Is That You, Winter?

by Stephen Gammell

Book Overview

It's winter. The ground is blanketed in snow. Who's behind it all? Old Man Winter wakes up in a bad mood, as usual. Soon snow, ice, and freezing rain are everywhere. He has taken care of winter once... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0152014152
• ISBN13: 9780152014155
• Release Date: October 1997
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
• Length: 32 Pages
• Weight: 1.10 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 11.9" x 9.8"
• Age Range: 3 years and under

Customer Reviews

Old Man winter makes it snow!

Every year I do a unit in art class on Illustrators. Stephen Gammell is one of my favorites to start with because his pictures capture the imagination and creativity of a child. The splashes of color and white, done in watercolr, pastel, colored pencil make the reader feel like he or she caught in the winter storm! This story makes you belive that there really is an Old Man Winter. O.M. Winter wakes up in "A bad mood." He misplaces his hat, doesn't have time for breakfast and questions, "Why do I always have to got to work?" Ultimatly he is rescued after falling into the snowy world by a little girl that believes he makes it snow for her. She makes Winter feel special again. How could Winter possibly stay grumpy any longer! The pictures are expressivem hilarious, and colorful. One cannot help but smile after reading this story.

May I introduce you to Old Man Winter?

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!

Wintry Reviews

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.

The swirling, surprising treatment of paint to page exactly

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!

I found the story and artwork too captivating for words!

The lettering bespoke this characters emotions wonderfully and the art work coincided to the story , like a match made in heaven!! Need I say more... I am creating my own books for children. Mr. Gammell is one of my idols. I enjoyed this book immensely.