The Twelve Days of Winter

by Deborah Lee Rose, Carey F. Armstrong-Ellis (Illustrator)

From the writer and illustrator behind the best-selling The Twelve Days of Kindergarten , this rambunctious and clever book will entertain both in and out of school.

It’s wintertime! That means it’s the season for mittens, snow, and twelve days of surprises. In this high-energy, school-loving class, the teacher introduces a new winter activity every day. Three penguins—Antarctic fun! Four weather words—brrrr! And twelve treats for tasting—YUM!

As the teacher’s gifts add up—teddy bears, paper snowflakes, sugarcubes—and the days get colder, the classroom is transformed into wintery chaos. Are all the winter surprises still inside? Count along with the class to find out.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Counting, Storytime

32 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 2006

Reviews

[La Coccinelle · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've yet to see this song turned into a picture book really well. This version is no exception. It tries... but it doesn't quite get there.

The illustrations are sort of fun to look at, because there are details that continue throughout the book. But I don't particularly like the style. Some of the children look like little seniors, and I was taken aback near the beginning when I saw what looked like an old man picking his nose:



This creepy little fellow (he's one of the young students, if you can believe it) actually appears on every single spread, with his finger in his nose. Kids might find it funny, and I was mildly amused when I realized that he was a repeating motif... but it does get old pretty fast.

Most of the objects in the song are of a winter theme, but they're not that interesting. Teddy bears, weather words, gold stars, bells, worms, and sugar cubes all make an appearance, but without the illustrations, they're really quite boring. This is definitely a book that needs to be read in close proximity to a child so they can clearly see all the pictures.

Overall, I wasn't that impressed. Kids might like the nose-picker, but other than that, The Twelve Days of Winter doesn't really bring anything new to the old song.

[Jack & Lily Wills · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute book but could've done without the kid picking his nose on each page!

[Patricia · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not a fan of books using a tune that can get stuck in one's head. My daughter wanted to know why they were getting all this stuff just because it was winter. No one enjoyed the illustrations, which are ugly and also depicted a boy sticking his finger up his nose incessantly, which is frankly, stomach-turning. Will definitely avoid this author and illustrator in the future.

[Andrea Hunter · Rating 1 out of 5]

I hesitate to criticize illustrators, as I value them tremendously. But the illustrations in this book were terrifying. The layouts were a hot mess of strange images, which seems odd for a children’s Christmas book. I feel like I need to sanitize my eyes.

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

We cracked up reading this book. The best part was the nose picker on each page. Always nice to have winter books that aren’t about religious holiday.

[Monika Kozlowski · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic little read

[Colorado Buck · Rating 4 out of 5]

a bit long though... things that happen in winter...

[Cheryl]

consider more by the author....

[KaitandMaddie · Rating 4 out of 5]

We love books you can sing.

[Karla Kauffman · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the story, but not the illustrations. The kids' faces are all distorted, and one boy has his finger up his nose on every page.

[Lynn Davidson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story is based on the pattern of the traditional Twelve Days of Christmas. A teacher gives winter surprises to her students each day, such as two teddy bears, three penguins, and so on. Nicely illustrated.

[Laurie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Horn Book (Spring 2006)

Freed from school by a snow day, a young boy and his sister have a rollicking good time prepping for, participating in, and finally thawing out from a snowball fight. While the flow of actor/author Jimmy Fallon's rhyming text has an occasional bump, Stower's colorful and energetic illustrations provide a vivid snapshot of these mischievous siblings.



Publishers Weekly (August 15, 2005)

With simple, exuberant rhyming couplets set to a driving meter, the star of Saturday Night Live follows a boy (who bears a striking resemblance to a young Jimmy Fallon) on a snow day. The hero bundles up, dashes out ("No time for breakfast,/ already late./ Pretend I don't hear when Mom yells,/ `Wait!' "), and builds a fort in anticipation of the title event. There's a tense moment when the outcome looks dark ("Out of ammo/ trapped in fort./ Enemy approaching,/ need support"), but the hero's little sister whom Stower (Two Left Feet) depicts as not only adoring but also non-pesty comes through in the nick of time. Fallon's grown-up fans, who might expect a tale punctuated with irony, may be disappointed. This book (inspired by the song "Snowball" on his album, The Bathroom Wall, according to the jacket flap) is straight-up nostalgia, a paean to a childhood so idyllic that Stower can actually get away with showing kids who wear pots and colanders as snowball-fighting headgear. Any mischievousness falls under the conventional boys-will-be-boys category, such as a parting shot of the hero sneaking to the freezer with "one last snowball [for] future use." Although the compositional focus on many spreads feels diffuse, Stower's watercolors, featuring pug-nosed, wide-eyed kids, exude an old-fashioned winter friskiness. Ages 4-up. (Sept.) Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.



School Library Journal (November 1, 2005)

PreS-Gr 1-When school is closed because of a snowstorm, a boy and his sister race outside to play. He builds a fort, and soon a fierce snowball fight with other children ensues. The battle rages until it's time to head home for cocoa. Short rhyming stanzas describe the events. Ranging in size from small insets to double-page paintings, the energetic cartoon-style illustrations capture the action and humor. Sporting colorful outerwear and a silver colander on his head, the protagonist is ready for any adventure. Large print and lots of repetition make this a good choice for beginning readers as well as an engaging read-aloud.-Sally R. Dow, Ossining Public Library, NY Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can't believe I'd never heard of this book before discovering it in the library and checking it out for my son. A picture book with text inspired by the familiar Christmas song, The Twelve Days of Winter is ideal for read-aloud time. Like the song, the book builds counting and memory skills as it progresses from the first to the twelfth day. In addition, the setting prompted my son and me to discuss his anticipation of both winter (he's eager to try all the activities depicted in the book) and school (ditto). Our favorite feature of the book was something we didn't even notice until about the fifth day, when my son observed that one of the boys in the picture was picking his nose. On the next page, the boy was picking his nose again. Turns out he'd had his finger in his nose since page 1, and the other children in the book had similar character quirks. One girl clings to the teacher throughout the book, another wears princess dresses and elaborate costumes, two boys are always roughhousing, and another boy befriends a squirrel that sneaks into the classroom. Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis clearly had fun writing and illustrating this book, and we had fun reading it. We'll be reading their Twelve Days of Kindergarten next and looking forward to future installments.

[Dolly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an entertaining school and winter-based version of the classic song, The Twelve Days of Christmas. The narrative is fun to read aloud and the illustrations are colorful and cartoonish with lots of interesting details, making this a terrific book to read with young elementary school-age children. We enjoyed reading (singing) this book together.

[David · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book epitomizes a lot of what I dislike about group schooling: disobedience, poor health habits, teasing, teachers venting on kids. Wow, and all that was unintentionally put in the pictures. I'm so sorry.

[Kelsey Nauert · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book is a spin on "The Twelve Days of Christmas". The book helps with counting and recognizing objects associated with winter. I read this book to a child at the daycare at which I work and he enjoyed the book as I asked him questions along the way.

[Sarah A · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun book - especially to read in August in Southern California!!
A great counting book and non-religious holiday book for the in winter season. To the rhyme / music of the 12 days of Christmas but all secular and winter related. Fun with cute pictures.

[Sheri]

another Scholastic pick.

[Wendy]

My kids can read this book over and over - there's so much to take away from the illustrations, and it seems that each time we read it, there's something new to find.

[Breana Vining · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is great for illustrations. The pictures are very detailed and young children would enjoy the read!

[Jamie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great story to talk about a cumulative tale and then write one as a class.

[Leah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun winter book. Uses memory and numbers to tell the story.

[Kristin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great story..but way too much for my family storytimes. The little ones didn't remember any of the stanzas..so I ended up just having them count up to 12 with me..they enjoyed that the most.