, I'm old, w/ cold bones, and maybe that's why I find this less appealing. I do indeed highly recommend it to you all; you'll probably love it more than I do. And even if you don't, please do read others by Sidman.
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brumating, and that garter snakes do so in hibernaculums of up to 20,000 snakes?! I have to admit, I'm old, w/ cold bones, and maybe that's why I find this less appealing. I do indeed highly recommend it to you all; you'll probably love it more than I do. And even if you don't, please do read others by Sidman.
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LibraryThing member Jaded.Animal
Mixed media artwork is eye-catching, poetry is beautiful and both are accompanied by factual information about the subjects of the poems. Would be a great addition to a science/english lesson.
LibraryThing member MeaghanRyan
Illustrated poetry book about animals in the wintertime.
LibraryThing member darianskie
A book of nature poems with educational facts about the animal or part of nature the poem is about. Beautiful and educational.
LibraryThing member trinker
The poem Winter Bees is the best one in this collection of lovely poems. The illustrations are inviting and cozy.
LibraryThing member AbigailAdams26
Award-winning children's poet Joyce Sidman and engraver and small press operator Rick Allen, who previously collaborated on the Newbery Honor-winning title Dark Emperor & Other Poems of the Night, joined forces again in this poetic examination of the lives of animals and plants in winter. Twelve
Although Winter Bees & Other Poems of the Cold is the fifth picture-book I have read from Sidman, it is the first I have encountered from Allen, whose work here I found absolutely lovely. I like to look for information about artistic medium on the colophon of picture-books, and here there was a particularly extensive and quite entertaining example:
"The images for this book were made through the unlikely marriage of some very old and almost new art mediums. The individual elements of each picture (the animals, trees, snowflakes, etc.), were cute, inked and printed from linoleum blocks (nearly two hundred of them), and then hand-colored. Those prints were then digitally scanned, composed, and layered to create the illustrations for the poems. The somewhat surprising (and oddly pleasing) result was learning that the slow and backwards art of relief printmaking could bring modern technology down to its level, making everything even more complex and time-consuming."
This description was sufficiently charming that I found myself seeking out the website for Allen's Kenspeckle Letterpress, where I spent a good hour exploring his artwork. Time well spent!
As delightful as the visuals here were—unsurprisingly, given my love of foxes, it was the cover image which first drew me to this one—the poetry was every bit as appealing, and I enjoyed all twelve selections, as well as the factual notes accompanying them. Certain phrases just stood out to me—"our wings knew," in reference to the tundra swans; the description of the mass of bees as burning like a golden sun—while in other cases I was most interested in the form used. Sidman employs both a pantoun (Under Ice) and a triolet (Triolet for Skunk Cabbage) in this collection. All that being said, I think my favorite was What Do the Trees Know?
"What do the trees know?
To bed when all the wild winds blow.
Roots are deep and time is slow.
All we grasp we must let go.
What do the trees know?
Buds can weather ice and snow.
Dark gives way to sunlight's glow.
Strength and stillness help us grow."
If I have any criticism to make of this one, it is that I would have wished to see a poem featuring the fox. That being said, his presence is felt throughout, so perhaps we are meant to identify with him, making his way through the wintry world and observing it, just as we are meant to do. Recommended to young poetry readers and animal lovers, and to picture-book readers looking for wintry titles.
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poems about everything from migrating tundra swans to brumating snakes, snowflake formation to arboreal wisdom, is paired with lovely artwork featuring the fauna and flora in question, as well as a curious fox who makes his way through the book. A glossary of terms, both scientific and poetic, is included at the rear...Although Winter Bees & Other Poems of the Cold is the fifth picture-book I have read from Sidman, it is the first I have encountered from Allen, whose work here I found absolutely lovely. I like to look for information about artistic medium on the colophon of picture-books, and here there was a particularly extensive and quite entertaining example:
"The images for this book were made through the unlikely marriage of some very old and almost new art mediums. The individual elements of each picture (the animals, trees, snowflakes, etc.), were cute, inked and printed from linoleum blocks (nearly two hundred of them), and then hand-colored. Those prints were then digitally scanned, composed, and layered to create the illustrations for the poems. The somewhat surprising (and oddly pleasing) result was learning that the slow and backwards art of relief printmaking could bring modern technology down to its level, making everything even more complex and time-consuming."
This description was sufficiently charming that I found myself seeking out the website for Allen's Kenspeckle Letterpress, where I spent a good hour exploring his artwork. Time well spent!
As delightful as the visuals here were—unsurprisingly, given my love of foxes, it was the cover image which first drew me to this one—the poetry was every bit as appealing, and I enjoyed all twelve selections, as well as the factual notes accompanying them. Certain phrases just stood out to me—"our wings knew," in reference to the tundra swans; the description of the mass of bees as burning like a golden sun—while in other cases I was most interested in the form used. Sidman employs both a pantoun (Under Ice) and a triolet (Triolet for Skunk Cabbage) in this collection. All that being said, I think my favorite was What Do the Trees Know?
"What do the trees know?
To bed when all the wild winds blow.
Roots are deep and time is slow.
All we grasp we must let go.
What do the trees know?
Buds can weather ice and snow.
Dark gives way to sunlight's glow.
Strength and stillness help us grow."
If I have any criticism to make of this one, it is that I would have wished to see a poem featuring the fox. That being said, his presence is felt throughout, so perhaps we are meant to identify with him, making his way through the wintry world and observing it, just as we are meant to do. Recommended to young poetry readers and animal lovers, and to picture-book readers looking for wintry titles.
Show Less
Awards
BCCB Blue Ribbon Book (Poetry — 2014)
Utah Beehive Book Award (Nominee — Informational Books — 2017)
Pennsylvania Young Reader's Choice Award (Nominee — 2016)
Red Clover Book Award (Nominee — 2016)
Nutmeg Book Award (Nominee — Elementary — 2017)
Great Lakes Great Books Award (Nominee — 2016)
Buckaroo Book Award (Nominee — 2017)
Riverby Awards (Winner — 2015)
AAAS/Subaru SB&F Prize for Excellence in Science Books (Commended — 2016)
Rhode Island Children's Book Award (Nominee — 2016)
Minnesota Book Awards (Finalist — Children's Literature — 2015)
Junior Library Guild Selections (Selection)
The Best Children's Books of the Year (Five to Nine — 2015)
Great Reads from Great Places (Minnesota — 2015)
New York Public Library Best Books: For Kids (Poetry — 2014)
Notable Children's Book (2015)
Nerdy Book Award (2014)
Los Angeles Public Library Best of the Year (Children's Books — 2015)
Teacher Favorites Award (2015)
Chicago Public Library Best of the Best: Kids (Informational Books for Younger Readers — 2014)
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
2014
Physical description
11 x 9.5 inches
ISBN
0547906501 / 9780547906508