Winter stars and constellations

I don't think either of us ever realized that stars in the winter months look different than those we normally see on Lake Ontario in the summer.  So we find ourselves checking the book Amy gave us a bunch of years ago "Discover the Stars" by Richard Berry.   We easily found "Orion" but still can't find the North star (we actually think it's shrouded from the distant lights of Miami).  Last night there were so many shooting stars it was quite a show.......You see in CNY at night we're usually head down hurrying to get in out of the cold not looking up!