One Winter Night

One winter night, ten mice go out onto the ice. Lloyd’s engaging verses describe the delightful play of the group as they frolic and skate. However, our furry friends are soon interrupted by other denizens of the night as they each begin their own nocturnal activities. On each page, a prowling owl, a skiing squirrel, a hockey-playing hare, a curling fox and other creatures send the mice scurrying, one by one, back into their home.

Not only does One Winter Night provide readers with many fun activity ideas for gloomy winter nights, the book gives young readers plenty of opportunities to practice their counting skills. The book uses words for numbers. As each time a larger animal appears and scares one mouse back into his house, the young reader can count along backwards from ten to one. At the end of the story, when all the mice rest comfortably at home, the children can count from one to ten again.

In addition, the illustrations on the left pages offer a bonus narrative for readers. The right side illustrations align with the story told through the verses whereas, on the left, the curious activities of a group of ants tell an interesting side-story. After a first read-through, parents can draw children’s attention to the exploits of the ants as they work together to pull a wool ball, collect sticks, and use a leaf as a toboggan. This was a little confusing to me at first as I wondered how these illustrations are related to the story. Then I observed that, on the right side of the pages, the mice wore the leaves as their skating shoes. My guess is the ants may be helping with the sporting equipment though this can be left to the imagination of the young audience.

Lynn Ray’s lovely acrylic illustrations bring life to every page. Also worthy of mention are the Canadian themes that are sprinkled throughout, themes such as sports like skating, curling, ice hockey, and figure skating, and animals such as a beaver, a deer, a swimming bear holding a Canadian flag, and a hare with a CANADA-emblazoned hockey stick.

Jennifer Lloyd’s gripping story and Lynn Ray’s lively acrylic colours make for a wonderful treat on a cold winter night with readers cozying up in a warm indoor setting. While delighting in the story, young readers will also get a chance to practice counting skills and apply their imaginative minds to the story within the story. Canadian audiences will be extra delighted with the many familiar activities and creatures portrayed that are commonly found in a Canadian winter.