Winter

by Gerda Muller

Newly back in print, this series of board books without text lead the young child through the seasons of the year in fun, active pictures. Shoveling snow, ice-skating, feeding the birds and being cozy inside with the Christmas tree.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Nature, Art

12 pages, Board book

First published August 1, 1994

Reviews

[Hilary · Rating 5 out of 5]

A reread of a favourite board book. I can't resist another read of this each time winter comes around! Beautiful illustrations show chidren engaging in good outdoor play, making snowmen, ice skating, feeding birds, playing in woods, along with Christmas activities such as bringing home a Christmas tree. The scenes are exquisite, Gerda Muller is excellent at painting wildlife and nature, we really appreciate her accuracy. So good to see children taking part in seasonal activities and having fun, outdoor exercise, despite the cold weather. We look longingly at the ice skating! No words but lots to talk about. As with each book in this series it ends with a glimpse into the next season. Bulbs poke up through the winter snow and children look hopefully out of the window and anticipate spring.

Reread today sorting through our winter shelf. This really is lovely, highly recommended to anyone buying for a baby this Christmas.

[Manybooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

So yes, Dutch picture-book artist Gerda Muller’s utterly charming and completely wordless tale is devoted (as the title obviously already suggests) to Winter (and there are in fact three other similar board books, representing Spring, Summer and Fall respectively).

Now Muller’s artwork for Winter, it expressively (and joyfully) follows both children and also a few adults around on typical and generally snow-imbued winter scenes and actually not ever presenting us with scenarios of depressing pouring rain or ice storms. And yes, Gerda Muller’s illustrative focus being mostly on snow is personally very much appreciated, albeit I do know and also realise that Muller only depicting white and snowy scenes in Winter and rather ignoring visual scenes of rain and ice events is of course a bit unrealistic, but well, I do love love love this (both urban and rural areas, mostly out of doors, but with Winter concluding inside with a traditional candle lit Christmas tree scene and another picture of a grandfather reading aloud to two children), with various traditional winter activities, such as making a snowman, skating, and snowball fights being presented (and also some the work that must be done in winter, like shovelling snow, keeping bird feeders filled with seeds and pulling a Christmas Tree home on a sled).

And while I usually do much prefer textual over wordless picture books, well and in my humble opinion, Gerda Muller’s illustrations for Winter really do not at all require any kind of verbal , written text, showing with their spectacularly delightful renderings of winter and outside fun in the snow a true and lovingly sweet celebration of winter as a season (and the only reason why my rating for Winter is four and not yet five stars is that I really do kind of wish that for the pictures of children enjoying outside winter activities, Gerda Muller would be showing just a wee bit more ethnic diversity).

[Abigail · Rating 3 out of 5]

Two red-headed siblings enjoy the beauties and pleasures of winter in this delightful wordless board-book from Gerda Muller, a prolific Dutch picture-book creator. Snowball fights, making a snowman, ice-skating, decorating a Christmas tree - these are just some of the delights of the season...

One of a collection of four seasonal board books from Muller, Winter was published separately, in this wordless format, by Edinburgh-based Floris Books, and was also combined with its three companions ( Spring , Summer , Autumn ) and published by New York-based Dutton Children's Books, as Circle of Seasons . The latter, which I have not read, has text added by Lucia Monfried. Leaving that history of publication aside, this is just a charming little board book celebration of winter. I think it is best appreciated in conjunction with its companions, which I picked up at the same time. Muller's artwork is beautiful - a real pleasure to peruse! I will definitely be looking for more of her work.

[Deirdre K · Rating 5 out of 5]

Actually we have the collection of all four seasons in one volume, so the book stays in our basket through the year. But it is one of the best. Beautiful illustrations you can get lost in. Definitely a top favorite.

[Nicole · Rating 5 out of 5]

These books are simply little gems. The wordless illustrations perfectly capture the changes and activities of each season.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautifully illustrated seasonal board book. It contains pictures only, and they absolutely delight my toddler.

[Jenna Mills · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful book. I just wish our seasons better reflected the pictures!

[Katka]

Úžasné tri vety a pekné obrázky.

[Kathryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think had I read this before Muller’s Whose Footprints Are These? I would have been more impressed. The illustrations are full of lovely detail and the joys of sharing winter activities (both work and play) with loved ones. I appreciate that it shows both children, adults and elderly sharing experiences. If I had a tot to share this with perhaps I would have felt more drawn to it. However, for a winter-themed wordless picture book, I preferred the novelty and mystery with the Whose Footprints Are These? book and I was impressed that one even held my 9-year-old’s attention which is hard to do with wordless picture books these days.