Hibernation Station

by Michelle Meadows, Kurt Cyrus (Illustrator)

Everybody at the station! It’s time for winter hibernation! The sweet rhyming text of this book will calm even the most rambunctious kids and have them dreaming about what it’s like to hibernate. Young readers will be soothed and delighted as this story introduces them to different types of hibernating animals. The creatures on the train are preparing to snuggle into sleep, although with a passenger list that includes chipmunks, bears, snakes, hedgehogs, groundhogs, frogs, turtles, mice, bats, and more, there’s a lot of noise! Will the hibernating critters ever get to sleep? Take a trip to Hibernation Station to find out!

Genres: Picture Books, Animals, Storytime, Childrens, Fiction, Nature, Environment

40 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2010

About the author

Michelle Meadows is the author of many acclaimed books for children, including MOON GIRL AND DEVIL DINOSAUR: One Girl Can Make a Difference, MAXIE WIZ AND HER DRAGON, HOW TO LOVE A PONY, FLYING HIGH: The Story of Gymnastics Champion Simone Biles and BRAVE BALLERINA: The Story of Janet Collins. Michelle also contributed research and writing to BLACK BALLERINAS: My Journey to Our Legacy by Misty Copeland. Michelle graduated from Syracuse University with a dual degree in journalism and literature. She is represented by literary agent Rosemary Stimola of the Stimola Literary Studio. Michelle grew up in Washington D.C. and now lives near the beach in Delaware with her husband.

Website: www.michellemeadows.com

Reviews

[Calista · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book makes me want to sleep. All the PJs and pillows and snuggly blankets - I was ready for bed.

The kids enjoyed this book. I think if a book uses lots of cute animals it has it made. Kids enjoy seeing cute animals. They were into this.

I learned that bats hibernate - I love bats and did not know this fact. This book is about the animals that hibernate, which some of them I didn't know - frogs. There are 'light sleepers' who are not true hibernators and are more sluggish in the winter like raccoons and skunks and then the 'deep sleepers' who are true hibernators, example being bears and groundhogs. It was an ok book. I don't get the need for the train running around, but it made it a surreal fun time so kids would know this is make believe I suppose.

[Kathryn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Totally fantastical story about various animals getting ready to "hibernate" on a train made of hollow logs. I wasn't particularly captivated and the kids didn't ask for a second reading, though they were both inspired to go off and build some hibernation shelters of their own, so I am glad we read it :-) Personally, I think it's just a little all-over-the-place with the goings on -- it's not quite a nature book but not really a train book, either -- and some of the aspects are just odd, like, why are there bears hibernating on the train but then the conductors and other train workers are also bears? Wouldn't they, too, be sleepy? Author's note at the end at least mentions there are differences between "deep sleep" and "light sleep" animals in winter, but doesn't really go into much detail. I am thinking there are probably better books out there on the subject.

[CanadianReader · Rating 2 out of 5]

A lovely looking book--nice, large size with bold colourful pictures--but the content is poor in terms of communicating any valuable information about hibernation. Possibly okay for pre-school or junior kindergarten children. Not much of a story here.

[Robin Rockman · Rating 2 out of 5]

For someone that loves fantasy and science fiction and has no problem with picture books about anthropomorphic animals, I really had trouble with this one. All I could think was THIS IS NOT HOW IT WORKS! THIS IS NOT HOW ANY OF THIS WORKS! LOL!

[Lorellie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't really get why a book about hybernation needs to also be about a forest train. It's a lot, especially for a younger kid. The art is nice.

[Christine · Rating 5 out of 5]

The snakes have pjs. That was awesome. Hibernation facts are included. Well done.

[Allison Parker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Meadows reimagines the mysterious practice of hibernation as a train ride through the winter forest. Mice, racoons, chipmunks, and frogs line up at the station in their pajamas, reading to board the sleepy-time train. The ride becomes a sort of mobile slumber party, one where everyone's a little uncomfortable: too cold, too hungry or thirsty, too many or too few roommates! The bear conductors shuffle everyone around until all the animals can rest through the wintry ride.

It's hard not to think about the lulling motion of a train while reading this book; how lovely to be able to ride through all of winter on a cozy train car! Rhyming text can easily be sped up and slowed down during a read-aloud, conveying the frenzy of the animals' boarding and their eventual falling to sleep. The illustrations are particularly charming, with close-up images of the cuddly creatures faces that give you a sense of the snuggled-up (or cramped!) nature of hibernation spots. Above all, who could resist seeing forest animals in their pajamas?

[Ellen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Although I liked the illustrations, the idea that animals hibernate together in tree trunks on a train confused my son given that that is not how I previously explained hibernation.

[Andrea · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought this was going to be so much cuter than it was. The cover looked so cute and it sounded like such an original story, a real treasure. But as soon as I opened it, the illustrations threw me.

They're so dark and bold and saturated, this orange and brown landscape that was jarring on the eyes. The animals are done too realistically and lose their cute factor. The animals are all wearing some kind of pajamas, whether that be a shirt, nightgown, full outfit, slippers, which I thought was cute. Until I saw the snakes. They were just creepy. Wearing these long, striped, tube-like pieces of clothing. No. The frog had a shirt and pants on with different-colored flies on it and that was fitting.

The text is rhyming and the lines are okay, nothing great, but they worked.

I thought this was going to be an informative tale that would teach kids about hibernation. Obviously I knew from the cover that they would be on a train, which isn't realistic, but sounded cute. But I wasn't prepared for how "off" and out-there the whole story would be. I wasn't sure what was happening or why and there was 0 explanation for what was going on.

A bunch of different animals in pajamas gathered at the station for winter hibernation. The carts on the train are hollowed-out logs that the animals crawl into to sleep. I got confused as animals complained that there wasn't enough light and mentioned a spilled drink and snacks. Aren't you supposed to be going to sleep? Where did drinks come from? I didn't know why animals were eating and drinking if they were supposed to be asleep, but I guess they were stocking up before their big sleep.

At one point the train is shown going over these curvy, stick tracks and I couldn't believe my eyes. It's up in a tree! Why? How? There is no way those thin little sticks and those small trees can hold a train.

There were some nice moments, when the train went underneath this little waterfall at a stream. There was a rainbow in front of the water and that was the prettiest page. The frog said he was scared to be alone, and several pages later the black bear gave him a hug so that was sweet.

It ended very abruptly as the animals fall asleep. We don't know anything about the journey, where they're going, when they'll get there, when they'll come back, or anything. It raises so many questions and I was left so confused at the end I didn't even know what had happened or was going to happen.

The only informative thing is the animals themselves. That's the only thing you learn. If you pay attention to the illustrations and the lines you can piece together what animals hibernate. Otherwise, it had nothing to offer to me. Raccoons. Mice. Snails. Snakes. Squirrels. Bears. Skunks. Chipmunks. Groundhogs. Frogs. Bats. Turtles. Hedgehogs. Lizards.

The author's note explains hibernation, that some animals are able to survive when food is scarce. But it uses these really big words that would fly right over kids' heads. It was written for adults! She didn't even try to use kid-friendly words. "Hibernation is commonly defined as a sleep-like state. To prepare for hibernation, some animals store food to eat periodically when they awaken." "Some scientists say that there are varying degrees of hibernation."
Did she forget she was writing for children? The audience of a picture book do not know this kind of vocabulary!

"True hibernators" undergo a drop in body temp, heart rate, and breathing. They're also called "deep sleepers" and are hard to wake up. These are animals like bats and groundhogs.
"Light sleepers" are easier to wake up, like raccoons and skunks. They don't truly hibernate, just get tired and often stay in groups to sleep.

I'm disappointed that this wasn't cute, and that the story was so far out of reality that I wondered what the point was. Are they coming back when winter is over??

[Heather · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was just ok.
I didn't like the illustrations, and expected the story to be a lot cuter.
The illustrations were more on the realistic side, and not cute. This would have been a lot better if the animals were cuter. It was frankly a little creepy seeing some of the animals in clothes, like the snakes. They had these striped pajamas on, and it just looked weird seeing a snake in pajamas like that. The frogs looked weird too, with their bulging eyes.
Then there was the page of a bear sleeping beside a squirrel/Chipmunk looking thing and it's mouth is open and you can see it's teeth and it looks dead. Like I said, this definitely wasn't cute. Then the last page has the bears tongue out, and there's all these small animals sleeping beside it,& that just would never happen.
Some of the images looked cozy and captured the feeling of winter.

This book is even more of a stretch because the conductors are bears, which would be hibernating. Seems like the conductors should be animals that don't hibernate.

It had a Polar Express feel to it, with the conductors and the animals getting on a train-like ride. They each climbed into different logs, which were open on the sides and had holes in them, which was odd, considering they're hibernating and that would let a lot of cold air in.
The first scene I really liked was them going over the river and the rainbow that's showing through the waterfall. That was pretty.

The water went through the log with all the holes in it, and I was amazed at how real the water looked. Usually water looks fake in illustrations, but this illustrator managed to capture the translucent color of water while still having white and blue highlights. I was very impressed.
The ride got very far fetched and crazy when it went through the treetops. Although I did like the snow covering the limbs and logs; you can see the individual patterns of the snowflakes which was nice.
I guess the ride came to a stop in the trees. It shows the ride stopped amongst the limbs in a snow bank.

The authors note contained some factual info, how some animals store food to eat as they waken through hibernation, while others store enough fat so they can sleep all through winter. There are different degrees of hibernation; 'true hibernators' have a dramatic drop in body temp, heart rate, and breathing. Also called "deep breathers," they are hard to wake up, like bags and groundhogs. "Light sleepers" are easier to wake up, like raccoons and skunks. They aren't considered true hibernators, but they get sluggish in winter and often curl up in groups to sleep.
I wish she had told us what type of hibernators each animal she wrote about was. Like bears, snakes, frogs, chipmunks, etc.

I think this would be better if it actually showed how each animal hibernates in real life. This is a sort of quirky, far fetched idea of how animals hibernate, so kids will probably like it. But as an adult, it's too much of a stretch and I found myself not engaged because I kept thinking these animals would never hibernate together, and they don't hibernate in logs, they'd be underground, and the logs aren't warm enough, and why are they going in the treetops? I just found the whole thing weird and just wrong, instead of the fanciful story it was probably intended to be.
That's just my take on it. I think the illustrations played a big part in why I wasn't feeling this. I also didn't like the writing.
Glad to finally get it off my to read list though.

[Erin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hibernation Station is a warm and fuzzy book about all of the forest animals prepping for winter. The mamas and papas and babies line up at Hibernation Station, squishing into the train. When all of the animals are packed in, the animals face the uncomfortable nights of rooming with so many forest animals. Once the bears get the train on the roll, though, all of the animals cuddle and fall fast asleep for hibernation.

This is book has an audience ranging from pre-k to 2nd grade. This book would appeal to pre-k and kindergarten students because of the vibrant illustrations and sing-song rhyme of the text. The appeal to 1st and 2nd graders comes from the learning experience about hibernations. In my classroom, I would use this book prior to the first snowfall. We would talk about the hibernation of animals and discuss the reasons why animals hibernate as well as the prep work that goes into hibernation. In my younger classrooms, I would have the children act out hibernation's procedures by letting the children collect a few things that they would need to stay safe and sound ALL winter long!

[Kathy Leonard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Meadows, Michelle. Hibernation Station (2010). The animals are preparing for hibernation, little pajamas and all. Meadows introduces a scientific concept – hibernation in a silly and fun manner. However, it does not run so smoothly. It plays on what young children similarly experience. It is a parallel to bedtime for many children: someone’s hungry, someone spilled their water, or someone is scared. Two bears are in charge – this makes sense because bears are the most known animals that hibernate. They play an authority figure to help get all the animals to their destination – which is in a hibernation state. The snuggly animals are illustrated on the warmer side of the color scheme – to play on that it’s bedtime. There are rhyming words and short sentences on each page. The book is aimed at younger elementary school children. Primary elementary school children will appreciate the Author’s Note on various types of hibernation. This added informational piece would appeal to their inquisitive nature. Ages: 3 – 6 years old.

[Heidi-Marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is really cute! A fun, fall choice that will be perfect for the November PJ storytime. Love some of the animals in the pictures. And the story is funny, too.

11/29/10 I used this book to close. Had the children look closely at the pictures to see the different animals. Asked them to join in some of the sounds and welcomed comments about the pictures. It was a good group to do this with and they did quite well. They loved looking at the animals in PJs as I did.

[Valerie · Rating 2 out of 5]

loved the illustrations,but not so crazy about the text.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic, playful & adorable illustrations!

[Mya · Rating 5 out of 5]

What beautiful illustrations this book has! I loved the story and as a women in the science field, I admired this story even more.

[Aneesa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Extremely charming. The animals are all wearing their pajamas, but their postures are not anthropomorphized: they scurry, crawl, and slither (yes snakes in pajamas).

[Kristen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hibernation Station is a cozy, good-feeling illustrated book that provides a fictional reason for where the animals go when the winter comes. It features each animal getting on the train to hibernate and finding something not quite right with their log car. As the illustrations progress, readers can witness the change of the seasons from leaves littering the ground to snow falling from the sky. The idea of this book is adorable including the wooden train tracks weaving throughout the forrest as the bear conductors engineer the trian of logs down the railway.

This book would be fun to use in late fall or early winter, perhaps after the hype of Halloween and Thanksgiving has died down. In the class you could use it as a creative writing/drawing project by choosing an animal to put on the train and what they would complain about. Although the idea behind the story provides little fact, the very last page gives an accurate description and explanation for what hibernation really is.

[Rummanah (Books in the Spotlight) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hibernation Station is full of color and warmth. The book imagines hibernation as a train of hollow logs that runs through the forest on tracks of sticks and gathers all the animals for their winter sleep. Big and small, pajama-clad adorable critters carry their bedding into the logs and make themselves comfy, while two bears, the train’s engineer and conductor, respond to a variety of complaints and technical difficulties. Eventually, as snow begins to fall, the animals settle down and fall asleep. The text is written in rhymed couplets, move along just as the train would which sets a good pace for younger readers. The illustrations are done well with lots of colors and textures that make you wish you had the animal before you so could hug and snuggle with them. In an appended note, Meadows discusses hibernation, “deep sleepers,” and “light sleepers.” Hibernation Station is a charming and sweet read.

[Kelly Thevenot · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hibernation Station is an informational book about animals that hibernate for the winter. The children's book explains how the animals hibernate and what they have to do to prepare for hibernation. One animals built their nest under a train and that was going to be to noisy for him to sleep there all winter long, so he shared with someone else. Its a story of friendship and real life situations of how animals hibernate. At the end of the book it gives real facts of what animals hibernate, whether they hibernate for long periods or time or short. This would be a great book to incorporate into a lesson of animals getting ready for the winter. Young children would enjoy doing activities over hibernation.

[Mundie Moms & Mundie Kids · Rating 4 out of 5]

Have you ever wondered what the animals do when they prepare to take their long winter naps? In Hibernation Station Michelle Meadows reveals what the forest animals do. They hunker down for a long winter's nap in the hollowed out tree log train cars. Things go wrong with the woodland animals are put into wrong cars, eventually leading them to all snuggle together in a nice warm log together.

With cute illustrations and fun rhyming words, Hibernation Stations is a story that's great for reading at nap time or bed time. This is a story my little girl enjoyed. She loves seeing the animals in their pjs. I think this is a story that's great for toddlers and pre-school ages kids. I like that the author, Michelle Meadows included a helpful note about hibernation in the back of the book.

[Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hibernation Station, a nominee for the 2012-13 South Carolina Picture Book Award, is great read-aloud that tells about a group of animals getting ready to hibernate for the winter. At first, various animals have trouble going to sleep, they're hungry or wet, or they're just plain lonely. Gradually, with the help of the bears in charge, each animal settles in for a long winter's sleep.

The whimsical illustrations, rendered in pencil with digital color, and the fun rhymes really keep this story going. I especially enjoyed seeing the snakes' pajamas! Young readers will be enchanted by this story, and it could lead them to explore how animals survive cold winters.

Pair this book with Under the Snow by Melissa Stewart for a great lesson about animals in winter!

[Tameika King]

Holding blankets and pillows and dressed in their pajamas, a group of forest animals hop on the hibernation train to their destination, sleep. I really liked this book and I believe that children would enjoy it as well. I think that kids would find it hilarious to see the animals wearing pajamas. I also feel that the book would pique the interests of children to learn more about hibernation. The illustrator used realistic pictures of the animals making them easily recognizable. The illustrator also used a lot of earth tone colors, even on the cover of the book, which gave the feeling of being in the forest. I believe the target audience of this book is early elementary. I would use this book during a unit on hibernating animals.

[Maggie Mattmiller · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this book for free in a Goodreads giveaway. Now that that's out of the way...

I know some people think this book would confuse kids about what hibernation really is like for animals, but I think to look at it that way would be to miss the point of this sweet book. This is not a non-fiction book designed to teach children about hibernation. This is a sweet story with beautiful, whimsical illustrations of animals in their pajamas, all preparing to snuggle in for the winter sleep. It may introduce the word hibernation to children, but it's just a wonderful sing-songy book to be shared a bed time, or anytime.

I think children will enjoy this one- both the words and the illustrations.

[Kevin White · Rating 4 out of 5]

I informed my students that I had some books to read for Cocky. I told my students that Cocky wanted to know what books he should read to boys and girls. The students were absolutely thrilled to be apart of this adventure. They were very involved and engaged in the books and in the discussions regardings the things they liked or disliked about each book.

The majority of the students really enjoyed this book- and all of the different characters in it. I felt that this book was very kid friendly and age appropriate (I teach K4). I feel that Cocky could read this book to an audience full of children and they would enjoy it.

[Olivia Rhodes · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved this book. This is all about the animals and how they hibernate in the winter time. It is so cool with all the awesome illustrations. I would use this book for hibernation lesson for a younger group of students. This is such a great way to introduce hibernation to younger kids. It is a fun story that rhymes and talks about all the different types of animals that hibernate in the winter time. It would be perfect for the fall time to talk about what animals do when they hibernate. Hibernation Station is a “bedtime story” so it would be great to have the children come in their pajamas and read this book as a class.

[Jan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Winter is coming, and all the animals are climbing on board the hibernation train in this charming picture book for ages 2-8. The train is an amusing hollow log mounted on wheels, and the tracks are an inventive use of tree branches. Lush illustrations by Kurt Cyrus fill every page with sweet animal families, ready for winter in their warm pajamas. The rhymes are skillful, and the art is lovely. At the back is an Author's Note with information about hibernation for the older child or adult. A great addition to your collection. You really want to own this one!

[Brenda Pritchard]

preschool story time; rhyming, print motivation, narrative skills, phonological awareness, vocabulary building

This book is about a bear who has trouble getting to sleep when he needs to hibernate. Finally every animal gets what he needs and gets to sleep and everyone is able to start hibernating.

This book would be perfect for a themed story time at the beginning of winter when animals start hibernating.

[Aleece · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bear organizes the hibernation station with all of the animals in order to prepare for winter. There are some bumps along the way but everything works out in the end.

I really liked the bright illustrations and all of the problems that go along with trying to get all of the animals together to hibernate. The illustrations really made this book fun and they were large enough for kids to see from a distance and detailed enough to know what was going on.

[Dolly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a fun rhyming book about hibernation with colorful and cute illustrations. It's quite fantastic, and our girls insisted that it wasn't anything close to the truth, but it's still a fun book. I like that there's an author's note at the end that clarifies a little more about the different degrees of hibernation within animals.