In Wintertime

A grandmother tells about her life as a child in the Scandinavian winter with her grandmother.

Grade 2-4-A little girl listens to her grandmother's stories of growing up in Norway, and the winters there, in this quiet slice-of-life story. There is much description of relatives and feasts and holidays and what people are doing, but little about the people themselves. Readers never get a sense of the narrator's identity, other than as a narrator. The illustrations are soft and sometimes awkward watercolor and pen-and-ink drawings that are technically fine but again, never come to life. This book recalls and idealizes a way of life that has all but disappeared; it will hold appeal only to those who are connected in some way with this heritage.
JoAnn Rees, Sunnyvale Public Library, CA
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Ages 6-8. Energetic watercolors in shades of pink and blue evoke a joyful Norwegian childhood during the dark winter months. Framed as a story a grandmother tells her granddaughter, the text resonates with the sights, sounds, flavors and textures of long-ago Scandinavia. In the morning, Kirsten visits the bustling marketplace. During the afternoon, she takes lunch to her ice-fishing poppa. Later, she journeys through the cold, dark woods to her grandparents' house. While more upbeat than Michael Emberly's Welcome Back Sun (1993), another depiction of the murketiden, the longish first-person narration with just a touch of dialogue is less accessible. Still, it's hard to imagine any child resisting such enchanting details as snowball lamps and a koseli (cozy) cupboard bed. It may be cold outside, but these lovely pages are full of warmth. Julie Corsaro