Winter Is by Ann Dixon

Illustrations copyright by Mindy Dwyer and Alaska Northwest Books. Used with permission. All rights reserved. No reproduction or transmission without written permission of the publisher. Text copyright Ann Dixon. All rights reserved. Please contact for permission to use.

Winter Is
Mindy Dwyer, illustrator
32 pages, Hardbound, $15.95, ISBN 0-88240-543-8
Softbound, $8.95, ISBN 0-88240-544-6
Alaska Northwest Books

Winter Is was selected by the Alaska Library Association for the
2003-04 Battle of the Books.

Winter Is comes from more than twenty years of living in Willow, Alaska. Every picture, every verse, every action arises from my own experience of winter here. Watching the lake freeze up in late fall and thaw in the spring; skating, sledding, shoveling off roofs and then jumping into the snow piles; watching northern lights, dog mushing, full moon walks and more.

Even now, as I write, I feel the anticipation: winter is coming! The leaves have fallen, the trees are bare, summer is far enough behind to be a memory. The first frosts have struck, leaving crystal patterns on glass, earth, and water. It's the in-between time that makes me start to dream of snow: white, fluffy, deep and lovely.

Let's get on with winter!

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"Heighten students' appreciation of the wonderful world of winter with this book! The characters enable the reader to share in the cold-weather activities, changing landscape, and marvelous contrasts of this magical time of year. Features rhyming text, figurative language, and colorful illustrations."
                                                                          -- www.learningmagazine.com January 2003

"Each double-page illustration teams with a short poem highlighting the delights of winter: ice crystals on a window, jumping into a drift, snow angels, northern lights, dogs running, bears sleeping and holiday dreaming under a quilt. Even the most SAD-affected among us will be beaming by the time we reach the picture of a moose watching a family dance in the moonlight, their shadows huge against a frozen lake."
                                                                               -- Anchorage Daily News, Oct. 4, 2002

The joys of winter are celebrated by a trio of siblings in this cheerful picture book. Attractive watercolor scenes show the children enjoying traditional winter activities like ice-skating, making snow angels, and sledding, while bouncy, rhyming verse describes the action. In addition to the familiar activities, there are scenes showing the children engaged in activities specific to the book's particular northern setting: "Winter is black, / spilling night into day. / We watch northern lights / start to flicker and sway." The children "mush homeward" on a dogsled and quietly observe moose, fox, and owl. Such elements make the story useful in the classroom as an aid to social studies or science unit. For younger children, the book can be used to introduce or reinforce the concept of changing seasons. In the last three spreads, Dwyer does an especially nice job of conveying the transition from winter to spring. As patches of snow disappear, "the world is light, leafy green." After a reading, have youngsters write, draw, or talk about their own favorite winter activities.
                                                                                 -- Booklist, January 2003

Three young children eagerly await winter and describe several snowy activities, including skating on a frozen pond and jumping in "fluffy snow pillows." The rhymes capture the magic of the season: "Winter is black, / spilling night into day. / We watch northern lights / start to flicker and sway." The frost on windowpanes is likened to a garden in which the youngsters are able to "melt the flowers with our breath." The crisp, white landscapes are complemented by purple and blue backgrounds, and Dwyer's watercolor technique gives the impression of swirling snowflakes. Some sentences also curl around the page. Then the siblings see signs of spring, and looking forward, they exclaim, "Summer is coming and I can't wait!" Observant readers will notice that the coloring of a rabbit that appears on every spread changes from white to brown. A poetic choice for a seasonal storytime.

                                                  -- Linda Ludke, London Public Library, Ontario, Canada
                                                     School Library Journal

Winter Is was selected by the Alaska Library Association for the 2003-04 Battle of the Books.

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Write a story or poem about something you "can’t wait!" for.

Freeze water in a metal or plastic bowl. How long does it take for the water to freeze solid? How long to thaw? How is the bowl of water like the lake in Winter Is?

Name a wild animal that lives in your area. Draw a picture of it. What do its tracks look like? What does it eat? Where does it sleep? How does it live in winter?

Draw a picture of yourself doing your favorite winter activity. Why is it your favorite thing to do?

Links:

For more activities, information, and art projects related to winter, including a downloadable Study Guide, visit http://www.gacpc.com/kids_studyguides.htm.

For more information and materials on wild animals and animal tracks, go to the website of the National Wildlife Federation at www.nwf.org.

For more books on winter in the North and wild animals, click on "Alaska Northwest Books" and "Children’s Books" at www.gacpc.com.

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