Ode to Winter

I love this time of year. Call me crazy…but then again, I suppose I’d have to love it to love living in Minnesota as much as I do. I love watching the snow fall. Sitting under blankets by a fire. The luxury of long, dark evenings just perfect for reading with some hot tea or cocoa.

The Lightning Bolt book Are You Ready for Winter? (cover pictured, left) very nicely captures what makes wintertime so enjoyable to me. Below are a few verbal “images” from the book that do an especially nice job of illustrating the season’s specialness. When read separately from the rest of the text, they sound almost poetic—a bit like mini “odes to winter,” if you will. Enjoy them, and Happy Winter, one and all! 

Whoosh! Listen to the sounds of children sledding down the snowy hill.

People bundle up in bulky coats. Hats and mittens are a common sight.

The snowflakes blow and drift. A snowstorm has begun. Wooooo! Wind gusts and howls.

Branches are glazed with snow and ice. Bare branches look like skeletons reaching toward the sky.

Long icicles form on the edges of roofs. They sparkle in the sunlight.