Winter Dance

PreS-Gr 2— Winter approaches with the arrival of a solitary snowflake, while a young red fox questions what to do when the air grows colder and the ground slowly covers with snow. A softly painted palette that gently mimics a snowy landscape presents the change in seasons and the still quiet of nature through varied perspectives as, one by one, the fox asks the creatures of the forest, "What should I do?" Each answers with the instinct or innate behavior of their species—helpful advice comes from a caterpillar, turtle, bat, squirrel, goose, and snowshoe hare. Lastly, a "great black bear," advises "Curl beneath the roots of a toppled balsam tree, and tuck all your growls away." No advice seems quite right until another fox invites him to watch as "a million snowflakes fill the air" and join in a celebratory dance. Inspired by the author's discovery of the foxes' dance in the woods of the North, the descriptive, lyrical text and its placement imitate the dance's movement.