Lewis Cardinal's First Winter/El Primer Invierno de Luis, el Cardenal (Solomon Raven Story, 1)

Solomon Raven

by Amy Crane Johnson

Lewis Cardinal is confused as his woodland friends get ready for winter. Should Lewis stay or go? Colorful and dramatic illustrations show Lewis and Solomon Raven, the wisest bird in the forest, as they survey the flurry of autumn activity. Solomon explains hibernation and migration, leading Lewis to understand the process of change and friendship.

This is the second in the Solomon Raven series, following the book "A Home for Pearl Squirrel".

The book is bilingual with English and Spanish appearing on the same page. A glossary is included in the back of the book to give keywords in both languages.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Birds, Animals

Hardcover

First published September 1, 2002

Reviews

[Shawn Deal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lewis Cardinal is trying to see how he is going to make it through his first winter, when all his friends are preparing to hibernate or fly south. Besutifully illustrated and told in two languages both English and Spanish.

[Kristin King · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lewis is concerned as he talks to other animals who are getting ready for winter. How should he get ready? His friends are all leaving, it seems. Lewis finds he will not be alone, receives wisdom from Solomon Raven and even makes a new friend.
Heard on Tumblebooks. Lovely artwork--expressive. My children wanted to hear it again and keep it on their playlist.

[Sherry Scheline · Rating 5 out of 5]

LOVE ❤️ this little book! It is the story of a little cardinal trying to understand winter. It teaches some big words like hibernation and migration. Wonderful beginner book.

[book worm · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5
Great way to introduce kids to the different ways animals adapt to the winter!

[Dolly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a sweet story in the Solomon Raven series. It helps explain how various animals cope with the cold weather and the reduced access to food.

We have enjoyed the stories in this series and hope to see more in the future. We really liked watching this book read aloud on the Tumblebooks website (http://www.tumblebooks.com), which is available for free as one of the online resources from our local library.

[Ronda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having never read any of the Solomon Raven series titles, I was a little unsettled at the feeling that I should know some of these characters already (though it didnt seem an issue for my students). The story is a sweet look at some of the same topics in the book I accidentally paired it with, Animals in Fall: Preparing for Winter. That actually ended up being a fortuitous thing as it approached migration and hibernation from a more personalized albeit anthropomorphic direction. It was interesting how many of my students didnt realize that the male and female cardinals were actually the same species.

[Ellon · Rating 3 out of 5]

So this book is decent enough. It shows how different animals deal with winter (hibernate, migrate, etc.). I just couldn't get over the human names. Like, why were they necessary? And honestly, they took away from the message because instead of saying "in winter, the cardinal does XYZ," it would say "Lewis does XYZ" and I'd have to remember who Lewis was (okay I know Lewis was the main character from the title but I couldn't think of the other animal's names. I just really wish the author hadn't added those human names (this might be a personal thing as anthropomorphize animals bug me).
*read the Tumblebook Library version*

[Janine Darragh · Rating 4 out of 5]

This bilingual picture book would be great to use in a science lesson about winter/hibernation/habitats/etc. Great pictures to complement the text, a wonderful lesson/moral at the end, and I was delighted to see that Pearl the Squirrel made an appearance.

[Margaret Welwood · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an interesting way to teach children about Creation! Cinnamon Bear is full and getting sleepy, the frog is burying herself in mud and leaves, the fish sinks to the bottom of the stream (what kind of plan is that??), and Lewis' robin friends chirp their farewell.

Because my story circle is at a Christian after school care centre, I tell the children that God has a plan for all His creatures. Wise Solomon Raven assures Lewis that he's staying around for the winter, and so are the squirrel, the badger and the rabbit. And then he shows Lewis something that makes his heart leap--Cheri Cardinal, perched on a nearby evergreen tree.

It's going to be a very good winter.