Reviews

Once Upon a Winter Day by Liza Woodruff

rryep's review

*Adventure
+Animal Glossary with Illustrations
+Northern Woodlands Education & Montana Tech reviewed the text

bluenicorn's review

4.0

This was a very cute winter/snowy/animals book. Great for kids who like learning animal names.

abigailbat's review

All Milo wants is a story, but his mom is working and too busy to read to him right this second, so Milo sets off into his snowy yard. Soon he sees mouse tracks in the snow and begins to imagine what that mouse was doing. As he follows the tracks, he sees more tracks and clues and starts to make up his own stories about the animals in the snowy woods. This is a gentle, quiet winter story that would be a great precursor to a winter hike and challenging kids to make up stories about the things you see.

fernandie's review

3.0

Note: I accessed a digital review copy of this book through Edelweiss.

backonthealex's review

4.0

It' s a snowy day and Milo wants a story, but mom is busy working. Instead, she suggests he go out and play in the snow. Grudgingly, Milo bundles up and leave the house. And the first thing he notices in the snow are little footprints around the bird feeder. A mouse was here, he thinks to himself. Milo decides to follow the tracks which lead to a winterberry bush with all it's berries gone and only a feather left behind. What happened, he wonders. Continuing to follow the mouse tracks into the woods, Milo discovers all kinds the other things to wonder about - branches from the hemlock tree that have fallen to the ground, dirt scattered in the snow, smooth ruts in the snow leading down to the creek, something that brushed the snow causing the mouse tracks to stop. As he continues following where the mouse tracks pick up again, Milo hears his mom calling him home for dinner. Darn, time to go home already. When mom offers to read him a story after dinner, Milo shakes his head no, as he pulls lays out all the souvenirs of his day in the snow: "This time," he said. "I have stories for you." This is such a lovely story about a young boy's explorations and observations of the natural world around him by simply following mouse tracks. Each page presents its own mystery about what happened at each of Milo's stops. Turn the page and discover the answer to the mystery before going on to the next one. Woodruff's mixed media illustrations done in a wintery palette offer a detailed colorful picture surrounding Milo's finds against simple mostly white background. Woodruff ends Milo's tale with labeled spot illustrations of all the creatures who are part of the story he will tell his mother. I've read this story over and over to my young readers and they never tire of it, though at this point they can readily name the creature associated with each of Milo's stops.

Copy provided by Edelweiss+

gileslibrarian6's review

5.0

Charming story about a boy whose busy mother sends him out in the snow where he finds stories in the wildlife all around him sparking curiosity wherever he goes.

shayemiller's review

4.0

While the cover art to this book didn’t initially grab me, I thought the story was quite inventive. A young boy named Milo asks his mom to read him a story. However, she’s busy with another project — very realistic and she’s not unkind, so let's not be judgy here.

beaniebee's review

adventurous lighthearted fast-paced

• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

3.25

Probably unrelatable to most readers based in the States - how many can imagine letting their child go play outside in the woods, alone? Okay, I definitely do that, but I can hear the angry pinterest-mom-mob already. 
The story is very simple. Mom is too busy working, sends kid outside to play, he explores until dinner time.