November 15th - First Snow of the Year

Okay, so I may hate winter, and snow, but I love poetry, and here's a poem that suits me really well...

Postcards with SNOW

1152.  Lapland, Finland

Hello Chris!  Greetings from Finland.  I hope your year has started well.  My name in Jonna, I'm a graphic deesigner from a small town called Raahe.  I live with five cats, I have two Birman cats, two domestic shorthairs and a ragdoll.  Lots of white cat hair everywhere!  But they ar all so adorable that it's worth it.  I hope you enjoy this postcard I chose for you.  I'm not a fan of viewcards but many snowy landscapes are pretty cool.  Happy Postcrossing!

744.  Biltmore House in the Snow

In the deep of winter, Biltmore House appears mysterious and magnificent, challenging nature's beauty with its own.  While peaceful on the exterior, the inside of Biltmore House is alive with activities as the housekeeping staff commences with annual winter cleaning.  

I am in first grade.  Ciera

729.  Oberbayern (Upper Bavaria)

9 March 2017

Unfortunately I don't have any of your favourite cards.  So here is a single-view card of my community.  From my window I can see the highest mountain of Germany, the Zugspitze.  It's great for skiing, hiking.  Next week I go to USA, exactly NYC.  I can't wait to go.  Wish you a good time.  Doris.

426.  Anichkov Bridge:  The Taming of the Horse Sculpture

by P. Klodt

Hello from Russia, Chris.  Have a nice day, Katye.  21.05.2016

363.  China

Hi Chris!  Many greetings from China.  My name is Nelly and I live in Hangzhou.  Hangzhou is famous for beautiful West Lake.  Nelly

304.  Suomi Finland

I'm 52 yo woman living with my 17 y daughter and 2 cats here in Scandinavia, in Finland.  We have thousands of lakes and forests, nature is beautiful.  Sometimes we see Aurora Borealis in the sky, especially in winter.  We have four seasons.  I listen to music and a famous band Nightwish is from F"inland.  Best Wishes, Ippe & Melissa

PICTURE BOOK - Robert's Snow by Grace Lin

Illustrated by the author

2004, Viking (OP, currently available used)
Bosler Library

32 pgs.

Goodreads rating:  4.02 - 51 ratings

My rating:  5

Endpapers:  Page divided into nine squares, set up like a tic-tac-toes board, large snowflakes ans the "tic" and numerous smaller snowflakes as the "tac."  Pale, pale blue and white.

Illustrations:  Most double page spreads have at least one, full-page edge-to-edge illustrations, very fun illustrations at that.

1^st line/s:  "Robert and his family lived in a house that lookes a bit like a shoe.  Really it was a boot, but Grandpa had made a lot of changes to it."

My comments: Robert loves the snow.  I don’t.  So with trepidation, I began reading this book.  It’s adorable and clever, and I got a brainstorm about a great activity that could go along with it that I think kids would love.  Robert and his very extended mouse family live in an old shoe that is falling apart.  When winter comes, to be warm and safe, they barricade themselves inside.  Their rooms are snug and tidy.  They use pill bottles and loose change, bottle caps and dice, toothpicks and empty spools, alphabet blocks and tiny pieces of fabric, postage stamps and tiny boxes, corks and buttons.. They eat jelly beans and nuts.  The story, although mostly about winter weather, includes a tiny, very clever bit about Santa, but I wouldn’t consider this a Christmas book, particularly, though it includes the idea of giving to others.  And after the reading aloud (some pages have a bit more text than others, but the book shouldn’t take too very long to read), kids could each be given a small box, a variety of “found items,” and create their own cozy little homes for mice.  Oh, what fun.

Goodreads:  "Too much snow," Grandpa Mouse grumbles.
"Snow is just trouble," scoffs Aunt Vicky.
"Small animals like us," Mum says, "don't like snow."

But Robert, the smallest mouse, knows he likes snow, even though he's never touched it. When he finally gets his wish to go outside and play in it, Robert is overjoyed. Snow is wonderful! That is, until he can't find his way home. Is there anyone who can help him? There is, and even though little Robert doesn't recognize his rescuer, readers will--because it's . . . Santa!

46. Bad Little Falls by Paul Doiron

listened to on Audible
2012 Minotaur Books
310 pgs.
Adult Mystery
Finished 8/30/16
Goodreads rating:  3.8 - 1,470 ratings
My rating:  4
Setting: Whitney, Washington County, Maine contemporary wintertime

First line/s:  "The last time I saw Lucas Sewall, he left a school notebook under the passenger seat of my truck."

My comments:  Washington County, Maine.  The Sunrise County.  Poor.  Isolated.  Long, cold winters. Beautiful in the summertime.  Jonesport-Beals.  Machias. Lubec.  I know the area well.  This story takes place in Whitney (Whiting?), Maine.  It was a good mystery.  It was quite believable.

Goodreads synopsis:  Maine game warden Mike Bowditch has been sent into exile, transferred by his superiors to a remote outpost on the Canadian border. When a blizzard descends on the coast, Bowditch is called to the rustic cabin of a terrified couple. A raving and half-frozen man has appeared at their door, claiming his friend is lost in the storm. 
          But what starts as a rescue mission in the wilderness soon becomes a baffling murder investigation. The dead man is a notorious drug dealer, and state police detectives suspect it was his own friend who killed him. Bowditch isn’t so sure, but his vow not to interfere in the case is tested when he finds himself powerfully attracted to a beautiful woman with a dark past and a troubled young son. The boy seems to know something about what really happened in the blizzard, but he is keeping his secrets locked in a cryptic notebook, and Mike fears for the safety of the strange child. 
          Meanwhile, an anonymous tormentor has decided to make the new warden’s life a living hell. Alone and outgunned, Bowditch turns for assistance to his old friend, the legendary bush pilot Charley Stevens. But in this snowbound landscape -— where smugglers wage blood feuds by night -— help seems very far away indeed. If Bowditch is going to catch a killer, he must survive on his own wits and discover strength he never knew he possessed.

Winter is For Snow - Robert Neubecker

Illustrated by the author

2013 Disney/Hyperion

HC $16.99

32 pages

Goodreads rating: 3.49 (41 ratings)

My rating: 4.5

Endpapers:  White with lots of pale blue snowflakes

Title Page: The same illustrations as the endpapers, except the background is pale, pale blue and the snowflakes are white.  The preceeding page is cool - 9 windows, 3/3, with various stages of a snowstorm.

Illustrations:  Really cool - every inch of the page is covered (much of it with.....snowflakes!)

1^st line:  Winter is for snow!    No.

My comments:  Ah - this is a good one!  A happy brother who loves the snow and everything surrounding it, and a grumpy sister who doesn't care for it at all - until the end.  Their words are in different colors (blue and read) and the four-line stanzas all gently rhyme.  Super book!

Goodreads: In a rambunctious ode to everything winter, two siblings explore a snowy wonderland . . . and end up in the cozy warmth of family. Delve into Robert Neubecker's expressive and rejuvenating illustrations that celebrate snow and the coziness of friends and family at home. Only Robert Neubecker's magic touch could make kids love winter this much.

Holiday Picture Books

I've been reading about lots of holiday book ideas - particularly thinking about "An Advent Calendar of Books." (which I found on Delightful Children's Books) I've always loved Christmas picture books, giving one to Laura on her December birthday for years and years, even as an adult (I think last year was the first year I didn't.  I wonder why?).  So I'm going to keep a list of the holiday books I've read, and try to read more!  Christmas.  Day of the Dead.  Halloween.  Thanksgiving.  Hanukkah (I do work at a Hebrew Day School, after all....).

Christmas

Agee, Jon - Little Santa
Appelt, Kathi - Merry Christmas, Merry Crow
Bastianich, Lidia - Nonna Tell Me a Story

Daly, Niki - What's Cooking, Jamela?  

Donaldson, Julia - Stick Man

Donovan, Jane Monroe - Small Medium &  Large
Drummond, Ree - Charlie and the Christmas Kitty
Duvall, John - The Great Spruce
Evans, Lezlie - Finding Christmas 
Frazee, Marla - Santa Claus The World's Number One Toy Expert

Hardie, Jill - The Sparkle Box 

Lewis, J. Patrick & Beth Zappitello - First Dog's White House Christmas
Lin, Grace - Robert's Snow 
Mader, C. Roger - Stowaway in a Sleigh
Major, Kevin - Aunt Olga's Christmas Postcards

O'Connor, Jane - Fancy Nancy, Splendiferous Christmas
Polacco, Patricia - An Orange for Frankie
..........Gifts of the Heart
..........Trees of the Dancing Goats, The
Reynolds, Peter H. - The Smallest Gift of Christmas

Pulver, Robin - Christmas Kitten, Home at Last

Rice, James - The Cowboy Night Before Christmas

Sabuda, Robert - Winter in White

Schachner, Judy - Willy and May, A Christmas Story

Shannon, David - It's Christmas, David!
Shulevtiz, Uri - Dusk
Smallman, Steve - Santa is Coming to Tucson
Stanton, Melissa - My Pen Pal, Santa
Strand, Keith - Grandfather's Christmas Tree 
Toht, Patricia - Pick a Pine Tree 
Underwood, Deborah - Here Comes Santa Cat
Wilson, Karma - Bear Stays Up for Christmas

Winter/Snow/Solstice

Aylesworth, Jim -  The Mitten
Burton, Virginia Lee - Katy and the Big Snow
Christiansen, Candace - The Mitten Tree
Donovan, Jane Monroe - Small Medium & Large
Gerber, Carol - Winter Trees
Hader, Berta & Elmer - The Big Snow
Harper, Lee - Snow! Snow! Snow!
Lin, Grace - Robert's Snow (There's a bit about Santa here, but it's MUCH more about snow!)
MacLachlan, Patricia - Snowflakes Fall
Neubecker, Robert - Winter is For Snow
Pfeffer, Wendy - The Shortest Day
Sabuda, Robert - Winter in White

Thanksgiving

Miller, Pat Zietlow - Sharing the Bread: An Old-Fashioned Thanksgiving Story

Day of the Dead

Click HERE for a separate entry for Day of the Dead

Joose, Barbara - Ghost Wings

Luenn, Nancy - A Gift for Abuelita

Morales, Yuyi - Just in Case
Thong, Roseanne Greenfield - Dia de Los Muertos

Winter, Jeanette - Calavera Abecedario

Halloween

Brown, Calef - Hallowilloween

Collins, Ross - Dear Vampa

Emberly, Ed - There Was An Old Monster

Gall, Chris - Substitute Creature

Moulton, Mark Kimball - The Very Best Pumpkin

Murray, Marjorie Dennis - Halloween Night

Pulver, Robin - Never Say Boo

Hanukkah

daCosta, Deborah - Hanukkah Moon

Edwards, Michelle - Papa's Latkes
Jenkins, Emily - All-of-a-Kind Family Hanukkah 
Polacco, Patricia - Trees of the Dancing Goats, The
Rosen, Michael - Our Eight Nights of Hanukkah

Passover

Kirkfield, Vivian -  Pippa's Passover Plate
Newman, Tracy - Around the Passover Table
Portnoy, Minda Avra - A Tale of Two Seders
Rappaport, Doreen - The Secret Seder
Snyder, Laurel - The Longest Night: A Passover Story
Weber, Elka - A Yankee at the Seder
Ziefert, Harriet - Passover

Sukkot
General Information about Sukkot
Hyde, Heidi Smith - Shanghai Sukkah

Taschlich

Schur, Susan - Taschlich at Turtle Rock

The Mitten Tree - Candace Christiansen

Illustrated by Elaine Greenstein Fulcrum Publishing; Golden, CO, 1997, 2009 Paper $7.95 32 pages Rating: 4 "Old Sarah" (okay, let's stop right now and say I hate that that's her name) watches the neighborhood children play. She misses the time when her own children were young. One day she notices a boy standing to the side, watching the kids make a snowman. His hands are shoved in his pockets and she realizes that he has no mittens to wear. Sarah hunts through her house for her old supply of leftover yarn and begins knitting a pair of mittens. She works all night and then hangs them on a tree near the school bus stop for the boy to find....which he does. She begins to knit more and more mittens for the neighborhood kids, leaving them anonomously hanging on a big decidious tree (thus: the mitten tree). And when she runs out of yarn , a big basket of yarn appears at her door. No one's paid any attention to her, so the book ends with this small, wonderful, mystery. Who's been watching her and who cares enough to do this? Cool book. I just bought five copies and I've been knitting mittens like crazy for the last couple of days. I've also found a fleece mitten pattern that looks pretty easy, and fleece is pretty inexpensive. So as my list of new nieces and nephews begins to add up, I'm happily creating this year's Christmas present for all of them - a book, and two very different pairs of mittens! My favorite Christmas story when I was a kid was "Granny Glittens and her Amazing Mittens." Maybe I'll find a copy of the story and include it. I really loved that story! I'm not even sure why.

Katy and the Big Snow - Virginia Lee Burton

Houghton Mifflin, 1943/1971
Brand new paperback edition has sparkly cover and STICKERS!
$6.99 paper
40 pages
My rating: 5

Virginia Lee Burton's picture books - over sixty years old - are stiill being published! The Little House, Mike Mulligan, Katy - this is incredibly cool, huh? And after reading Katy and the Big Snow again (it's been an incredibly long time) I know why.

There's a wavy border on every page. There's a compass rose on any page that shows the city of Geopolis. There are maps. There's excitement. There's a hero (heroine!)....

When a blizzard covers the city of Geopolis, big, strong Katy the bulldozer-with-a-plough is called out to help (to the rescue!)

The illustrations are primarily in aqua with black, red, yellow, green. and white as the only other touches of color. They're "old fashioned" and incredibly wonderful.

Snow! Snow! Snow !- Lee Harper

Simon & Schuster, 2009
$14.99
32 pgs.
"Ages 4-8"
Rating: 3.5
Endpapers: Blue wash with white snowflake dots

Very simple, few words.

Two kids (dogs) wake up to a lot of snow, grab their dad and a sled and head through the woods to the lake "where there is the best sledding hill in the whole wide world." They soar down the hill and fly...fly...fly through the air until they land with a splat. What fun! Time to climb the hill and go again!

A great family fun winter snow story.

The Big Snow - Berta & Elmer Hader

Caldecott Medal 1949
Simon & Schuster, 1948
$18.99
48 pages
Rating: 4.5
Endpapers: Aqua-y blue with different white 1.5 inch snowflakes

Although I've seen the cover of this book - it's a Caldecott after all - I don't ever remember reading it. It's actually a great introduction to the coming of winter for the animals in the northern climates for young kids - or kids who live in Arizona and don't have this sort of change of seasons!

The illustrations are beautifully rendered black and white (charcoal? pencil?) with lovely detail. Flora and fauna. Every few pages the illustrations are in color - watercolor - and a totally different look than the black and white. I wonder if the two author/illustrators each had their own media? (More research!) Although I like the black and white illustrations the best, the two page watercolor of the snow blanketing the world - a winter wonderland - is just lovely.

Although told somewhat in story format, this is more of an informational book about what happens to various birds and animals in the winter. Preparation, hibernation and migration are all included. Informative and interesting.

A surprising touch near the end - when the animals are getting a little desperate with hunger because the storm has been pretty major, covering even their stores of food - an elderly couple shovels out of their home and leave all sorts of food for the animals - thoughtfully including both winged and four-legged.

This is a very lovely book. I had no clue. I'm wondering why, in my mind, I was thinking the beauty and story in these older books would be of a poorer quality because they're "old." How ridiculous! I'm so glad I'm taking this journey through the Caldecott books!