What? you are sure to be saying. Another book about winter? Doesn't she know the winter solstice is in December? I do know that. But, tell it to our winter weatherman!
It's the last one today, I promise. I'm also thinking that if you know about these books now, you will be able to order them in time to share when winter wends its windy, icy way into your hometown.
It can be such fun! Really! But not for the people of Toby Mills. It is this kind of cold:
"Ears tingled.
Cheeks were frosty pink.
Toes, too numb to wiggle.
An icicle dangled from the nose of the statue
of General Toby - the town's founder."
It's still fun! However, as the week moves forward, the paper warns of a cold snap. What preparations can be made to organize citizens for its arrival? As days pass, and the mercury drops, it becomes more and more difficult for them to enjoy the season. The General's icicle keeps growing, the streets get icier, it becomes more difficult to navigate the streets, and furnaces stop working. The cat needs a sweater, the birds need feeding, and the wind begins to blow colder.
Will they ever be warm again?
"BY 8 A.M. ON THURSDAY MORNING, the official thermometer outside City Hall fell to a number it had never met before - zero!"
It takes patience and ingenuity to find ways to stay warm. Then, the mayor's wife has an idea. Invitations are posted on every tree and lamppost. Right on the dot of 7 P.M. the residents of Toby Mills climb T-Bone Hill in eager anticipation of a 'winter surprise'. They are not disappointed. It is just what they all need to ignore the deep freeze, until a warm front blows their way.
An added surprise for readers is the recipe for Miss Dove's Sugar-On-Snow Candy. Mmm! Mmm!
Yummy! There are many ways to keep warm when winter does its best to defeat us. As a community the people of Toby Mills work together to battle the weather with high spirits and a hearty appreciation for its power.
Marjorie Priceman uses brilliant color in gouache paintings to create a winter wonderland just aching to be explored. The endpapapers provide a bird's eye view of the community itself as many of its citizens enjoy the pleasures and beauty of the season. Inside, red-cheeked children and parents play in snow, work with shovels and scrapers to bring order, and zip from one enjoyable bit of fun to the next. They take to the indoors as the weather worsens and sip soup, slurp stew, bundle up, shiver and shake. Through it all, the village has a cozy and welcoming vibe.
It's a great book to share for those upcoming colder-than-usual days. Listeners and readers alike will be charmed by the town, its inhabitants and the warmth of the telling.
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