Has Winter Come?

by Wendy Watson

Although the children don't recognize the faint smell of winter in the air, a woodchuck family begins preparing for long snowy nights.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens

28 pages, Hardcover

Published January 1, 1978

About the author

Wendy Watson is an author and illustrator of children's books. She is the daughter of Nancy Dingman Watson and Aldren A. Watson and the sister of Clyde Watson.

Reviews

[Alice Ball · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful writing! Perfect start of winter book.

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved reading this quiet book to my daughter, especially after one of our rare snowfalls came to the Pacific Northwest, and she was able to experience snow -- and winter -- for herself. The book tells the story of a small woodland family (I'm never quite sure whether they are woodchucks or not), a mother, a father, and three children. The mother and the father observe that winter is coming -- which phenomenon the children are entirely unfamiliar with. They have to ask their parents what winter is. The family goes out into the forest to prepare for winter, gathering windfall apples and nuts, collecting firewood for their fire. As they collect their provisions, snow begins to fall (I was slightly disturbed by the shiftlessness of this family; they should have been collecting apples and nuts long ago!). Their work done, they go out into the winter night -- the snow has stopped falling -- and look at the stars. They go back home to roast apples and tell stories in front of the fire, and then they go to bed. This is a wonderful bedtime book.

[Marisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

A gentle story about a family of woodchucks? experiencing the shift between fall and winter.

[Christine · Rating 5 out of 5]

this is a sweet lovely book for parents to read to children. My children, both in their 40's now, were given this book back in the '80's. I keep it with my Christmas decor and bring all the Christmas/Winter children's books out for when they visit. I recently read it to my only grandchild, a 3 yo girl, in two sessions before bedtime. She absolutely loved the little woodchucks and they brought fond memories back for me when I read it to my children. My granddaughter had difficulty understanding how a sticker with her mommy's name was on the cover of the book. the sticker not only had her favorite color with her mommy's name, but it was captured within a simple cat picture. When she pulled the sticker off which I was sad she did, it revealed her uncle's name. Happy surprise for me again.
this book is relatively hard to come by for a reasonable price. And the hardcover is cheaper than paperback. I will relish the paperback copy we have and protect it for the next generation.
PS. The next morning, my granddaughter asked, "Has Winter Come?" before I pulled up the shades.

[Shakena Gwinn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love how the bears prepare and wait for winter to come, but it still haven't came. The bears think about all things they can do in winter. sleep and eating. This book is so cute, and clever at the same time.

[Danielle Palmer · Rating 5 out of 5]

A true winter treasure