Summer North Coming, Winter North Coming. Poetry by Dorothy Bentley, illustrations by Jessica Bertram (Fitzhenry & Whiteside, 2019). All ages.

“A full-color experience of the seasons in Canada’s north.”

— Kirkus Reviews

This gorgeous picture book with accompanying lyric poetry, chronicles Dorothy’s experiences with her family living in Northern Canada for 30+ years, through the eyes and imagination of children. While her observations of nature produced many of the immersive descriptions, others came about from interviews with a dog musher and trapper, dreams of flying, and seasonal activities and celebrations in the north with friends and relatives.

“The somewhat Yoda-esque quality of Bentley’s poetry appropriately slows the pace of the book’s reading so that youngsters can absorb some of the details of Bartram’s artwork. The summer pages are filled with lush greens punctuated by the colours of various flowers, birds and insects before giving way to fall’s more muted palette. Colourwise, Winter North is a contrast of crisp dark nights and day’s snow-blinding whiteness that are both eventually conquered by the warmth oranges of the sun’s spring return. . . In terms of both its text and illustrations, Summer North Coming is definitely a book to return to and linger over. Bentley’s words are rich in their sparseness, and Bartram’s illustrations are full of details to be discovered during subsequent readings.

Highly Recommended”

— CM Magazine

“Sure to become a classic.” – a reviewer.

“This picture book describes northern Canada’s seasons and refreshingly depicts non-stereotypical Inuit characters. If you’ve been thinking about how to honor #WeNeedDiverseBooks, then this one fits the bill.
— School Library Journal

Read the review by CanLit for Little Canadians review.

Purchase a copy through your favourite independent book store.

Bulk orders: Fitzhenry & Whiteside Book Publishers.

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Gayle Sherman composed “Swirling Rapids” inspired by Summer North Coming. Thank you to Nicola Cameron for sharing Summer North Coming with her piano students

Dorothy gratefully acknowledges the contribution of the Canada Council for the Arts, the Ontario Arts Council, and the support of the Government of Canada through the Canada Book Fund (CBF) which made the publishing of this book possible.