A celebration of the sights, sounds, and smells of the season, this prebound edition is perfect for young readers. In a starred review, Kirkus Reviews calls Winter Is Here ''A polished, playful story.''

The stunning story of Russia's slide back into a dictatorship-and how the West is now paying the price for allowing it to happen. The ascension of Vladimir Putin-a former lieutenant colonel of the KGB-to the presidency of Russia in 1999 was a strong signal that the country was headed away from democracy. Yet in the intervening years-as America and the world's other leading powers have continued to appease him-Putin has grown not only into a dictator but an international threat. With his vast resources and nuclear arsenal, Putin is at the center of a worldwide assault on political liberty and the modern world order. For Garry Kasparov, none of this is news. He has been a vocal critic of Putin for over a decade, even leading the pro-democracy opposition to him in the farcical 2008 presidential election. Yet years of seeing his Cassandra-like prophecies about Putin's intentions fulfilled have left Kasparov with a darker truth: Putin's Russia, like ISIS or Al Qaeda, defines itself in opposition to the free countries of the world. As Putin has grown ever more powerful, the threat he poses has grown from local to regional and finally to global. In this urgent book, Kasparov shows that the collapse of the Soviet Union was not an endpoint-only a change of seasons, as the Cold War melted into a new spring. But now, after years of complacency and poor judgment, winter is once again upon us. Argued with the force of Kasparov's world-class intelligence, conviction, and hopes for his home country, Winter Is Coming reveals Putin for what he is: an existential danger hiding in plain sight.

“A quiet, beautiful picture book to share.” —Booklist (starred review) “This gentle, lyrical celebration of the natural world will reward similarly observant readers.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review) “A touching reminder about the beauty of the natural world.” —School Library Journal (starred review) “With meditative language, Johnston offers a vivid sense of the changing seasons and of stillness. LaMarche quietly and sensitively portrays a child who’s comfortable spending hours alone, working on her own projects and observing—a young naturalist.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review) Witness the changing of a season through a watchful child’s eyes in this story of nature and discovery from award-winning author Tony Johnston and New York Times Best Illustrated artist Jim La Marche. Day after day, a girl goes to her favorite place in the woods and quietly watches from her tree house as the chipmunks, the doe, the rabbits prepare for the winter. As the temperature drops, sunset comes earlier and a new season begins. Silently she observes the world around her as it reveals its secrets. It takes time and patience to see the changes as, slowly but surely, winter comes.

A grandmother explains to her granddaughter how the arrival of winter brings changes in nature and the earth's creatures, and how the return of spring and summer will bring more changes.

Twenty kid-pleasing little books plus a teaching guide packed with lessons, tips, and literacy-boosting reproducible. Correlates with Guided Reading Level A!

Winter is Here! celebrates all there is to love about the season. Original watercolor illustrations by the author accompany the charming text, bringing winter to life for you and your child.

A boy, his father and their dog have a perfect day in a snowy city, illustrated by Governor General’s Literary Award winner Gary Clement. A young boy wakes up in the early light of a winter morning, pulls on his boots and mittens, and steps out into the snowy city with his dad. They trudge through the snow, their dog bounding along beside them, then a slushy, steamy bus ride takes them to the tobogganing hill for some winter fun. The boy describes all the sights and sounds of the day, from the frost in Dad’s beard and the snow “pillows” in the park, to the noisy clunking snow plows and the singing buskers they pass on their way home. That night, the boy lies awake under cozy covers, reflecting on the day, as snow blankets the world outside his window. This is winter in the city. Correlates to the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.3 Describe characters, settings, and major events in a story, using key details. CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.7 Use illustrations and details in a story to describe its characters, setting, or events.