Little Fern's First Winter

by Jane Simmons

Little rabbit Fern and her brother Bracken play hide and seek as the other

Genres: Picture Books, Animals, Childrens

32 pages, Hardcover

First published August 1, 2001

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.


Jane has tried her hand at landscape gardening, futon making, teaching basket weaving and soft toy making but only truly loves writing and illustrating children's books. Jane shot to fame with the success of her DAISY picture books, all about an irresistible little duck with big feet. More success followed with EBB AND FLO, whose characters were brought to life on television. Jane, her partner, and her menagerie of rescued pets travel the Mediterranean on an ex-fishing boat - and her adventures have provided the inspiration for many of her books. Most recently Jane has turned her hand to fiction, with the exciting adventures of BERYL GOES WILD and SHIP'S CAT DORIS.

Reviews

[Emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a lovely story which children in FS to Year 2 could enjoy. It features a familiar game of hide and seek but also encapsulates the excitement and wonder of Willow’s first snowfall. It could be linked to talking about seasons, habitats and weather in science or enjoyed as a read-aloud class story as it’s not too long. The illustrations feature predominantly pastel colours and font sizes and capitalisation are used to imply the fear Willow experiences when she loses Bracken in their game of hide and seek, before snuggling up together to keep warm in the snow. Whilst the book is lovely for younger children and has quite a calm story line, it’s not particularly exciting so may not engage older children.

[A.J. Wermink · Rating 3 out of 5]

Leuk prentenboek voor groep 1 en 2 om de tijd mee op vullen tussen activiteiten door of als er tijd over is aan het einde van de dag. Het verhaal over verstoppertje spelen is herkenbaar voor de kinderen. Naar aanleiding van de prenten kan er interactie worden gezocht met kinderen door te vragen wat kinderen zien en of ze Bram kunnen ontdekken in de tekening.
Het verhaal blijft qua inhoud aan de oppervlakte. Het daagt de kinderen niet direct uit om een beroep te doen op de eigen fantasie of voorstellingsvermogen. Het verhaal en de prenten laten niet veel ruimte voor improvisatie of variatie in het voorlezen aan de kinderen.

[Maeve Reilly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a book all about a rabbit named fern and fern’s friend Bracken. This story is about their hide and seek adventures. Along with their journey growing up and learning to be problem solvers. This text allows for young readers to learn about habits of animals and how they cope with the winter. I would use this texts to teach students about winter and animals when winter starts. I don't know that this book is my favorite option for this but it's ok

[Emma Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book follows a game of hide and seek throughout the forest between two rabbits. The first rabbit visits the home of several different animals to see if she can hide there. The second rabbit hides and it starts to snow! The rabbits aren't prepared for the snow, so they have to huddle for warmth. In the classroom, this book can be used to discuss winter for animals.

[Ashlyn Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

We read this class in TCH 314. She did a very good job doing an interactive read aloud for Pre-K/Kindergarten age level. You can bring up ecosystems, hibernation, migration, and weather/seasons. It would be a good book to read as an introduction to animals going in hibernation in the winter at the beginning of the season.

[Katy Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is about a young rabbit playing hide and go seek with his brother. Until he experiences his first snow fall. I would use this book to talk about the pieces of the book. Such as the characters because there are different characters that Fern tries to hide with. So, we could discuss what is a character.

[Vipu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it loved it! It makes you feel like going in the snow right away!

[Laurie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Horn Book (Spring, 2002)

Fern the rabbit and her brother Bracken are playing hide-and-seek when the first snow they've ever seen begins to fall. For a brief scary time, Bracken is missing, but Fern finds him under the snow, and they wait it out together before returning to their cozy burrow. The expressive illustrations evoke not only Fern's fears but also the rabbits' playful exuberance.

[Deb · Rating 3 out of 5]

Considered for storytime. Something didn't flow, maybe a little to syrupy and soft. Love Simmons in general though.

[Bjorn Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was a good story but felt like it was messing a page, my son did enjoy the picture doe.

[Dianna]

Lovely pictures.