Where I live, today it’s snowy and cold outside.
This weather makes me want to cozy up with a blanket and a cup of tea.
Have you ever wondered what all the animals do to stay safe and warm in the winter?
“Under the snow is a whole secret kingdom, where the smallest forest animals stay safe and warm.”
The animals play, sleep, eat and hide, over and under the snow, as a young girl glides into the woods cross-country skiing with her father. She discovers signs of wildlife and learns which animals are hiding under the snow as she listens and pays close attention.
Author Kate Messner, a middle school teacher, shares that scientists call the secret kingdom under the snow a subnivean zone. This is where small open spaces and tunnels develop between the snow and the ground when heat from the ground melts some of the snow.
In this book, you’ll find a squirrel hiding his food, a bullfrog sleeping, beavers eating dinner and even a queen bumblebee resting under the snow, and many more animals. The art by Christopher Silas Neal, will make you feel like you’ve entered a winter wonderland under the full moon.
Look carefully next time you are in the snow.
Can you see tracks leading to the secret kingdom under the snow?
Helps with: learning about animals in the winter, mindfulness, listening, connecting and tuning into nature, awareness of the natural world.
Author: Kate Messner
Publisher: Chronicle Books LLC, 2011