The cloud coyotes howled in the moonlight…

 …And Snow Woman comes to put the world to rest for winter.  She frosts the fields, stills the stream, and brushes the last brittle leaves from the trees.  Last of all, she sends one small reluctant bear scampering off to his warm winter den.  Then, having tucked each creature in, Snow Woman blankets the earth in white.

 Reminiscent of Native American legend, One Cold Night glows with the magic of the coming of winter.

Reviews

"Ewart's watercolor blues, set against a resonant background of darkness, make the cloud coyotes strong and loving...The Lights, lit from "frozen pinecones" and a "frozen fire," are thrilling enough to remind me why I want to drive north this year." -The Chicago Tribune

"...sweeping watercolors...nicely cadenced text...lyrically evocative landscapes, an imaginative personification of the coming of winter." -Kirkus Reviews

"...imaginative landscapes - a visionary palette lends these wintry figures a special warmth.  Snow Woman shimmers in glacial blue-violet, an ephemeral, spectral figure at once beautiful and fearful...In quiet counterpoint...is the tangible domestic bliss within the house at the eye of storm." -Publisher's Weekly

"The artwork first drew me - so full of Charles Burchfield's magic naturalism.  The strong, simple story effectively evokes American Indian myth." -The Washington Times

"...this title succeeds...as a bedtime selection.  The watercolor double-page spreads...are lovely and remote..." -School Library Journal

"In...One Cold Night, Claire Ewart has created a mystical figure..." -The Five Owls

Activities

Create your own character or characters like Snow Woman and the cloud coyotes.  What force of nature can you describe that way?

Learn about the winter habits of the animals that live near you.  Which animals hibernate?  Which animals migrate?

Make a diorama showing their burrows and dens.

Watch the leaves blow, the snow fall.

Keep a journal of the seasons.

Write a poem about what you observe.