Children's Books discussion

This is the Master List and General Discussion for picture books about Hibernation. Please feel welcome to add titles and reviews to the list.

We've loved Bear Snores On (though it is more fanciful than factual. But Karma Wilson is so great!)

Bear Has a Story to Tell is also a lovely one on the fiction side.

Over and Under the Snow is another goodie, but has been discussed before.

A few others I have not yet read:

Time to Sleep

Winter Dance

Hibernation Station

Winter Sleep: A Hibernation Story

Secret of the First One Up

When Winter Comes

Snack, Snooze, Skedaddle

Sleep, Big Bear, Sleep!

A Loud Winter's Nap

Waiting for Winter

Winter Lullaby

A Warm Winter Tail

Hibernation

What is Hibernation?

The Snowy Nap

Old Bear

Dormouse Dreams

Animals Hibernating: How Animals Survive Extreme Conditions

Hidden Hibernators

Baby Bear's Not Hibernating

Every Autumn Comes the Bear

Sleep Tight Little Bear

Sleepy Bear

Well, I've no titles to add atm, but since there's a true hibernation that is not what bears do, and since there's also a thing called "estivation," I definitely hope we choose at least one non-fiction title and do our best to choose it carefully. I'll see if I can find any at our local library.

Reptiles and amphibians include the likes of North American desert tortoises, salamanders, and crocodiles. These animals usually estivate underground where the temperatures are cooler. In the case of California red-legged frog, estivation occurs when the food and water levels are down, not necessarily during summer.

Cheryl wrote: "Well, I've no titles to add atm, but since there's a true hibernation that is not what bears do, and since there's also a thing called "estivation," I definitely hope we choose at least one non-fic..."

Cheryl, thanks so much for the education about "estivation". I would love to choose a title highlighting these nuances as you propose. If you come across anything, let us know! I was yawning at the over-abundance of bear-themed "hibernation" titles and, you're right, we need to have some scientific accuracy here (this is especially important to me since I'll be sharing with my children).

Here's what I found in the library catalog

Non-fiction
Bears Hibernate (2015)
Why Do Bears Sleep All Winter?: A Book about Hibernation (2006)
Animals That Hibernate (2001)
Hibernation (2005)
Hibernation (2016)

Fiction
The Snowy Nap
Wake Up, Baby Bear!
Bear Has a Story to Tell
Frederick
Time to Sleep

This title that just came out in September is about the different kinds of dormancy in nature including hibernation, brumation, diapause, torpor, and estivation. Poetic text paired with kid-engaging photos.
Wait, Rest, Pause

Kathryn wrote: "Cheryl wrote: "Well, I've no titles to add atm, but since there's a true hibernation that is not what bears do, and since there's also a thing called "estivation," I definitely hope we choose at le..."

And as Cheryl already pointed out, bears are actually deep sleepers and not true hibernators.

LeeAnn wrote: "This title that just came out in September is about the different kinds of dormancy in nature including hibernation, brumation, diapause, torpor, and estivation. Poetic text paired with kid-engagin..."

That sounds great, thank you!

Even in the library, many of the bear books are classified under "hibernation" so it will be good to have a few titles that go into detail on the differences between true hibernation, what bears do, etc.

Thank you all for the nominations. It's now time to VOTE! Please select seven books (from our nominations above) that you'd like to read with the group then list in a comment below. Votes will be accepted until October 23rd. Thank you!

Animals Hibernating: How Animals Survive Extreme Conditions

Hidden Hibernators (this is amazing)

What is Hibernation?

A Warm Winter Tail

Old Bear

Waiting for Winter

Bear Has a Story to Tell

Animals Hibernating: How Animals Survive Extreme Conditions

Bear Has a Story to Tell

Winter Dance

Frederick

Every Autumn Comes the Bear

Time to Sleep

Sleepy Bear

Why Do Bears Sleep All Winter?: A Book about Hibernation
The Snowy Nap
Wake Up, Baby Bear!
Bear Has a Story to Tell
Frederick
Time to Sleep

And the winners are....

Animals Hibernating: How Animals Survive Extreme Conditions

Bear Has a Story to Tell


Frederick

Hidden Hibernators

Time to Sleep

Every Autumn Comes the Bear

Wait, Rest, Pause*

*This one is my own vote since we didn't have seven clear winners from the member votes ;-)

See you for the discussion in November!

This list now becomes the Master List and General Discussion for books about Hibernation.

Some of these are not entirely on "hibernation" but worth mentioning as they are from the Suggestions for Further Reading in Wait, Rest, Pause:

Too Hot? Too Cold?: Keeping Body Temperature Just Right

Summer Green to Autumn Gold

Snack, Snooze, Skedaddle

Plants in Winter

Curious about Worms

Snack, Snooze, Skedaddle looks spot on and very appealing. Ty for this list.

Cheryl wrote: "Snack, Snooze, Skedaddle looks spot on and very appealing. Ty for this list."

My pleasure! It's at our library so I'm going to check that out, along with a few others, to share with the boys. They are really enjoying learning about dormancy.

Cheryl wrote: "Snack, Snooze, Skedaddle looks spot on and very appealing. Ty for this list."

This is on order at the library and usually takes a longish time.

Cynthia Rylan’s In November also mentions that certain animals hibernate and that many birds migrate south.

The Big Snow


Berta and Elmer Hader's artwork for their 1948 picture book The Big Snow is aesthetically, is visually spectacular, with both my inner child and also adult I really and hugely enjoying the Haders' detailed and realistic animal illustrations and how their black and white pictures for The Big Snow generally focus on minute details while their colour spreads zero in on atmosphere and visual emotionality (and their snowscapes are absolutely visually lovely as well). But even though the illustrations are amazing, Berta and Elmer Hader's featured text leaves quite a lot to be desired (and indeed both for my inner child and also for myself as an adult reader). For The Big Snow is textually speaking annoyingly repetitive and that the rather large gathering of anthropomorphic animals continuously chatting like humans in a very tediously similar if not exactly the same manner and also being called Mrs. Chipmunk, Mr. Groundhog and the like, this just does nothing at all for me (except making me roll my eyes and also getting pretty hugely bored rather and majorly quickly). And furthermore, some of the hibernation, migration etc. information being presented by the Haders is not always factually correct either or is at least misleading (as for example, Northern Cardinals migrate south in some areas of the USA and Canada and stay put in others). Three stars for the illustrations, but only for the illustrations and that The Big Snow is (at least for me) textually dragging and also needs better migration and hibernation information.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...