Warm Winter

by Feridun Oral

This classic holiday book about a mouse and his friends makes a perfect gift for boys and girls 3 - 5 years old.

One cold winter morning Little Mouse ventures out in search of enough firewood to heat his nest. But when he tries to drag his pile home, he realizes everything he’s gathered is much too heavy for him. Maybe his friends can help out, but they’d better hurry, because there’s a blizzard on the way. If they can find a way to work together and keep each other safe, maybe they can all have the warm winter they've been hoping for. This beautifully illustrated picture book shows the power of friendship, persistence–and a little luck–to make our dreams come true. This is a winter story that will warm your heart.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Animals, Storytime, Holiday

32 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2015

About the author

1961 yılında Kırıkkale`de doğdu. 1985 yılında Marmara Üniversitesi, Güzel Sanatlar Fakültesi`nden mezun olan sanatçının resim ve illüstrasyonları 1986 yılından bu yana yurtiçi ve yurt dışındaki bir çok sergi ve bienallerde sergilenmiştir.

1993 yılında Unesco tarafından Tokyo`da düzenlenen Noma-Concour yarışmasında yazıp resimlediği "Ormandaki Ses" adlı kitabıyla Runners-Up ödülü, 2001 yılında da Avrupalı illüstratörler Bienali`nde "Düş Kedileri" adlı çalışmasıyla onur ödülü olan sanatçının yazıp resimlediği çocuk kitapları yurtiçi ve yurtdışında çeşitli yayınevleri tarafından yayınlanmıştır.

Resimlerindeki ironik dünyasını seramik tasarımlarına da aktaran Feridun Oral çalışmalarını İstanbul`daki atelyesinde sürdürmektedir.
.......................................
eng:
Ferudun Oral was born in 1961. He graduated from Marmara University, Faculty of Fine Arts in 1985. His paintings and illustrations have been exhibited in various exhibitions and biannuals both in Turkey and abroad since 1986.

He obtained the Runner-up prize in Noma-Concour Comp. UNESCO in 1993. He was also awarded by the honour prize in European Illustrators Biannual. His children books have been published by various publishing houses both in Turkey and abroad.

"Irony" is one of the most important aspects of his paintings and ceramic designs. He is continuing his work in Istanbul.

Reviews

[Mischenko · Rating 4 out of 5]

To see this week's children's books, please visit www.readrantrockandroll.com

Little Mouse and his family are enduring a very cold winter. He decides it’s time to go out and find some firewood to keep his family warm. He gathers a rather large pile, but can’t seem to get it back home to his family. One by one, his friends come to the rescue, but they can’t seem to get the pile to budge. Finally, Bear comes to save the day, but will he succeed?

This is a book that will teach children about friendship, teamwork, and sharing. I thought the story was cute and easy to follow for young readers. I appreciate everything about winter so much and enjoyed the illustrations in the book.

4****

[Abigail · Rating 4 out of 5]

Venturing out one winter day, Mouse gathers an enormous pile of twigs, pine cones and shrubs to use as firewood, only to discover that he isn't strong enough to drag it home. Enlisting the aid of a succession of friends - Rabbit, Fox, Bear - Mouse finally gets the pile moving. But when a strong winds knocks it over, the seeming disaster proves a blessing as the four friends shelter underneath it during a blizzard. When they finally emerge, they divide the pile amongst them, sharing the benefit just as they shared the labor...

Originally published in Turkish as Bu Kış Kimse Üşümeyecek, this is the second picture-book that I have read from talented author/artist Feridun Oral, following upon his The Red Apple . Having really loved the wintry artwork in that earlier title, I have been hoping to see more of Oral's work translated, especially as it is so rare to see Turkish children's books finding their way into American hands. I was therefore quite excited to see A Warm Winter, published by Minedition, and was not disappointed after having a chance to read through it. The story is a sweet one, but it was the artwork that really stood out to me. Oral has a talent for depicting the beauty and enchantment of wintry scenes - something for which I have a decided weakness - and his snowy vistas were immensely captivating. Recommended to anyone looking for children's stories about friendship and sharing, for tales of winter, and/or for translated Turkish children's literature. For my part, I hope (once again) that more of Feridun Oral's work is made available to us, here in the Anglophone world!

[Kaethe · Rating 5 out of 5]

lovely

library copy

[b ü ş r a · Rating 5 out of 5]

okuduğum en tatlış kitaptı 🥹 çizimlerine aşık oldum ❤️

[Alex Baugh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mouse wakes up one morning and there’s a chill in the air. He decides it’s time to gather up some firewood in the forest so his family will be nice and warm all winter long. Mouse collects so much firewood, he’s exhausted and can’t get it all home by himself, so he calls on his friend Rabbit to see if she will help. When it is still too much for Mouse and Rabbit, they ask wise Fox if they can borrow his sled and if he would help. But Mouse’s pile of firewood is still to big and heavy and doesn’t budge, even with the sled. So the three friends decide to call on their friend Big Bear, who actually helps to move the pile of firewood, but when the snow intensifies into a blizzard and they hit a tree stump, everything goes flying. Can the four friends find a way to get the firewood home so that they can all have a warm winter? This is such a beautifully illustrated story about friendship, teamwork, and sharing, it was easy for my young readers to get the message. Oral has really captured the cold of a winter storm and warmth of having good friends.

[Mundie Moms & Mundie Kids · Rating 4 out of 5]

What's better than kicking off the Winter Solstice than reading a book that has winter, snow, woodland animals, and friendship. A WARM WINTER is about woodland animal friends working together to help Little Mouse get his firewood home. When an excepted snowstorm hits, things don't go as planned. If they continue to work together, they'll stay warm and safe through the blinding snow storm. With it's great illustrations, wonderful message about friendship, this is the perfect story to read on a cold winter's day.

http://mundiekids.blogspot.com/2016/1...

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

Library book. As mom, I LOVED this story. I loved the illustrations, I loved the message. It was absolutely charming. My three year old wasn't completely taken by this book but did listen to it a handful of times without argument. I chose it when the weather started to cool down to discuss the changing seasons that were approaching.

[Ramona Cantaragiu · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think this is my first Turkish book for children and I am all in favor of translating more works of children literature from non-English speaking countries into Romanian. The illustrations are lovely and the story is about friendship, all well and nice, but the narrative is a bit illogical and this bothered me.

[Sheri · Rating 3 out of 5]

The author tells the story of a mouse in the forest gathering sticks to keep his family warm by the fire in the winter. He gathers so many he needs help to move them. Each animal grows in size as they come to help , but when disaster befalls the sticks the animals solve the problem by sharing.

[Viviane Elbee · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a beautifully illustrated book with a little mouse, a rabbit, a wise fox, a bear, a snowstorm and a sled.
The size of the twig pile for the fire is very impressive.
Kids and I enjoyed this story and the ending.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Little Mouse gathers a bunch of materials to stay warm for the winter but gather too much to carry back by himself. He asks for help from his forest friends who end up getting stuck in a snowstorm. They're able to each grab what they need and bring it back home after the storm ends.

[Silvis Library · Rating 3 out of 5]

Little Mouse gathers a bunch of materials to stay warm for the winter but gather too much to carry back by himself. He asks for help from his forest friends who end up getting stuck in a snowstorm. They're able to each grab what they need and bring it back home after the storm ends.

[Bethe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bookaday #52. Basic friendship & cooperation story, nice illustrations.

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

Illustrations are very appealing.

First Line: "Little mouse woke up in a shiver one cold winter morning."

[Merve Şahin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hem çizimleri hem konusu güzel bir kitaptı fakat içinde net bir ders olmaması beni üzdü. Yani çocuklara hitap eden kitaplarda tam bir ders olmasını bekleyen tek ben değilimdir, değil mi?

[Remy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really cute/sweet/nice children's story.

[Robin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gorgeous painterly illustrations. I will totally admit I got confused by the ending and had to flip back to the beginning to remember that the mouse was gathering the twigs for firewood. Ages 3-5.

[Goshen PL Childrens · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read at Storytime on January 9th.
Theme: Snow and Winter Stories

[Betül · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fare, ayı, tilki ve tavşan var. Fare çalı topluyor. Diğerleri de taşımasına yardım ediyor. Güzelmiş.

[Lisey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute little story.

[Jenny · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.75

[Bev · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reminds me of The Enormous Turnip. If we all work together we can get this done!

[Clarissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beautiful illustrations, and very sweet story.

[Alyssa Gudenburr · Rating 4 out of 5]

A beautiful story about friendship, teamwork, and sharing between the animals in the forest.

[Kimberly Wright Oelkers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simple story about friendship I hope to use in my classes this winter. Illustrations are well done.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Friends helping friends and sharing. This warm take on Winter is sure to be a favorite.

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this story simply because there was no danger between the animals themselves. They were simply friends trying to help each other out.

[Casandria · Rating 3 out of 5]

4 animal friends work together to move a huge pile of sticks and wood to keep their families warm for the winter.

[Trish · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is about working together as a team. It has nice illustrations.

[Cat · Rating 3 out of 5]

Illustrations are wonderful! Only reason I gave it 3 stars. Story starts out well enough. Little Mouse goes out into the cold to find firewood to keep his family warm in the cold of winter. Gathers too much and enlists the help of Rabbit, Fox and Bear to get it back to his home. A snowstorm then traps them and they find shelter in Mouse's twigs until it ends.
I kind of hoped the book would end back at mouse's home! Disappointed....