Product Description

Winter is here
and it's time to
put on your gloves
and mittens
and scarf
and hat
and... Only award-winning poet Karla Kuskin and illustrator Fumi Kosaka could make bundling up for the snow so much fun!

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #845162 in Books
• Published on: 2004-10-01
• Released on: 2004-10-05
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 32 pages

From School Library Journal
PreSchool-Grade 1–Kuskin's poem, which first appeared in her collection The Rose on My Cake (HarperCollins, 1964; o.p.), has been paired with playful pastel illustrations. A girl and her dog go inside after romping in the snow. Short verses describe how she takes off her winter gear: "Under my hood/I have a hat/and under that/my hair is flat." After a snack of cookies and a hot drink, the child goes through the process of getting dressed to go back outdoors, donning a muffler, gloves, two pairs of pants, and red rubber boots. Finally, she is bundled from head to toe: "And when I walk/I must not fall/because/I can't get up at all." The endpapers set the tone by showing footprints in the snow. The simplicity of the art reflects the simplicity of the poem. Flat background colors direct readers' attention to the actions of the characters, which are drawn with clean lines. Pair this lovely book with Ezra Jack Keats's The Snowy Day (Viking, 1962) for a warm winter storytime.–Linda Staskus, Cuyahoga County Public Library, Parma, OH
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist
PreS-K. Kuskin's poem "Winter Clothes," originally published in 1964, is now the text of an appealing picture book. In the rhyming verses, a child details the many pieces of clothing worn in winter, concluding with the lines "And when I walk / I must not fall / because / I can't get up at all." The poem may be familiar, but its simplicity and childlike voice make it easy to enjoy again and again. Kosaka emulates the poem's unaffected charm in the large illustrations, such as the one that shows a little girl and her dog coming indoors on a snowy day, peeling off layers of winter clothes, and enjoying a snack--milk and cookies for her and dog biscuits for him. Featuring curving lines and warm, textured colors, the artwork will please young children as much as the satisfying verse. Fine fare for winter storytimes. Carolyn Phelan
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

About the Author
Karla Kuskin has written more than fifty books for children, Including Roar and More, The Philharmonic Gets Dressed, Soap Soup, and Any Me I Want To Be. She has two children, Nick and Julia, both of whom are professional photographers, and two darling grandchildren, Madeleine and Amelia, both of whom live abroad with their parents. Winner of the NCTE Award for Excellence in Poetry for Children, she writes in Brooklyn, New York, and Arlington, Virginia, or on a porch on Bainbridge Island, Washington where she lives with her husband, William L. Bell.

Customer Reviews

Rhyming Fun for Everyone
There is just something about this book. Under My Hood I Have a Hat appears to strike a chord with every preschooler who hears it. This simple rhyming book tells the story of a child getting dressed to go out in cold, snowy weather. Written in a "chant" cadence, it goes through the layers and layers of clothes that must be put on just to go out to walk the dog. At the end, it expresses a humorous warning that the child, now swaddled up like a giant beach ball, must not fall, because, she "can't get up at all." This ending invariably makes my 3 year old giggle and ask if the girl in the pictures is making snow angels.

This book has bright, simple, colorful illustrations that pop off the page. The chanting rhyme of the story is easy to learn and to remember. My daughter's preschool teacher tells me that the entire class loves this book and requests it often; they all end up chanting the story in unison. It is quite amazing that a book about cold weather and snow would make such an impression on young kids in Austin, Texas who have most likely never seen snow.

This is a great "read to me, Mommy" book, as well as an easy beginning reader. My daughter and I have great fun with it.

Wonderful read for your baby or preschooler
I borrowed this book from the library and my two year old loved it so much I had to buy it. She loves the pictures...especially the puppy "sipping tea". I was surprised that it struck such a chord with her since we live in Florida and she has never even seen snow! This is a delightful book.

it's cold outside
In this simple picture story book we meet a little girl. She is getting all dressed for a day of playing in the snow. She puts on a hat and a hood and several sweaters. She's all dressed and goes outside. When she gets there she says that she hopes she doesn't fall down because she will never be able to get back up. She has so many layers on she can hardly move.
We read this story to my 1 ½ year old sister. She enjoyed looking at the winter time scence in the story as I read her th e book.


We recommend this book for kids ages 1-3. The text is short and simple.