Gathering — Betsy Bowen

In the northwoods, most of the year is spent preparing for the longest and most demanding season: winter. Families of people and animals alike begin their gathering for the cold months as early as the start of spring. Much needs to be done - planting and gardening, fishing and berry picking, chopping and piling wood, harvesting wild rice, and searching for warm boots and socks. Like the firewood and jarred rhubarb, summer memories are stored so that stargazing and fireflies are remembered on the coldest of winter days. In this companion to her memorable debut, Antler, Bear, Canoe: A Northwoods Alphabet Year, Betsy Bowen delights readers with a warm regard for the woods and its inhabitants. Gathering, illustrated anew in vibrantly colored woodcuts, is a celebration of the changing seasons laced with a special reverence for the magic and mystery of winter and the first big snow of the year.