Synopsis
Alice doesn't need a weather forecast to tell if it's going to snow. She can feel it in her toes and elbows and nose. The weather in Cote's adorable story may be chilly, but ...
Publishers Weekly
All of Alice's fellow senior citizens say she's a "silly old woman" because she firmly believes her throbbing bones and joints are harbingers of snow. But she's right. When her toe throbs, it snows ankle-deep; when her nose tingles, the flakes reach everyone's knees. When a blizzard socks in the town, she alone is prepared, but takes no satisfaction in being proved right yet again. She invites everyone over for hot soup and a cozy fire, and her unstinting hospitality prompts apologies from her friends and forges a consensus: "No one ever again thought of her as a silly old woman with nothing to do but worry." Although kids may not naturally gravitate toward a book populated chiefly by cranky elders, they will likely be able to identify with someone who's "tired of being laughed at... tired of being ignored." Cote's (illustrator of The Can-Do Thanksgiving) cartoony illustrations give Alice an eager smile, whimsical wardrobe (a big red hat, bunny slippers, gaily patterned clothing) and a menagerie of pets-including a hearth-loving cow-all of which help make her an inviting reader-surrogate. Ages 5-up. (Oct.) Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.