Laan, Van Nancy. When Winter Comes. New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2000.
When Winter Comes is about a family who explores their natural surroundings on a day during the winter season. Throughout the book, a little girl asks her parents questions about what happens to various plants and animals, such as flowers and birds, when winter arrives. Once this girl receives the answers from her parents regarding these different plants and animals, the story ends as the little girl falls asleep in her warm bed after a tiring day playing outside. The main focus of this picture book is the winter season, and this setting is the most significant literary element which is represented by the text and illustrations.
A variety of artistic elements appear in this picture book which really bring the story to life. The illustrator implemented the artistic element of design in the pictures by using vertical shapes which reveal the actions of the family as they explore nature. Another crucial element of the illustrations is their color and vividness which portray the excitement of the girl as she discovers the mysteries of nature. I would recommended this picture book to a reader of any age because the artistic elements work together to attract a young child, and the storyline may remind adults of their childhood playing outside in the winter. Overall, this picture book meets the criteria stated in Galda and Cullinan because the “language is rich and the illustrations are artistically excellent” (49).
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1 comment:
This is one of those books that is tricky to place in a genre. Did you feel like the story of the family outing was emphasized (with some science knowledge embedded) or that the informational aspect of the text was stronger (jet told through the frame of a story)?
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