Over and Over

Rating:
Summary: Beautifully written and illustrated
Review: Charlotte Zolotow's Over and Over is a wonderfully worded story, and the pictures are engaging! My children love how the story begins during the first snow of winter, and comes full circle ending with the little girl's birthday in early December. We feel happy and excited seeing the little girl travel through her year, defining the seasons and sharing in the joy of each holiday and special occasion. This is one of our favorites! We read it over and over and never grow tired of this enchanting story.

Rating:
Summary: Vivid illustrations!
Review: I found this book again in the library the other day after not having seen it since I was a little girl. I must have studied the illustrations in perfect detail because I remember them as if it were yesterday and not 20 years ago. Definitely, one of my favorite books as a child!

Rating:
Summary: The Wheel of the Year
Review: This book was created by a true dream team, beloved author Charlotte Zolotow and gifted illustrator Garth Williams. It begins with a little girl who is too little to know about time. She is so young, we learn, that she doesn't know the days of the week yet, or the months, or even the seasons in order. She has memories of things like a crocus in bloom, a snowman, Valentines, a turkey dinner, and a Christmas tree but they're jumbled up in her head in no particular order.
One morning when the little girl wakes up to find that snow has fallen during the night she excitedly wants an explanation. After her mother explains about snow and winter, the little girl wants to know, "What's next?" As her mother continues throughout this delightful story to explain what season or holiday comes next, Zolotow's story gives us charming details that Williams transforms into pure magic. We eventually traverse the whole wheel of the year and return to the little girl's winter birthday where she makes a wonderful wish. This is a beautiful book in every way and is certainly the best I know of for teaching the traditional American/Christian holiday cycle and the flow of the seasons in northern America. It's lovely.