On a Wintry Morning
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REVIEW BY SALLY LLOYD JONES
Winter won't be the same. This book has ruined it. No more complaining about the cold and not being a winter person. This book celebrates and dances with joy at being alive and picks you up and brings you along with it. The story is simple. A father and baby bundle up on a wintry morning and venture outside to discover all the wonderful snowy things there are to do: sledding, making snow angels, going for a sleigh ride, following bunny tracks in the snow. On a Wintry Morning is a picture book that resembles a beautiful waltz. Dori Chaconas' delightful, rhyming, lilting text is music, a mesmerizing song. The title phrase "On a wintry morning," is repeated on every page, ending each four-line stanza. Stephen T. Johnson's gentle pastels capture the clear, crisp light of winter. The book is literally bathed in it, giving each page a golden glow. The harsh light of winter and the bone-chilling cold are all forgotten in the counterpoint of the heart-warming tenderness at the center of the story: the relationship between a daddy and his baby. It is a book wrapped in love. Love of life. Love of nature. Love of the season. But most of all, love between father and baby. On a Wintry Morning is for young children, of course. But, as with all great children's books, it's for adults as well. It's a book for winter, but it's also for always. It is about us and about life. As the story draws to a close, the tenderness is almost painful, and strangely moving. It captures the experience of spending time with small children -- the way they have of melting any cold front and piercing you with their wonder and freshness and newness to the world. The way they have of changing you so that you see it all as if for the first time. On a Wintry Morning is a wonderful, uplifting book. Join in the dance. It'll warm you up. And winter won't ever be the same. Sally Lloyd Jones is a children's book writer who celebrates all the seasons in New York City.
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