A Cozy Winter Day - Perfect Picture Book Friday #PPBF

Well, we haven't officially gotten to 'winter' yet and the PNW has already had its first big storm and major power disruption. Sorry all for the delay in getting this up, but I haven't had power since Tuesday and this is the first opportunity I've had to access the internet and post the PPBF review of this gorgeous, snuggly-time inducing picture book. It is definitely one to treasure and read all winter long.

A Cozy Winter Day

Author/illustrator: Eliza Wheeler

Publisher: Nancy Paulsen Books/ Penguin Random House (2024)

Ages: 2 - 5

Fiction

Themes:

Winter, family, friends, winter activities, neighbors, and imagination.

Synopsis:

New York Times bestselling author-illustrator Eliza Wheeler welcomes readers to Acorn Village, where a community of adorable forest animals celebrates all the wonder that winter offers.

The busy animals of Acorn Village love to spend winter days doing all sorts of cozy activities together, whether they’re indoors reading, baking, and doing art projects or outside playing in the snow. And at the end of the day, the coziest activities await—sharing songs, hot drinks, and stories in front of a crackling fireplace, and then snuggling into bed and drifting off into dreamy sleep. Eliza Wheeler’s charming illustrations give her story the feel of a beloved classic and are full of rich, cozy details sure to ignite imaginations and make readers want to visit Acorn Village again and again.

Opening Lines:

Winter Cozy sounds like the jingling

of Ms. Polly's cart making deliveries

through Acorn Village.

At the Hopps' home, Dad gets

veggies to make winter stew.

What I LOVED about this book: After a week of power outages following a cyclone, opening this book to the gorgeous and serene winter wonderland on the front end pages was an absolute delight. It was so fun to linger on all the little details which Eliza Wheeler created.

Text &. Image © Eliza Wheeler, 2024.

When the readers are done admiring the village, they get to meet an adorable cast of characters ~ The Acorn Villagers ~ who share the dedication page. I especially loved their cozy winter outfits and great names - "The Hopps and The McPaddys!" I adore the bunny family's varying ages, interests, abilities (wheelchair), and two fathers. I was really excited to spend time in this neighborhood with these characters.

Text &. Image © Eliza Wheeler, 2024.

As the story opens, we are treated to even more wonderful little details. Like the fun snowmobile wheels (and ski runners) on Ms. Polly's delivery cat. How cool is it that she's a sweater bedecked porcupine! Then there are the walkway lights and heart carvings on the bunny family's inviting tree house and the pinecone weights hanging from Hilda Hollow's tree chalet. Combining lots of fun architectural touches with familiar items kids might see on a walk - such as a mushroom, a snag, or a "bird's nest." This is such a great way to get kids to look about them, wonder, and imagine.

Text &. Image © Eliza Wheeler, 2024.

Following Dad Hopp into the house, we are treated to a marvelous morning scene of the little bunnies waking to the smell of "breakfast on the stove," calling for them to dress "for a Cozy Winter Day." In this delightful double spread, Eliza Wheeler created an amazingly captivating multi-story bunny tree house. I love the cool curving staircase, super fun bunk beds - with special touches relaying the personalities of each little bunny - and a wheelchair alcove and ramp. It's the kind of illustration that begs little readers to pour over it and discover new treasures with each read. And maybe find some similarities to their own lives.

Text &. Image © Eliza Wheeler, 2024.

It's told in an interesting combination narrative. Sometimes, it's told from the bunny kid's point of view ("the delicious smell comes wafting to our noses") and sometimes from the whole village's point of view as a collective 'we,' ("we make our way out of the cold and peel off our wet things, and help set the table"). With three fun additional, almost refrain, amorphous addresses to the Hopps family - "Get up! says the smell," Come out! calls the sun," and "Climb in! call our beds."

Lyrical text, plays with the readers expectations. Although the sentence, "winter needs bundles, piles, and stacks," occurs over Pa McPaddy & his kits carrying three types of wood and kindling back to their hut, it also refers to "bundles of yarn" and "stacks of snacks" in the Heddle house. And then playing with the notion of a 'night owl' we see the nocturnal owl, Hilda Hollow, still asleep in bed. As a 'reclusive' author, Hilda is never seen joining in with the neighbor's activities. Though she does swoop by hoping for inspiration for a story.

I adore how Eliza Wheeler's lyrical and lightly rhymed exploration of the joys of a "Cozy Winter Day," blends so well with her wonderfully detailed and colorful illustrations to provide great perspectives and cut-away windows into the lives and homes of the Acorn Villagers. It's such a fun way to define and explore various types of nooks and the many winter projects undertaken by the characters. But the best part of such a winter day is when the sky clears and the entire village bundles up and heads outside. I love how the text and illustrations juxtapose a gliding owl and a pair of gliding chipmunks (skating on ice).

The ending is the perfect way to conclude a winter's day with family, friends, and neighbors. And it includes the perfect invitation to start back at the beginning again. This is such a sweet and visually delightful book. It is the perfect winter picture book, full of family, friends, and tons of fun.

Resources:

• 

  Here are some fun winter crafts to explore on your next Cozy Winter Day - 30 winter crafts or 25 winter crafts

• make some fake snow and maybe some toilet paper characters and have your own snowball fight.

  
  

• What do you like to do on a wintery day? Write a description, list, story, or draw a picture of your best wintery day.

• try all the amazing activites in the A Cozy Winter Day Activity Booklet.

  
  

• check Eliza Wheeler's post on the book's creation from "idea seed" to publication.

If you missed my interview with Eliza Wheeler on Monday, find it (here).

This post is part of a series of blog posts by authors and KidLit bloggers called Perfect Picture Book Fridays. For more picture book suggestions and resources see Susanna Leonard Hill's Perfect Picture Books.