Winter Harvest

On a snowy moonlit night, two fawns, a doe and a buck approach the house where a child waits for them. She and her father prepare a pail full of apples and corn to take out to the four hungry deer. Unafraid, the deer seem to know that the food is for them; after they eat, the fawns scamper around and play, much to the delight of the girl watching them. The next day, the deer disappear into the woods, but the girl knows they will return at night. Aragon and Baker have created a gentle tale of warmth and caring; text and pictures play off one another, balancing the first-person narration with interior scenes of the loving family sharing the winter bounty. In iridescent watercolors, the artist gives the scenes of snowfall a filmy, dreamlike quality, which furthers the mood of enchantment between human family and deer. Ages 3-8. (Jan.)