Winter Harvest

by Jane Chelsea Aragón, Leslie Baker (Illustrator)

A child describes her experiences feeding a deer family in the winter.

Genres: Picture Books, Fiction, Childrens

32 pages, Hardcover

First published June 1, 1988

Reviews

[Lisa Vegan · Rating 4 out of 5]

The illustrations are lovely and they match the story well. I love how the family makes the effort to feed the deer during winter so they don’t starve and also how they feed the birds in winter too. I wish this book and Salt Hands (by the same author) were more widely read, rated, and reviewed on Goodreads. They’re books I’d have no hesitation reading to most of the young children I know.

[Abigail · Rating 3 out of 5]

An online friend recently recommended Jane Chelsea Aragon's Salt Hands , another picture book featuring the interaction between humans and deer, and having found it deeply satisfying - on both a visual and narrative level - I immediately sought out other books by the author.

Winter Harvest was the only other of Aragon's titles I could find at my public library. Published the year before Salt Hands , it features a young girl who, together with her father, feeds a family of deer during the hard winter months. The simple narrative, when paired with Leslie Baker's beautiful watercolor illustrations, makes for a lovely, quiet bedtime story. The cool winter scenes have a luminous quality that communicates the shadowy mystery of nighttime in the woods, just as the warmer indoor scenes convey a sense of security and family love. Recommended to anyone who likes animal-story picture books, or who enjoyed Salt Hands .

[Aletheia Ubben · Rating 3 out of 5]

The text becomes rather tedious, but the pictures and concept are beautiful. (Aletheia's review: I'm becoming more interested in the images, which I demonstrate by hunching forward intently and slapping the pages with my hands. It gives us a break from the usual game of trying eating the corners.)

[Peacegal · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a sweet, gentle book featuring a child's description of a deer family who visits her backyard in the winter. The deer herd mirrors her own family's composition, which is also sweet. The deer have difficulty finding food in the snow so the family feeds them.

The behavior modeled isn't always the best idea--feeding deer, particularly things like corn and fresh veggies, can actually damage their digestive systems in winter and lesson their chances for survival. Deer feeding also causes them to congregate and associate people with food, which can also prove deadly for them. If this book were created in this day and age, perhaps the family would have planted winter-hardy native plants for the deer to browse, or maybe offered foods more natural to the deer, like acorns.

That said, I am always happy to see a book that depicts care and wonder for these animals who are too often seen as just targets or pests. New attitudes are needed and welcome.

[LadyHague · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great bedtime story for my 7g! Read slowly so there is time for the pictures on each page to be absorbed. There are only 4/6 lines per page so it’s slow. Excellent for a transition to sleep lane.

All about deer in the snowy night, our warm homes and full bellies, feeding the deer, watching fawns play, then heading home to our soft bed. Morning and seeing the animals go by…then lost sight in the woods…waiting for evening to repeat.

[Dolly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the kind of story that makes me nostalgic for the snowy cold I grew up. At least for a few minutes. This is a nice, quiet story about a family who cares for a family of deer during the winter. The illustrations are very good and this is a perfect bedtime story for our girls. We really enjoyed reading this story together.

[Ann]

Thanks for the recommendation, Abigail!! :D

[Beverly · Rating 4 out of 5]

beautiful illustrations

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a lovely quiet book that captures the magic of the winter season. Beautiful illustrations.