Winter is Coming
I’ve always thought that fall ends more abruptly than the other seasons. Winter slowly melts into spring, spring warms its way into summer, and summer fades into fall. But the winter edge of fall has always seemed sharp to me. When leaves that shimmered overhead one day would crunch beneath my feet the next, when vibrant colors would suddenly fade to brown, I would consider autumn, in all its glory, a thing of the past.
But Winter is Coming by Tony Johnston, illustrated by Jim LaMarche, has made me realize that I was right about that, yet wrong, too. Fall does have a sharp ending, but it is not when the golden canopy carpets the forest floor. There is a stretch of days after the last leaves have fallen--brown, bare, quiet days--when nature is settling, preparing, and waiting for the deep sleep of winter. There is beauty to be found in those autumn days as well.
Winter is Coming offers a gentle invitation to celebrate the beauty and wonder of autumn in all its stages as we see it through the eyes of a nature-loving girl who sits, day after day, carefully observing wildlife in the midst of their winter preparations. I dearly love the illustrations of the bright, golden days of fall, but I need the pictures of quiet and stillness to remind me not to miss the less showy beauty that can be found in the silence and the waiting.
This book is best read aloud slowly, letting the free verse poetry wash over you while you soak in the beautiful illustrations. (This is my favorite of all the books illustrated by Jim LaMarche. Read my post on The Raft for more on my love of Jim LaMarche’s artwork.)
The appropriate response when the last page is turned is to grab your nature journal and head outside to sit, observe, and record the beauty of fall, whatever stage it is in because winter is coming. It’s arrival is not marked, as I thought, by the shifting of gold to brown, but when the brown becomes blanketed in a sheet of white. That is when you will know that the preparations and waiting are over and that winter is here.
*This book is not only an ode to fall but is also a subtle celebration of nature journaling. For ideas on how to get started journaling check out this post.
*The poetry of Tony Johnston also provides a fabulous opportunity to study poetic devices. Challenge your kids to notice simile, metaphor, alliterations, and personifications. Take the challenge to the next level and encourage them to write their own poetic descriptions of what they observe outside on a beautiful fall day.
