Dear Rebecca, Winter Is Here

From a letter written by her grandmother, Rebecca learns that winter began on June 21, while she was cooling off under the hose. The northern half of the Earth began to grow cold, and the days grew shorter. The birds began to fly to the sunny underside of the Earth, and the groundhogs and bears went to sleep. But on December 22, summer will begin. Before long, Rebecca will take off her shoes and jump over bluebells.

1993 "Pick of the Lists" (ABA)

The Mailbox - Deborah Zink Roffino

In this lovely picture book, naturalist and author Jean Craighead George explains the peaceful beauty of the winter solstice. Through a grandmother's letter to her granddaughter, George illustrates the myriad transformations of the earth and the inhabitants who prepare for the long, frozen season to come.

Jean Craighead George is the author of over eighty books for children and young adults. Her novel Julie of the Wolves won the Newbery Medal in 1973, and her novel My Side of the Mountain was a Newbery Honor Book in 1960. She has continued to write acclaimed picture books and novels that celebrate the natural world. She lives in Chappaqua, New York, and has had over 173 pets in the time she has lived there, among them geese and ducks.