Starred Review ALA Booklist (Thu Nov 01 00:00:00 CDT 2018)

Starred Review Henkes and Dronzek return with this third seasonal tribute w for the cold time of year. Gorgeous blue-and-white endpapers dotted with snowy mittens, done in full-color acrylics, precede a lively double-page spread showing families skating, building a snowman, and sledding, while animals frolic in the snow. As snow falls from the sky, a red-coated child waves to friends in front of his icicle-roofed house, while his little brown dog peers out the window. Snowflakes softly cover a great horned owl, snuggling birds, and nesting rabbits. An appealing series of pictures shows the boy donning boots with zippers, vests with zippers, and jackets with zippers, wryly underscored by humorous text: "It can take a long time to get ready for winter." The "wind howls in every language," and winter's hues are white, gray, and "blue, blue, deep blue." 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. Here again, in a luscious green-and-pink full-color spread, families play in the same space, but boats float on the melted pond, kites fly, and children scoot and stroll and play, followed by yellow endpapers depicting spring flowers. The large format, language, and pictures merge in a just-right read-aloud for fans of winter's charms.

Starred Review for Kirkus Reviews

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)

School Library Journal Starred Review (Thu Nov 01 00:00:00 CDT 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

Horn Book (Mon Apr 01 00:00:00 CDT 2019)

This third season-themed picture book (When Spring Comes; In the Middle of Fall) is a lyrical ode to winter and its many moods. The gently rhythmic text uses descriptive language to bring wintertime to vivid life. Uncluttered, expressive acrylics capture the contradictions of the season. Expressive full-bleed spreads steal the show, especially at the book's close when winter "shrinks away bit by bit" and glorious, full-color spring arrives.

Kirkus Reviews (Fri Oct 04 00:00:00 CDT 2024)

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)