Chaucer's First Winter

by Stephen Krensky, Henry Cole (Illustrator)

Chaucer knows that bears are supposed to sleep through the winter. But it's much more fun to stay up and play!

Genres: Picture Books, Animals, Childrens, Storytime, Fiction, Christmas

32 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2008

Reviews

[Gail Cooke · Rating 4 out of 5]

With Fall nipping the air we know that Ol' Man Winter's on his way, so it's a perfect time to meet Chaucer, a cuddly little brown bear who is perplexed when his best friends, Nugget and Kit, say, "We're going to miss you a lot." Chaucer wanted to know where he'd be when they were missing him, and was told that he'd be sleeping because that's what bears did.

His parents verified that fact for him - bears slept in the winter. However, Chaucer was not convinced, so when his parents settled down to snooze he went outside. Snow fascinated him, especially the flakes that landed on his nose and tongue. "It's magic," he said.

His friends were very surprised to see him, and immediately decided that they had to teach him about snow. Well, save for slipping on the ice Chaucer loved everything about winter and so will young readers as they see it through this little bear's eyes.

Krensky, the author of over 100 children's book, has penned an easy reading story that rolls joyfully along. Artist Henry Cole uses acrylic paint, colored pencil, and ink to create full page illustrations that are both tender and comical.

- Gail Cooke

[Heidi-Marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

The storyline overall was good, though there were a couple of parts that were just OK to me. But the pictures? Purely adorable. More in the tiny things than I would have expected, but nice that they were there and helped tell parts of the story that is not in the text. In truth, they were my favorite parts, too!

[Luisa Knight · Rating 3 out of 5]

A cute little bear decides that snow sounds a lot more fun than hibernating. Follow along on Chaucer's little adventure.

Ages: 3 - 6

Cleanliness: nothing to note.

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[Jaimee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Chaucer is a curious little bear. He doesn't want to sleep during winter! He wants to explore and play in the snow and that is exactly what he does. He stays awake all winter playing and having fun. Then the snow melts and Chaucer is very sad. When he tries to tell his parents about winter he falls asleep just in time for spring.

[Sandybear76]

This little bear is told by his parents that bears hibernate in the winter but Chaucer doesn't want to miss any wintertime fun. He stays awake for the winter and explores winter with his friend.s Loved it!!

[Rose Rosetree · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great perspective this book offers on being a kid, a cub, a youngling!

How weird that his Chaucer's parents are snoring, yet he still wants to play?

Haha, not weird at all. It's the story of my childhood and perhaps yours too, Goodreaders.

Remember those big lumpish people, your parents? Remember how they didn't wake up at 5:00 a.m., ready to play, like you?

No wonder I found "Chaucer's First Winter" so delightful!

Definitely a FIVE STAR book to this grateful Goodreads reviewer.

[Donna Mork · Rating 4 out of 5]

Chaucer the bear finds out about winter. His friends say he'll sleep, his parents agree. But not Chaucer. He wants to play and learn about snow and ice. When he goes to tell his parents about his adventures....he falls asleep.

[Sylvie Gold · Rating 4 out of 5]

Goes well with the nonfiction book, "Animals in Winter" by Henrietta Bancroft and "Froggy Gets Dressed" by Jonathan London for a winter-themed storytime about what real and fictional animals do in winter.

[Natalie & Autumn]

En Espanol

[Viviane Elbee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute book about Chaucer the bear who enjoys his first winter instead of hibernating.

[Jack Holmgren · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m a sucker for adorable bear cub illustrated stories.

[Megan Baker · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story is a picture book intended for nursery or primary readers. It is about a young bear named Chaucer who does not want to hibernate so he can stay awake for his first winter. He does fun things in the snow and is sad to see winter go. Chaucer wanted to tell his parents all about his fun but he was so tired. By the time spring came he was fast asleep.
I rated this book three stars because it was a cute story but it did not really have a lesson to be learned. The illustrations were big and colorful. I enjoyed the winter theme of the story because winter is my favorite season. This would be a good book to read to children around the holiday season. Not all children come from religious homes and are allowed to read books that deal with religious holidays, so this would be an appropriate book to read to an entire class. Chaucer's First Winter includes many activities to do in the snow and children will be able to relate to this. This books also rhymes on some pages and some children enjoy books that rhyme. This may be a good book to read to children when they are learning rhyming in school.

[Dolly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book came as a "prize" in a box of Cheerios. The cover illustration is so adorable, we just knew that we'd like this story. It was a very similar to the story Little Brown Bear Won't Take a Nap!, but with watchful parents and a much more local adventure. We loved the illustrations and took turns reading the narrative; overall it was a fun bedtime story.

[carissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

A curious young bear, who does not want to miss the delights of winter, skips his first hibernation to play in the snow, glide on the ice, and admire the glittering rows of icicles and snow-covered pine trees.

[Shira Burns · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is an excellent way to explain to young children about hibernation within bears. However, in this story Chauncer is a bear cub who doesn't want to hibernate for the winter. Instead he wants to play around with his friends.

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love that thos book has English and Spanish translation. Excellent for ESL classrooms. Children have to make decisions everyday between right and wrong, and Chaucer will help them understand what it means to follow directions.

[Alyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Got it from a box of Cheerios. My son loved it. It was all he wanted to read each night until he lost the book.

This book is about a bear having fun during the winter with his friends instead of hibernating.

It is easy to read and the drawings are cute.

[Valerie · Rating 3 out of 5]

winter - friends - hibernations - bears

[Samantha Hastings · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great illustrations and a sweet little story.

[Shaikha]

the bear is so happy with playing in the snow

[Don Gubler · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay, but if you want the realy good story read Bear Snores On.

[Carolyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Chaucer's supposed to hibernate, but he wants to play with is friends instead, and ends up spending the whole winter romping in the snow and experiencing the joys of winter.

[Barnak · Rating 2 out of 5]

Neel and Deep didn't like the book because a bear could not not hibernate in winter.

[Krista · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sweet story with Henry Cole's adorable illustrations!

[Michelle Cropper · Rating 5 out of 5]

cute book

[Tina B · Rating 3 out of 5]

hibernation, winter activities

[Angeles Otaño]

Preschool Storytime March 27, 2017