9 December 2018 WINTER IS HERE by Kevin Henkes and Laura Dronzek, ill. Greenwillow, October 2018, 40p., ISBN: 978-0-06-274718-1

“Winter is here...

Winter is outside, of course,

but it’s inside, too,

feathering the window

and dusting the dog

and sitting on the table.

Winter comes without a sound…

and it comes with many.

The wind howls in every language

and the windows rattle.”

The wind does, indeed, howl in every language. WINTER IS HERE, written by Kevin Henkes, is a poetic, sensory-filled ode to the snowy season. Laura Dronzek’s acrylic illustrations show children traversing and playing in the snow. While the book features a suburban setting, this is a universal experience shared by every little child who lives in snowy climes or has been transported there to experience “real” winter.

Long ago, I left snowy winters behind, but the memories remain. Some would be foreign to today’s kids, like the old-style winter galoshes with metal buckles to snap them closed.  But most are still common to today’s young people, like being the first one out in the morning, gently breaking the thin, fragile sheets of ice that have formed over yesterday’s puddles of melted snow. Or the magic of seeing your breath, licking an icicle, stepping into a too-deep pile of snow, or watching a truck sanding an icy street.

WINTER IS HERE is filled with skates and toboggans; squirrels and cardinals; snowmen and bunnies; ice and snow; and a lot of warm clothing.

If there were ever a book to make me fondly recall runny eyes, a running nose, and frozen toes, this is it. Accompanied by ice cubes in a paper towels, WINTER IS HERE will be the perfect story for next July, when kids are moaning and groaning about the heat.

Richie Partington, MLIS

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