TOTALLY POLAR

From deep snowdrifts, cold toes, and snowmen, to hot chocolate and roaring fires, Peter Petrosky MacGregor O’Toole loves all things winter. He wonders about the snow: “ ‘Will it get so deep that it’s up to our door?’ asked Peter, who lived on the 23rd floor.” Peter dreams about building a snowman so high he’ll need a forklift to finish it. He’ll drink hot chocolate in bed and ride his sled to Alaska and back. Santa will need a snowplow. Then reality strikes. His mother tells him that snow isn’t likely—it’s the middle of June. But that doesn’t stop polar-loving Peter. He wears mukluks and long johns to the beach and just waits for the day when he is no longer stuck in summer. While the poetry sometimes skips a beat or clumps together, the simple rhyme will appeal to a read-aloud audience. Although Crisp’s (Private Captain: A Story of Gettysburg, p. 181, etc.) ending does not live up to her marvelous beginning, the illustrations balance the inequality. Eisner has drawn delightfully round characters, with dots for eyes and mouths that somehow manage to convey a full range of expression. Full-bleed, double-paged spreads are filled with snowflakes and swirls of blues and greens that reflect the coldness of the season Peter loves. As a celebration of all things polar, this will likely cool things down no matter what the season. (Picture book. 5-8)