A couple weeks ago, I unwrapped this book at Christmas, read it the other day, and–wow. Poetical text and adorable illustrations unite to make this book a delight. In addition, the themes of joy, contentment, friendship, and stillness bubble just under the surface of this story, creating wonderful opportunities to reflect by oneself and/or discuss with children.
Fox senses the coming of winter, and unsure of what to do with this change of season, asks his friends for advice. Each animal asserts a different path of action: the caterpillar urges fox to wait until he is transformed; the turtle advises him to bury himself in the mud; the bat suggests sleeping in a cave; the squirrels propose hoarding nuts; the geese discuss escaping to a warmer clime; the hare blends and disappears into the landscape; and the bear quiets himself and curls into a tree.
But the red fox does not like waiting, mud, or nuts. He doesn’t want to fly away like the geese or change the color of his winter coat like the hare. The fox likes who–and where–he is. So he pauses in the stillness of the slow-falling snow, and out of the silence he hears a friend–one like him, with a red coat and “white-tipped tail.” Together, they watch the snowflakes dance through the air and realize that this is what they are made to do–dance.
Content: 4.5/5
I love how Winter Dance suggests a metaphor for life. While waiting, disappearing, hoarding, and hibernating are not bad in and of themselves, the message of this book seems to be embrace the moment. Embrace who you are, where you are–and dance. Instead of wishing (or sleeping) a season away, we–like fox–have the opportunity to pause and listen, to remain fully alive to what is going on around us, to enjoy the “now” with like-minded friends, to join the dance of the universe. The themes of joy, contentment, friendship, and stillness bubble just under the surface of this story, creating wonderful opportunities to reflect and discuss with children.
Instead of wishing (or sleeping) a season away, we–like fox–have the opportunity to pause and listen, to remain fully alive to what is going on around us…
Style: 5/5
The text reads like a poem. Some of my favorite lines include the following: “Curl beneath the roots / of a toppled balsam tree” and “The sun / slides/ down / the blue bowl / of the sky.”
Design: 4.5/5
Rich earth hues–browns, reds, and greens–contrast with winter whites and greys. Fox’s orange coat pops on each page, and the illustrator has sprinkled other warm, rich, earth tones–blue, red, orange–throughout. In addition, the animals on each page are adorable, especially fox!
Rating: 14/15
Feel free to follow this link to purchase Winter Dance on Amazon!
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