Now
It Is Winter
by Eileen
Spinelli
illustrated by Mary Newell DePalma
Eerdman's 2004
ISBN 0-8028-5244-0
Now
It Is Winter has been selected
as one of Bank Street College Best Children's Books of the Year
2005!
More about this distinction here
Kirkus
August
15, 2004
Jolly cut-paper snowflakes festoon acrylic paintings in this gentle paean to living in the now. ... A lovely winter story.
School
Library Journal
September 2004
A fretful young mouse learns to live in the moment in this lovely picture book.
...While his brothers and sisters frolic through the snow in the gorgeous acrylic and cut-paper illustrations, the little creature trails after his mother, asking when he will next experience his favorite springtime activities, foods, and animals. She opens his eyes to the joys of the present, and the last illustration shows him hanging up a drawing of the snowman he has made with her next to his picture of a springtime sun.
...The gentle, intimate tone makes this book a natural bedtime story or a quietly compelling read-aloud for any time. Kathleen Kelly MacMillan
Booklist
October 15, 2004
"Will spring ever come?" Will there be black raspberries and cream in my breakfast bowl?" asks an impatient young mouse, to which his mother patiently replies, "Yes...but now it is winter. Now there is oatmeal in your bowl."
... A
subtle antidote to winter doldrums, this is just right for impatient
children who,
like the mouse, long for a change of season.
Julie Cummins
Women's
Lifestyle
December
2004
What a sweet little winter mouse tale. The words create such playful images and blend perfectly with the fanciful art. In a cozy little mouse home, in the hollow of a tree beneath a sky scattered with over-sized, cut-paper snowflakes, mama mouse helps little mouse patiently enjoy one season at a time. Added to the magic are snowflake kites, napping snow angels, ice dancing, silver sleet and a classic brown and gold zigzag afghan. This is a great lap book for a wintry day, read aloud with a little someone you love.