Winter Is Here

by Kevin Henkes, Laura Dronzek (Illustrator)

Overview

This picture book about winter celebrates the sights, sounds, and smells of the season. From Caldecott Medalist and Newbery Honor author Kevin Henkes and acclaimed painter Laura Dronzek, the bestselling and award-winning creators of seasonal favorites When Spring Comes and In the Middle of Fall.

Snow falls, animals burrow, and children prepare for the wonders winter brings. Caldecott Medalist and award-winning author Kevin Henkes’s striking text introduces basic concepts of language and the unique beauty of the winter season. Laura Dronzek’s expressive paintings beautifully capture the joyful wonders of winter.

This is an engaging companion to the bestselling When Spring Comes and In the Middle of Fall. Winter Is Here is an ideal choice for story time, seasonal curriculums, and bedtime reading.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062747204
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	11/03/2020
Pages:	40
Sales rank:	57,446
Product dimensions:	9.10(w) x 11.00(h) x 0.30(d)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Kevin Henkes has been praised both as a writer and as an illustrator and is the recipient of the Children’s Literature Legacy Award for his lasting contribution to literature for children. He received the Caldecott Medal for Kitten’s First Full Moon; Caldecott Honors for Waiting and Owen; two Newbery Honors, one for Olive’s Ocean and one for The Year of Billy Miller; and Geisel Honors for Waiting and Penny and Her Marble. His other books include The World and Everything in It; A House; A Parade of Elephants; Chrysanthemum; and the beloved Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse. Kevin Henkes lives with his family in Madison, Wisconsin.

Laura Dronzek is a painter whose work has been exhibited nationally. Her picture books include Moonlight, by Helen V. Griffith; It Is Night, by Phyllis Rowand; White Is for Blueberry, by George Shannon; Little Houses, by Kevin Henkes; and a quartet of seasonal picture books also by Kevin Henkes. She lives in Madison, Wisconsin.

Hometown:

Madison, Wisconsin

Date of Birth:

November 27, 1960

Place of Birth:

Racine, Wisconsin

Education:

University of Wisconsin, Madison

Website:

http://www.kevinhenkes.com

Editorial Reviews

A cinematically enticing take on winter, and the atmospheric lyricism is seasonally suitable. ...A cozy evocation both of the real and imagined experience of days measured by the white stuff.

Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

This accomplished picture book details the season of winter. Author Henkes’ text is simple but evocative, observing winter in perceptive and sometimes-playful detail. Illustrator Dronzek’s acrylic illustrations...enrich and deepen the text as they add story details and warmth. ...A polished, playful story in which words and pictures dance in perfect harmony.” — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“Gorgeous...An appealing series of pictures shows the boy donning boots and zippers, vests and zippers, and jackets and zippers, wryly underscored by humorous text. ...The gentle repetitions continue as winter stays, and stays and stays, until it finally shrinks away and slips around the corner into a gorgeous, green spring. ...The large format, language, and pictures merge in a just-right read-aloud for fans of winter’s charms.” — ALA Booklist (starred review)

“Another must-have seasonal picture book created through the amazing collaboration of Henkes and Dronzek. . . .The descriptive word choice is able to set the scene perfectly with so few words, and the soft illustrations match and enrich the text seamlessly. . . .Bundle up for this wonderful wintry tale of all the highs and lows that the season has to offer.” — School Library Journal (starred review)

“Henkes and Dronzek present a lyrical ode to winter and its many moods. The text, marked by a gentle rhythm, uses descriptive language to bring the season to vivid life...Expressive, full-bleed spreads steal the show.” — The Horn Book

“A cinematically enticing take on winter, and the atmospheric lyricism is seasonally suitable. ...A cozy evocation both of the real and imagined experience of days measured by the white stuff.” — Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

“Acrylic paintings that spill off the pages set the scene through this book, an exploration of the long winter’s season’s juxtapositions. . .Winter’s journey, difficult and serene as it may be, ends with the full-page color spread that is spring. The simple, lyrical text and rich, soft illustrations work together to provide the perfect, snuggle-under-the-covers storytime experience.” — St. Louis Post-Dispatch

“Have a warm cup of cocoa, snuggle up with a youngster and share Winter Is Here, a charmer by best-selling, award-winning Kevin Henkes. . .    his poetic words [are] accompanied by soft artwork by Laura Dronzek. . . .The season’s never looked or sounded better.” — The Missourian

From the Publisher

Henkes and Dronzek present a lyrical ode to winter and its many moods. The text, marked by a gentle rhythm, uses descriptive language to bring the season to vivid life...Expressive, full-bleed spreads steal the show.

The Horn Book

Acrylic paintings that spill off the pages set the scene through this book, an exploration of the long winter’s season’s juxtapositions. . .Winter’s journey, difficult and serene as it may be, ends with the full-page color spread that is spring. The simple, lyrical text and rich, soft illustrations work together to provide the perfect, snuggle-under-the-covers storytime experience.

St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Have a warm cup of cocoa, snuggle up with a youngster and share Winter Is Here, a charmer by best-selling, award-winning Kevin Henkes. . .    his poetic words [are] accompanied by soft artwork by Laura Dronzek. . . .The season’s never looked or sounded better.

The Missourian

Gorgeous...An appealing series of pictures shows the boy donning boots and zippers, vests and zippers, and jackets and zippers, wryly underscored by humorous text. ...The gentle repetitions continue as winter stays, and stays and stays, until it finally shrinks away and slips around the corner into a gorgeous, green spring. ...The large format, language, and pictures merge in a just-right read-aloud for fans of winter’s charms.

ALA Booklist (starred review)

A cinematically enticing take on winter, and the atmospheric lyricism is seasonally suitable. ...A cozy evocation both of the real and imagined experience of days measured by the white stuff.

Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

★ 11/01/2018

PreS-Gr 1—Another must-have seasonal picture book created through the amazing collaboration of Henkes and Dronzek. Here they describe winter and its many delights, such as its natural beauty, and the opportunity for people to ice skate and sled down pillowy hills. The cold and ice also present challenges, like dressing in layers full of snaps and buttons, scarves and hats. It can be quiet and peaceful yet it can be loud and fierce. It is white yet is often dark. Winter lasts a while, but peels away to reveal the beauty of spring. The text is smooth and uncomplicated yet interesting and engaging. The descriptive word choice is able to set the scene perfectly with so few words, and the soft illustrations match and enrich the text seamlessly. The acrylic paintings not only portray the wonder and beauty of a large snowfall but they also evoke a feeling of warmth and peaceful comfort. The diverse array of animals in preparation will entertain readers and leave them curious to the very end of the story. VERDICT Bundle up for this wonderful wintry tale of all of the highs and lows that the season has to offer.—Amy Shepherd, St. Anne's Episcopal School, Middleton, DE

School Library Journal

★ 2018-07-24

Complementing When Spring Comes (2016) and In the Middle of Fall (2017), a picture book that celebrates the winter season.

In small bites of text that allow pauses for readers to savor the illustrations and to connect with their own winter recollections, this accomplished picture book details the season of winter. Henkes' text is simple but evocative, observing winter in perceptive and sometimes-playful detail. Dronzek's acrylic illustrations—presented in a variety of double-page spreads, spot illustrations, and single-page images—enrich and deepen the text as they add story details and warmth with their saturated colors and masterful line. An amusing series of spot illustrations punctuated with perfect text engages readers in the laborious chore of dressing for winter ("Boots and zippers / and vests and zippers / and jackets and zippers"). The opening double-page spread—a park in winter with people of various skin tones sledding, building a snowman, skating, talking, and walking their dogs—becomes the grounding point for the story. As the story meanders along (in a very good way), readers will recognize the pond, the house, the child from the opening illustration, which deepens the overall narrative. When, at the story's end, winter becomes spring, the same park scene is shown but now with blooming cherry trees and green grass, and so the cyclic nature of the seasons is visually emphasized.

A polished, playful story in which words and pictures dance in perfect harmony. (Picture book. 2-6)

Kirkus Reviews