Reviews for Cold Snap

January is the month for snow and cold and ice. Whether you live with snowy weather, or wish you did, pour a mug of cocoa and share these three picture books with your favorite little snowman.

WORKING FOR A LIVING

Husband and wife team Caralyn and Mark Buehner have come up with an intriguing idea in Snowmen at Work, the fourth book in their popular Snowmen series. What if snowmen had actual jobs as dentists, mechanics, grocers and the like? Sparkling oil-and-acrylic paintings pop with energy and allow the Buehners to create warm and humorous scenes on every page. Each spread includes four hidden characters—cat, mouse, T. rex and rabbit—adding to the fun. Readers will have to slow down to find these little critters, but the search will allow them time to appreciate the charms of each detailed illustration.

WORTH THE WAIT

Bunnies on Ice is Johanna Wright’s tribute to ice skaters of all levels. Reminding us that, as in many life events, “you have to wait for the conditions to be just right,” Wright takes us through spring planting, summer swimming and harvest. This trip through the seasons allows the reader and lap-listener to slow down and enjoy the journey. Wright’s gentle acrylic-and-ink illustrations, in her signature naïve style, are filled with details that amuse both the eye and the heart. The members of the bunny family enjoy one another as they celebrate life together—gardening, swimming, raking, cooking, building a scarecrow, making music and, at last, skating. I always want to join the families that Wright constructs, especially if it means I could bundle up and skate on a frozen lake.

BRRRRR

The town of Toby Mills is cold. Very cold. After a few days of sub-freezing weather, the local paper declares what the townspeople already know: It’s a cold snap! Veterans Eileen Spinelli and Marjorie Priceman team up in Cold[Wed Jun 19 17:37:35 2013] enhancedContent.pl: Wide character in print at E:\websites\aquabrowser\IMCPL\app\site\enhancedContent.pl line 249. Snap, a brisk tale of one town as it handles a long period of cold weather. A statue of the town founder is at the center of the story. Actually, his nose is at the center of the story. The icicle that slowly grows from it is an unusual calendar of cold, but a humorous one that serves as a wonderful anchor for the story. Illustrations, in vivid, mostly primary-colored gouache, highlight a week of bone-chilling cold, but also show how warm a community can be. Millie and Chip throw snowballs, kids race down T-Bone Hill on their toboggans and skis, townspeople warm themselves in the diner, knitters create warm hats, and ice skaters race around the pond. As the week unfolds, the townspeople get colder and colder, shivering in their church pews, getting stuck inside frozen train doors, and suffering with broken furnaces. Priceman’s breezy style, all movement and energy, is a perfect fit with Spinelli’s staccato, happening text. Readers will want to stay in Toby Mills longer than the week—maybe long enough to enjoy some sugar-on-snow.

Winter fun becomes a little less so for the denizens of Toby Mills when a deep freeze descends upon their quaint small town. The first cold day is filled with sledding and snowballs, and the icicle hanging from the nose of a town statue is barely there. By week's end, the mercury has fallen steadily, shivering townsfolk have had their fill of trying to stay warm, and the icicle on General Toby's nose has reached the ground. Luckily, the mayor's wife comes up with a fiery, community-minded plan. From cocoa and sweaters to hot-water bottles, Spinelli (A Big Boy Now) catalogues all the ways people find warmth in winter; despite the harsh weather, her story has a nostalgic tone. Working in vibrant gouache, Priceman (Jazz Age Josephine) creates cheery winter wonderlands both indoors and out. Children in bright stocking caps and mittens whiz by on toboggans, and bundled-up customers sip "steamy soup and bubbling stew" at the local diner. She dots her fluffy snowscape with a rainbow of colorful houses, creating a cozy village that readers will long to visit, regardless of the forecast. Ages 5-8. (Oct.)

K-Gr 3--As the temperature drops in the town of Toby Mills, children stop playing outside, pets need sweaters, and adults start complaining to the mayor. Churchgoers huddle together, and Pastor Pickthorn preaches in earmuffs and an overcoat. After the furnaces and trains freeze up and the town becomes known as the new North Pole, the mayor's wife invites everyone to a bonfire on top of T-Bone Hill. Before the citizens can forget the fun they had that night, the cold snap ends with the shattering of an icicle that has been growing off the nose of a well-known statue in town. Although the glittery snow on the book's cover doesn't extend to the illustrations inside, the cool hues and imagery convey memories of chilly winter days. Full-page art and spreads, rendered in gouache, focus on characters young and old in this racially diverse town. Busy scenes show myriad activities, with snow-covered shops and houses in the background. Miss Dove's Sugar-On-Snow Candy recipe is included. Perfect for cozy sharing on a frosty, frigid day.--Tanya Boudreau, Cold Lake Public Library, AB, Canada