________________ CM . . . . Volume XVIII Number 9. . . .October 28, 2011

cover

Kitten's Winter.

Eugenie Fernandes.
Toronto, ON: Kids Can Press, 2011.
24 pp., hardcover, $14.95.
ISBN 978-1-55453-343-5.

Subject Headings:
Kittens-Juvenile fiction.
Animals-Habitations-Juvenile fiction.
Animals-Wintering-Juvenile fiction.

Preschool-kindergarten / Ages 1-5.

Review by Barb Janicek.

**** /4

   

excerpt:

Snow blows,
Kitten hurries,
Pond freezes,
Fox scurries.
...
Blizzard howls,
Kitten struggles.
Door opens,
Kitten snuggles.

 

Kitten's Winter completes the seasonal four book series by Eugenie Fernandes. As with Kitten's Autumn, Kitten's Summer and Kitten's Spring, the illustrations bring each two-dimensional image to life with Fernandes' three-dimensional mixed-media style. Only now, the farm and woods which readers have come to know and love are covered in a blanket of snow. Many of the animals are hibernating. Through cut-away images, readers see turtle, bear, and chipmunk curled up and fast asleep in their respective dens.

internal art     There are plenty of animals awake and active, though. As Kitten fights the blizzard to get back into a warm, cozy home, she passes a fox, an otter, a rabbit, and a squirrel. Because many of the animals that the reader sees are sleeping or hiding, Kitten sees less action than in previous books. With her careful choice of verbs, Fernandes has captured the blanketing stillness of winter, and this contrast will be even more apparent when all four books are read together.

     While part of a collection, Kitten's Winter certainly stands on its own. The rhyming couplets make the book a great read-aloud for preschoolers who are sure to love searching for Kitten on every page.

Highly Recommended.

Barb Janicek is a Children's Librarian with Kitchener Public Library, in Kitchener ON.

To comment on this title or this review, send mail to cm@umanitoba.ca.

Copyright © the Manitoba Library Association. Reproduction for personal use is permitted only if this copyright notice is maintained. Any other reproduction is prohibited without permission.
Published by
The Manitoba Library Association
ISSN 1201-9364
Hosted by the University of Manitoba.
 

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