Winter Lullaby

by Barbara Seuling, Greg Newbold (Illustrator)

As the natural world changes with winter's approach, young children worry about the creatures they see around them. Where do the ducks and other animals go? Will they find shelter from the cold? Will they be safe and warm? In Winter Lullaby, Barbara Seuling's reassuring, gentle verse and Greg Newbold's breathtaking paintings reveal what animals do to survive as winter takes hold.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Animals, Storytime, Poetry, Nature

32 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 1998

Reviews

[Manybooks · Rating 2 out of 5]

Although in Winter Lullaby Barbara Seuling's narrative does indeed clearly point out (or at least attempt to point out) how a number of animal species react to and deal with the winter months, personally I have found her printed words much too simplistic and therefore just barely scratching the surface so to speak for most if not all of the presented and featured animal species (and yes, this even considering the intended audience of very young children). For while for example it is certainly correct that bees stay in their hives until spring comes again and that snakes retreat into dens, I do find it kind of strange that while snakes and bees definitely do actively hibernate in the winter, that this is then not really ever specifically verbally mentioned by the author, by Barbara Seuling, in (as the only specific textual description of animals actually and actively sleeping the entire winter away is in my opinion bats and perhaps the illustration of the two mice resting in the hayloft, although truth be told, many species of mice actually do NOT hibernate in the winter, that some mice are often even quite active in winter).

Combined with the fact that Barbara Seuling should (in my opinion) also be mentioning that increasingly, ducks (and many erstwhile migrating birds) do in fact not tend to fly south as much anymore but actually often overwinter in their summer areas due to (likely) global warming trends, and yes indeed, that I also really have not found Greg Newbold's accompanying artwork all that visually pleasant (with especially his human figures appearing as too stagnant and even his snowscapes as not really three but generally rather annoyingly one-dimensional), I really cannot claim that I have found Winter Lullaby all that successful a marriage of text and images (not terrible, not uninformative, but bit lacking in what I would consider required factual information and with pictures that have just been to and for my personal aesthetics too lacking in emotion and as such disappointingly stagnant). And yes and finally, I also have found the title of this book, Winter Lullaby, more than a bit misleading, as for one Barbara Seuling's text does not (at least to and for my ears) read anything like a typical lullaby, and that for two, basically only some of the presented and featured animals do in fact spend their entire winter sleeping (as for example most birds and fish certainly do not snooze away the winter months).

[debbicat *made of stardust* · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s pretty. We liked the illustrations. Nothing special among picture books.

[Set · Rating 2 out of 5]

The drawings of people are distractedly unattractive. The illustrator draws landscapes better than people and that kind of ruined the book for me. It's a picture book about the transition from autumn to winter. The narration is short and to the point.

[Melki · Rating 5 out of 5]

A lovely rhyming look at things animals do to prepare for the chilliest season. This is a sweet, comforting read with beautiful illustrations by Greg Newbold.

[Katie Fitzgerald · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read at preschool story time on 12/5/11: http://storytimesecrets.blogspot.com/...

Read at Pajama Story Time on 11/28/12: http://storytimesecrets.blogspot.com/...

[Beverly · Rating 4 out of 5]

beautiful illustrations

[Maddi Holmes · Rating 5 out of 5]

This genre of this book is informational nonfiction. The recommended reading level is primary, second through third grade.

These illustrations are breathtaking! I can't get over the detail of every illustration. The illustrator managed to design the pages to appear three dimensional, but they are not. This blows my mind! He did all of his painting with acrylics, so cool!

I feel like informational children's books are often boring, so I was extremely exciting when I came across this book. It teaches children about the affects of winter in a fun way. This is a great book for all students, especially ones who live in an area who don't experience a cold winter.

[Shaniah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. It's short and simple, but the illustrations are absolutely gorgeous. The story goes through Fall and Winter and where animals travel when the weather starts getting colder. Beautifully done. I would categorize this book under science fiction because it talks a story that talks about seasons changing and how animals and humans react to the changes. I would have this book in K-3 classrooms since it seems to be aimed towards younger students.

[Mary Greer Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lovely illustration and good read for young children in language and literacy. Open dialogue can be established with young children on the change of seasons and adaptions to the changes. Real simple and short conversation piece for children on how animals adapt to the changes. This book could also lead into science.

[Jamie Call · Rating 4 out of 5]

Poetry
I like this book because it is a wonderful book for natural integration. You could easily discuss poetry using this book, or you could look at it from a scientific viewpoint and talk about seasons and how they affect life.

[Maria Salgado · Rating 4 out of 5]

This simple book with nice pictures talks about the transition from fall to winter. The pictures go well with the text. It can be used to talk about animals, seasons, rhyming words, cause and effect, and beat.

[Tompkins County Public Library Youth Services]

If you like nature, but maybe you need a little boost to get you through the chills of Fall and Winter, you'll love Winter Lullaby. Gorgeous illustrations by Greg Newbold make this book a real treasure.

[Lynn Davidson · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this beautifully illustrated book, the main question is ... where does everybody go when winter comes? Mice, bats, ducks, fish, bees, snakes, people ... they have places to go for shelter and warmth, which is so well described in this book.

[Elaine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beautiful artwork

[Teresa]

Vivid, yet soft, art is restful yet intensely engaging. Each answer to the questions posed is a surprising, imaginative answer. A calming story well told.

[Aleisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

So sweet and gentle. Lovely illustrations.

[Nicole Sperry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Simple story for curious kids. Great illustrations by Newbold.

[June · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful pictures illustrate where various animals spend the winter, though it leaves out the bear. However, there are lots of stories about bears. 2/12/13

Went over well for the 2 children whose parents brought them out in the cold for story time. 1/7/14

Went over much better than Kitten's Winter. The 2 girls would always chime in with "I don't know" and then help turn the page to find out. 3/25/14

A boy asked for this and a parent liked it so well, she asked to check it out.

[Alexandria · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is well-written for reading to small children or having them read it to you (with some help). The illustrations are gorgeous and the writing is not only easy to read, but also informative. I will certainly be buying a copy of this for my kids, because it strikes me as the kind of book that will both soothe them at the end of the day and give them lots of starting points for researching future interests.

[Jeana Wert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Winter Lullaby was not only a colorful and appropriate book for children, but it was also very educational. It explains where the bees, ducks, fish, and people go when winter comes and it is too cold for them.

[Janet · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful painting illustrations. A two page spread asks a sparsely worded question about what a particular animal does when fall/winter comes. The following two page spread answers the question in two lines of a rhyme. This is for the very youngest, a beginning book on hibernation. Beautiful.

[Catherine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gorgeous, striking illustrations in this story about where creatures go during the winter.

[Becky · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved it--such beautiful illustrations, but Tommy commented that it was a book for me more than for him. : )

[Lori · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great vocab, rhyming text

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Simple text with some little rhymes. Good illustrations.

[Elizabeth]

This could really be a picture book, and it could work for a story time.

[Leah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ask the children to make the sound of each animal to keep an interactive element for this simple and informative book about the season. Great rhymes too!

[Katie Ruth · Rating 4 out of 5]

A perfect school library choice for the weeks before winter break...

[Dawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

The pictures in this book are bright and beautiful. There aren't a lot of words, but there is lots of room for discussion, especially amongst winter experts, like my students!

[Patsy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This would be a great book to read aloud with a little child on a frosty winter evening.