Winter Bees & Other Poems of the Cold

Starred review from September 8, 2014
Just as Sidman and Allen saw through the ominousness of night to find beauty and joy in the Newbery Honor–winning Dark Emperor, they now discover warmth, community, and wisdom in the dead of winter. Sidman’s 12 poems draw readers through the first whiff of winter that sends tundra swans migrating to warmer climates (“As we tucked beaks/ into feathers and settled for sleep,/ our wings knew”) to the humble, unlikely first observers of spring’s arrival: skunk cabbage and springtails (snow fleas). Along the way, readers are treated to fascinating details about snakes, beavers, wolves, ravens, and other animals in extensive sidebars, while Allen’s hand-colored, digitally layered linocuts bring a stately majesty to every page. Each poem brings a sense of humor, respect, or wonder to its subject, from minuscule bees “Born with eyelash legs/ and tinsel wings” to an imposing “slumberous moose.” Ages 6–9.

Starred review from October 1, 2014
How do animals survive and thrive in the bitter cold of winter in the northern tundra? Sidman explains and celebrates their remarkable adaptations in a collection of carefully constructed and delightfully varied poems. The moose calf is naturally built for cold and brags about all his achievements in a lilting, rhyming verse. The tundra swans rest in the marshes and wait for the right time to migrate south as they dream lovely images of their flight. The winter bees huddle in a warm, humming mass. With lines repeated in the strict organization of a pantoum poem, the beavers dart about in complete silence in the watery space beneath the ice. In dual-voiced verse, the raven and wolf exhort each other to be watchful and successful in their hunting. Other animals, along with trees and snowflakes, take their turns in the stark beauty surrounding them. The final two poems hint at the coming of spring. Fascinating, detailed information about the subjects accompanies each poem. The poems appear on the left, with the factual material on the right of double-page spreads, while Allen's intricate, unusual and exquisite illustrations take center stage. They are rendered in a combination of media, including large numbers of cut, inked and hand-colored linoleum blocks, which are then digitized and layered; the result is magic. A work to be savored by young artists and scientists. (glossary) (Informational picture book/poetry. 6-10)

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Starred review from November 1, 2014

Starred review from October 15, 2014
Grades K-3 *Starred Review* The creators of Dark Emperor and Other Poems of the Night (2010) offer here a dozen winter-themed poems detailing the natural world. Topics range from migrating tundra swans and hibernating snakes to shivering bees and diving beavers. Each double-page spread contains a poem, full-page art, and a scientific note. Take, for example, Vole in Winter, in which the titular critter considers snow: How it appeared so softly one night, / just as the bitter wind had almost / sucked the very life from my bones: / a blanket made of sky-feathers! Meanwhile, Allen's hand-colored linoleum block and digitized art depicts a contemplative vole surrounded by snow and the dry grasses that sustain him. Only at the last minute does he notice a red fox poised to pounce. The accompanying science paragraph offers more details about the subnivean (beneath the snow) zone occupied by these small mammals, as well as the keen hearing that helps them detect predators. Most poems address familiar topics (snowflakes, moose, trees, chickadees), but springtails (snow fleas) and skunk cabbage (an early flowering spring plant) will be new to many. Concluded with a glossary of big but fascinating words, this is equally suited to curricular units and cozy reads in front of a fire.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)