Is That You, Winter? [Paperback]

Stephen Gammell (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 2000 | Age Level: 3 and up | Grade Level: P and up

It’s winter. The wind blows and the ground is blanketed in snow. Who’s behind it all? Old Man Winter wakes up in a bad mood, as usual. He has taken care of winter once more, but who is taking care of him?

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

This book won the Minnesota Book Award, and, as the title may suggest, it's a Minnesota kind of book. Old Man Winter is an ornery ol' cuss in a rawhide hat, a kind of anti-Santa who spreads the fluffy white stuff across the land from the back of a magical flying truck. Stephen Gammell has won the Caldecott Medal and twice has been on the Caldecott honor list. His pastel-and-watercolor illustrations are richly colored, with a spiky quality that fits his grumbling hero perfectly. Purple and blue predominate--and white, of course--with the occasional smear of pale green. The text is extremely brief--rarely more than four or five words per double-page spread--and most of it is done by hand in a scratchy, irregular style that, like the illustrations themselves, are reminiscent of Ralph Steadman's deliberate messiness. Some will be amused, others perplexed by the surprise ending--Old Man Winter is no more (or less) than a young girl's doll! Either way, this exuberant romp is a vivacious, visually glorious tribute to winter. Click to see a sample spread. Illustration is from Is That You Winter?, copyright ©1997 by Stephen Gammell, reproduced by permission of Harcourt Brace & Company. (Ages 3 to 6) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From School Library Journal

Kindergarten-Grade 3. It's time for Old Man Winter to go to work again but he wakes up late, misses breakfast, and climbs into his old truck feeling miserable and cranky. He gets busy flinging ice and snow throughout the atmosphere but he still wonders whether anyone cares about or appreciates his efforts. Having dumped a good-sized blizzard on the earth, he heads home for lunch but stumbles and tumbles to the ground, landing at the feet of a little girl. She picks up his doll-sized figure, gives him a kiss to thank him for the lovely snow, and runs off to play with her friends, leaving Old Man Winter decidedly sunnier in mood. Gammell's characteristic style is well suited to the wintry, wild setting. He splashes blues and splatters white across the pages with the energy of a full-blown snowstorm. The reds, yellows, and greens of Old Man Winter's cowboy outfit and the children's snowsuits heat up the action without detracting from the delicious chill of the snowy scenes. The story, reminiscent of Raymond Briggs's Father Christmas (Random, 1997), is less successful than the paintings. The fact that Old Man Winter appears to be a doll seems somewhat anticlimactic, but the premise of the book is fun and the illustrations leave wide room for interpretation on the part of young audiences.?Barbara Kiefer, Teachers College, Columbia University, NY
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 3 and up
  
• Paperback: 32 pages
• Publisher: Sandpiper (October 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0152024344
• ISBN-13: 978-0152024345
• Product Dimensions: 11.5 x 9.5 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,901,729 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The swirling, surprising treatment of paint to page exactly, November 6, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Is That You, Winter? (Hardcover)

I love the handling of paint and color in this book. It goes so well with the character of Old Man Winter. The story as well as the illustrations are just the right surprising mix of cold and cranky, twisting and turning, swirling the reader right to the heart--just like Winter to do that!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars May I introduce you to Old Man Winter?, November 8, 2000

By 

Abby (Ames, IA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Is That You, Winter? (Paperback)

Who ever thought there really WAS an old man, Winter? This story certainly makes one a believer after meeting Winter, an old man who also happens to be very grumpy. His morning goes from bad to worse as he wakes up in a bad mood, misplaces his hat, misses breakfast, and struggles with the eternal question, "Why do I always have to go to work?". His day is "saved", however, when he crashes to the ground into the world of a little girl who thinks of him as very improtant. She even defends him from her teasing playmates and makes Winter feel special again. With friends like this one, one can hardly stay grumpy for long- not even Winter! The pictures are absolutely hilarious. From the cowboy-like Winter, sporting a handlebar mustache and a ten-gallon hat, to his snow-creating dump truck, one cannto help but smile. The splashes of color and white, done in pastels, pencils, and watercolors, make the reader feel like he or she has run right into Old Man Winter- Brrrr!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wintry Reviews, July 30, 2000

By 

Rob Jarrett Keisler - See all my reviews

This review is from: Is That You, Winter? (Hardcover)

The story, Is that you, Winter?, is about a petulant, old man who brings snow to the land from the back of his truck. He questions and grumbles about why he has to go to work, but foremost, he wonders for whom he makes it snow. The tale in itself, though brief and concise, has a heart-warming ending. The art work in the book paints vivid images of the wintry landscape. The illustrations, done in colored pencils and watercolors, are a thrown-together mixture of light and dark shades. The swirling colors provide the rough, scratchy text with more meaning than the words could possibly convey on their own. The child may only see pretty pictures and hear an interesting story, but deeper meanings could be contrived from the story itself. The tale shows that no matter how disdainfully a person views their work, they may generate the snow that warms someone's heart. The book is excellent, and I recommend it to anyone who wishes to read an intriguing story.