In this companion to Gathering: A Northwoods Counting Book Betsy Bowen again captures the vibrant magic in each northwoods day through effortless prose and colorful woodcuts. While the canoe waits beneath the heavy snow and the river freezes over, bears turn in for long winter naps and people spend time reading by the fire or bundled up in layers. But when spring comes, it’s time for kayaking, fishing, and listening to the quiet pond sounds of the new season. All of this and more is celebrated in Bowen’s warm and unusual alphabet book that introduces children to the cyclical rhythms of life in our country’s northern states.

Introduces the letters of the alphabet in woodcut illustrations and brief text depicting the changing seasons in the northern woods.

Introduces the letters of the alphabet in woodcut illustrations and brief text depicting the changing seasons in the northern woods.

"Originally published in 1993 by Little, Brown and Company"--Title page verso.

Shingebiss, a little merganser duck, can always find plenty to eat. In all seasons, the Great Lake is full of fish. But one cold year the lake freezes over, and Shingebiss has to find a way to fish through the thick ice. To do that, he must face the fierce Winter Maker. Gracefully told and illustrated with vigorous woodcuts, this ancient Ojibwe story captures all the power of winter and all the courage of a small being who refuses to see winter as his enemy. This sacred story shows that those who follow the ways of Shingebiss will always have plenty to eat, no matter how hard the great wind of Winter Maker blows.

A celebration of northwoods life in a series of woodblock prints.

The miracle of Christmas permits the animals to work together as friends, despite their fear of the Great Wolf, and to rescue their beloved woodsman.

As tall as trees and as ancient and rugged as the Norwegian landscape from which they come, trolls are some of lore's most fascinating and varied creatures. Some live under bridges, others deep inside caves. They can carry their heads under their arms or hide their hearts inside wells. They can walk across oceans and fly over mountains. Trees and shrubs may grow from their heads, and their noses can be long enough to stir soup. There are troll hags, troll daughters, and elderly, shrunken trolls. Old or young, they are quarrelsome, ugly, and boastful, and they love to trick princesses and children. To defeat them, children must rely on the strengths of their humanity-persistence, kindness, pluck, and willingness to heed good advice

Cold, wet, and acidic, bogs appear to be extremely hostile to life, yet numerous plants and animals have adapted in fascinating ways in order to survive there. In Big Belching Bog, Phyllis Root lets us in on the secrets of the mysterious bog, describing such special inhabitants as plants that eat insects, bog lemmings, and frogs that stay frozen through the winter and thaw out in the spring. But what's that coming up from the bottom of the bog? The biggest bog secret of all, we learn, is the remarkable process of methane gas belching out of the bog. The gas is created by decaying peat moss and forms a bulge in the surface of the moss six inches or taller before breaking through. Does this "belch" make a sound? No one knows, says Root, because no one has ever heard it. In fact, bogs are known as some of the quietest places on earth. Maybe you will be the first to hear the big bog belch! Illustrated by renowned woodcut artist Betsy Bowen, Big Belching Bog also contains a section of bog facts, including more information about the plants and animals mentioned in the book as well as tips for visiting a bog. Big Belching Bog will stir the imagination of young readers and teach them about the landscape and environment of these mysterious and, ahem, gassy places.

Up north ath the cabin, I am a great gray dolphin. The lake is my ocean... Up north at the cabin, I am a fearless voyageur, guiding our canoe through the wilderness... Up north at the cabin I am always brave -- even in the dark woods, when blood thumps through my head like old Ojiway drums. The magic of summer, the call of the north woods, and the exuberance of childhood imagination combine here to create a book that will be treasured long after the last autumn leaf has fallen.