When Will It Snow?

by Kathryn White, Alison Edgson (Illustrator)

When Little Bear’s mother tells him it is soon time to hibernate for the winter, Little Bear hides. “If I go home, I’ll have to sleep for the whole winter. And I’ll never know what snow is like.” Little Bear is sure he’ll miss his friends Squirrel and Mole too who are already making snow angels. But they prove to be real friends in the spring-time.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Animals, Juvenile

28 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2011

Reviews

[Denise · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is less about snow and more about friendship. Little bear doesn't want to hibernate and miss the fun his friends will have in the snow. He finds out they are true friends when he wakes in the spring. This would be a great book for kindergarten/early elementary. The illustrations are gorgeous, and little bear's emotions are all over his face and are even reflected in his posture.

[Tim Johnson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very cute. Works well for the age and reading levels of my story time group. I really have no kind of smarty-pants type comment to make. Well, except that the author tactfully leaves out the part about how when bears wake up from hibernation they have to ingest a ton of skunk cabbage to get their bowels working again. Maybe that's in a follow up book called "When Will I Go?"

[Marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Friends try to explain snow to Little Bear, who wants to play in the snow but must sleep through it. Little Bear is afraid his friends will forget about him or leave while he is sleeping away the winter, but they are waiting for him when he awakes in spring. Illustrations are joyful.

[Angie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Synopsis: "When Little Bear’s mother tells him it is soon time to hibernate for the winter, Little Bear hides. “If I go home, I’ll have to sleep for the whole winter. And I’ll never know what snow is like.” Little Bear is sure he’ll miss his friends Squirrel and Mole too who are already making snow angels. But they prove to be real friends in the spring-time."

My Review: I was hoping this would be a good story about the transition from fall to winter. While Little Bear's friends did use fall objects to show him what snow was like, you only briefly get to see the snow and then spring is back. I was hoping it would be a little bit more of a countdown to winter. Munchkin still did enjoy the story.

[Miss Ryoko · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well, I was going to give this book a lot of praise for how decently written it was for a picture book, but then Ms. White went and made such a huge rookie mistake that I'm having a hard time getting over it... she wrote "Us bears sleep through the winter," said Mother Bear softly. *twitch twitch*... Us bears? WE BEARS!! "We sleep through the winter" not "Us sleep through the winter"

Okay... now that I got that out, I'll still give her props for the book being decently written despite that awful mistake. The illustrations were super adorable. The story was alright.

[Rusty Gregory · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Winter is coming, Little Bear," Mother Bear said."

Pros: The illustrations in the book were awesome! I loved the cuteness of the animals and their little personalities. It was an interesting take on friendship.

Cons: The story was a bit lacking. I was kind of hoping for more of a punch line at the end but I guess there was Squirrel dressed as a snowman.

Seriously, the illustrations are awesome.

[Shelli · Rating 2 out of 5]

What the book lacked in story it made up for in cute pictures. Children will understand and sympathize with Bear who is very upset that he has to leave his friends during the winter snowy fun times. I didn't really get the meaning behind this book other than it's o.k. if your friends go and have great adventures while you miss out on all the fun, as long as they are there to play later.

[Megan · Rating 3 out of 5]

It always sucks to feel like a forgotten 3rd wheel.

[Danielle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gorgeous illustrations but the dialogue is trite. Mama Grizzley is a total bitch.

[Kammie Krueger · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a wonderful little story. The pages are big, bright and colorful. All the characters in the story are adorable looking. My 5yr and 2yr old boys love this book, have read it many times.

[Bethe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute animal pictures, light hibernation and friendship story.

[Amy · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars. The illustrations are beautiful and cuddly, but the text was a bit whiney.

[Sharon · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has beautiful illustrations. The story features a bear cub who wants to stay up and see snow with his friends instead of hibernating.

[Moodles · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Ana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nice writing, nice story, nice ilustrations

[Emili Ihm · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is about friendship and the true meaning behind it. It teaches young children that good friends are always there, especially when you need them most!

[Riley P · Rating 5 out of 5]

Riley loved this book, he really enjoyed looking at the pictures and following the story , would definitely read again!

[Danita · Rating 3 out of 5]

A sweet little bear book that is less about hibernating and more about how friendships remain throughout separation. Great social emotional book for young audiences.

[Dolly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a sweet story that depicts a young bear wanting to spend winter with the rest of his friends. The narrative is short and simple and the illustrations are colorful and cartoonish. The animals are so adorable. This is a good book to read with younger children and even though it was a bit young for our girls, we still enjoyed reading it together.

[Kerry · Rating 4 out of 5]

SSSSooooo cute!

[Bookjeannnie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beautiful illustrations.

[Christine D · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love love love the illustrations in this authors books!

[Trisan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great season transition book.