“One red fox / walks across the white snow / quietly / stalking winter.” A narrative playfully describing the ways a host of animals relate to a winter landscape is set against gorgeous scratchboard and watercolor illustrations in this seasonal counting book. Two ravens, three snowshoe hares, four red squirrels, five golden eagles, six voles, seven musk oxen, eight sled dogs, nine owls, ten woodpeckers, and eleven chickadees in turn inhabit the lovely winter landscape scenes revealed with each turn of the page, their presence described in a brief stanza rich with descriptive and action words. The final counting spread features twelve children “happily /meeting spring.”

An Amazon Editor's Pick: Best Books Ages 3-5

"It's a counting book. It's a winter animal book. It's a just plain beautiful book! . . . The prettiest nondenominational winter book seen in ages."
-- Kirkus Reviews (STARRED REVIEW)

"Playful . . . Claudia McGehee's scratchboard illustrations--similar in style to woodcuts--emphasize contrasts of light and texture: between snow and soil, fox and field, bird and birch tree."
-- The Wall Street Journal

Inspired by the author's years in Alaska, this lyrical, beautifully illustrated counting book celebrates the rhythms of the tundra and its inhabitants.

​One red fox walks across the white snow--quietly stalking winter. Two ravens croak and gurgle--raucously talking winter. Three snowshoe hares hop on big paws--silently tracking winter. Wherever you look, another creature is making its mark on the snow-covered season.

Author Nancy White Carlstrom used her years living in Alaska to inspire lyrical text celebrating the rhythms of the tundra and its inhabitants. Claudia McGehee's stunning scratchboard art brings the winter season alive. For reading on chilly days--whether winter is just beginning or just starting to melt into spring.

Awards

Michigan Reading Association Great Lakes Great Books Award Nominee (2025-2026)
Cooperative Children's Book Center CCBC Choices List - Seasons and Celebrations
Children's Book Council (CBC) Teacher FAVORITES K-2ND Grade (2025)
Penn State University Libraries/Pennsylvania Center for the Book Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award (2025)