Wintercake by Lynne Rae Perkins
Published by Greenwillow Books on October 15th 2019
ISBN: 0062894870
Pages: 48
Goodreads

Thomas, a furry animal (perhaps a groundhog?), has misplaced the bowl of dried fruit he needs to make his holiday cake. His bird friend, Lucy (perhaps a cardinal), flies off in a snowstorm to help him, and mistakenly identifies a thief. All comes round right in the end. I enjoyed how the tension ebbs and flows throughout the story with much depth. The illustrations are glorious and some of the ones with speech bubbles are my favorite. This is a delightful story of friendship, community, stories, and cake. A wonderful addition to holiday books that focuses more on a solstice celebration rather than Christmas. Good readaloud for primary age.

Reviewed by Barb Rehmeyer, Liberty Library, Liberty

Reviews: Perkins’ art, with its warm yellows, opulent blues, and soft browns of wintry forest and cozy dens, nicely complements the fine narrative arc. This could simply be a splendid holiday tale: There is cake, after all, and there are both connection and community. But the different colorings of the animals’ coats combine with light-feathered Lucy’s false, if unspoken, accusation of innocent, dark-brown Tobin to offer an allegorical storyline for readers who care to pursue it.

Cozy—and potentially provocative. (Picture book. 4-8) Kirkus, July 2019

Starred Review: A first-rate example of a longer picture book for elementary-age readers and listeners. School Library Journal, October, 2019