WINTERING IN SNOW COUNTRY

Unlike Du Pre's Family Fun at Zero, which cooked up outdoor winter activities, Wintering in Snow Country covers weatherproofing techniques for homes, cars, and clothes. Although Osgood introduces bits of meteorology--the albedo factor (snow's reflective power) or graupel (those snow pellets bouncing off air conditioners), he concentrates on what to do about them. In discussing storm sashes or caulking compounds, he mentions the factors to consider and evaluates different materials, but the choice of one or another for a particular house is referred to the local storekeeper. The merits of heavy, drawn curtains, shelter-belt plantings, and auxiliary heat sources are examined, and a separate chapter offers advice for those increasingly-familiar emergencies like power failures. The much shorter sections on cars and clothing are specific (why zippers or Velcro closings are better than buttons), and a few antidotes for those stranded and suffering from cabin fever are tossed in.