Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly
Following the events of one year, from plowing to harvest to butchering, this novel offers a compelling description of farming in a bygone time. The narrator, Elgon, is the younger son of a Scandinavian family in northern Minnesota. He begins in spring, a time of softening rather than awakening, and finishes with stories old Nels and Uncle David tell around the stove in winter (the story is set some time in the first half of this century). While work fills their time, the year is not without its lighter moments, like the time Elgon's brother Wayne, inspired by Zane Grey, decides to leap from the hayloft onto the back of one of the plowhorses. Elgon's steady, believable voice tells a story that will inevitably recall Laura Ingalls Wilder--but by way of Hemingway and Jim Harrison. Newbery Award-winner Paulsen never disappoints, and proves his talent again in this remarkably good tale. Ages 11-14. (Oct.)
School Library Journal
Gr 6-9-- Of the four rooms downstairs in the northern Minnesota farmhouse, the one that might be called a living room is where Wayne and Eldon, their parents and great-uncle, and old Norwegian Nels spend their winters. There the family sits near the corner wood stove and listens, uninterrupting, as Uncle David tells stories--of the old country, of old times, of a semi-mythical lumberjack. Eldon, the younger son, begins his own story, in spring, when everything is soft. While he describes for readers the farm activities of each season and narrates memorable pranks and milestones of his boyhood, it is the palpable awareness of place and character that is unforgettable. Paulsen, with a simple intensity, brings to consciousness the texture, the smells, the light and shadows of each distinct season. He has penned a mood poem in prose. Uncle David's final story precipitates within the brothers a fuller understanding of personal identity and integrity. For those special readers who find delight in The Winter Room, it will become a part of their own identity and understanding. Teachers who seek to illuminate the use of ordinary English words with extraordinary descriptive power will find the introductory chapter, in particular, to be a godsend. --Katharine Bruner, Brown Middle School, Harrison, TN
From the Publisher
Awards and Praise for The Winter Room
A Newbery Honor Book
ALA/YALSA Best Book for Young Adults
ALA Notable Book for Children
Judy Lopez Memorial Award for Children's Literature
"Newbery Honor-winner Paulsen never disappoints, and proves his talent again in this remarkably good tale."-Publishers Weekly
"[Paulsen] has penned a mood poem in prose." -Kirkus Reviews
JAN 95 - AudioFile
For two brothers, Eldon and Wayne, winter is the best time of year. Every night their great uncle tells the family stories in “the winter room,” the warmest room in their home near Hudson Bay. One night Uncle David tells a true story, which changes everything. Woodman enlivens the story with the emotions and enthusiasm of the two brothers. Along with these enthusiastic portrayals, he manipulates pauses and word emphasis to greatly enhance the feeling of reality. Woodman has a harder time with the adult male voices, but this doesn’t disrupt the effective reading. Young adult through high school audiences will find this entertaining. P.A.J. ©AudioFile, Portland, Maine
