Where’s Winter?

By Erin Rounds, Billyfish Books, 34 pages, $7.99 (Kindle edition), $9.99 (paperback) or $15.99 (hardbound)

Book review by N.R. Mallery

Where’s Winter? is a little book that packs a big message. Every parent, grandparent, and child should know about Erin Rounds’ inspiring new book.

Where’s Winter? is a children’s book about a bear who goes into hibernation for the winter, but when he wakes up, he finds that winter never happened. He wakes into a time unlike any spring he has ever seen. There are no flowers, no bees, and no berries for him to eat. The reason for this is that the world has changed into something unlike it has ever been before. The climate has changed.

After engaging the minds of children and helping them understand the nature of climate change, Where’s Winter? gives them guidance on a variety of steps they can take to counter the problem. Armed with these ideas, they can understand that there are things they can do, and that they have the power to make a difference.

Erin Rounds, the author of Where’s Winter?, also illustrated it. The pictures, which are intended for children, are of high quality, using a photo-montage for background images overlaid with artwork. The well-constructed story is supported by clear language which makes the global warming crisis understandable for its intended audience, children aged six through ten.

Children seem to be very taken by Where’s Winter? becoming eager to put its lessons to use. We have seen reports of children becoming environmentally active, partly because of the book.

Where’s Winter? is not Erin Rounds’ first book. Before it, she published Charlotte’s Bones, which she wrote but did not illustrate. It is about a fossil of a Beluga whale that lived 11,000 years ago in an inland sea that is now part of Vermont. Many years ago, her bones were found in a farmer’s field, and they are now the official state fossil. Like Where’s Winter?, Charlotte’s Bones is a book with an environmental message.

Erin Rounds is a dedicated fourth grade teacher who is passionate about the environment. Her books are successful because she uses her interactions with children to impact her writing in a way children can relate to. Those who wish to meet her might take note of the Waterbury LEAP (Local Energy Action Partnership) Energy Fair, which will take place in Duxbury, Vermont, on April 6, at the Crossett Brook Middle School, from 9:00 am until 3:00 pm. She will be there, sharing a table with Green Energy Times (see ad on page 3).

Tammie Stevens and Jason Lewis cofounded BillyFish Books to champion stories that educate, uplift and inspire. Their books are sold worldwide.

Where’s Winter? is strongly recommended and makes a wonderful gift for a child.