Winter at Long Pond

Long Pond

by William T. George, Lindsay Barrett George (Illustrator)

Father and son observe the plant and animal life around Long Pond before finding just the right Christmas tree.

Genres: Christmas, Picture Books, Nature, Holiday, Childrens

34 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1992

Reviews

[Kelly]

The illustrations are great, with the exception of the people. They're a little off. Perhaps the illustrator is more experienced with animals and landscapes?

[Kelly Barker]

Illustrations are very nice!

[Kathy Grimm]

My children loved the simplicity of this story with all of it's detailed hand drawings. Lindsay Barrett George illustrates her own husband and son, William and Will Jr., as they track through the northeast Pennsylvania woods to find their Christmas tree one evening. She depicts the deer, owl and woodpecker that both husband and son describe during their night of discovery. This is not a book that promotes the materialism or hyper fantasy normally associated with Christmas elves in fairyland; it reminds me more of a journal entry from a private family album of an illustrator. If readers are building a small collection of Christmas books, this is an excellent story to add because of it's unadorned simple rendition of a winter walk in the woods.

[Frank]

Beautiful illustrations, and I learned a few interesting things about animals and nature. My only problem was the book ended too abruptly. I would have liked to see the father and son get the tree home and decorate it.

[Cindy]

Although this is supposed to be about a dad & son choosing & cutting down their Christmas tree, that is only mentioned on one page. The rest of the book is about the dad showing his son clues in the woods about the wildlife that lives there. Age 6 and over should enjoy it.

The illustrations are very nice & the story was interesting to my kids. It turns out the dad, son & dog are the author, his son & dog.

[Kristin Nelson]

The title makes you think it will be about celebrating Christmas, but it's a boy and his dad's adventure into the woods to cut down a Christmas tree. My preschoolers and I enjoyed the tidbits of knowledge about the piliated woodpecker and beaver lodges.

[Carol]

Such stunning illustrations!

[Clwseattle]

Christmas at Long Pond is a beautifully illustrated book about nature in winter. In as much as it's written and illustrated as a family affair, I suspect it's charmingly biographical.

[Alice Ball]

Christmas is in the background of this story. Mainly a nature walk through the woods with parent and child - similar to Owl Moon. Powerful, realistic illustrations of woodland wildlife.

[Nanny B]

Great story.
Beautiful, detailed illustrations that look almost like photographs.

[Rebecca]

Beautiful illustrations! I really enjoy the books by this husband & wife team. Even as an adult I learned a few things about wildlife around a winter pond.

[Russell]

Christmas at Long Pond? More like arrogant snoozefest at Long Pond. The only tie to Christmas is the cutting down of a tree. That I can understand, I'm not asking for a Christmas overabundance with every detail of the holiday stuffed in. But all we get is details about the animals living around the pond, with Jim Jones taking care of the wild animals. I assume that Jim Jones is the narrator speaking in the third person to his son, with the intention of us identifying with the son and praising our good behavior. I don't want Jim Jones praising my behavior.

[Amy]

This is about a boy and a dad who go into the woods to cut down their Christmas tree. For a Christmas book, it isn't very Christmassy at all. It's actually more about the nature that lives in the woods.

The illustrations are brilliant.

[Jim]

this book is beautifully illoed except for the faces of the humans. the father looks like jim jones, kinda creepy. the writing is gentle. if you get past the freaky jim jones looking character, no kid would see that anyway, this is a great book.

[Tasama]

Whatever!?

[Natalie]

Beautifully illustrated with a nice woodsy rhythm and message. My 3-year old liked the beginning with the owl.

[Melki]

The peaceful woods is visited by a father and son searching for a special tree.

A quiet, calming read with beautiful illustrations.

[Audrey]

Family, winter, Michigan, home-school, holiday, snowed-in, not snowed-in, wonderful favorite.

[Davethorson]

A beautifully simple book which any child under 10 or 12 would likely enjoy. The illustrations bring out the stillness and sudden movement in a forest in Winter. The book teaches a lesson without beating the reader over the head with it, that the forest is to be respected and that for life in the forest to be sustained its intruders (people) have to keep their intrusion to a minimum. The book's message is marvelous in its simplicity.

As I mentioned, the illustrations are just marvelous and seem to breathe life into the story.

A wonderful, wonderful book, which I plan to keep and reread many times.