Customer Reviews

Snow

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Since I love snow and obviously live in an area where it is a big deal if it does, I was immediately drawn to open the cover of this beautifully illustrated book. I love the simplicity of words and unique fun illustrations. It reads like how a child would think and that's what makes it so beautiful. Since it is not cluttered with too many words, the story allows the reader and the person being read to, to think and use their own thoughts and imagination. The storyline is about a boy's hope and faith that one snowflake will lead to two, and more, despite the unbelieving and cynical opinions of adults who cross his path. I can actually put myself in his shoes and jump right in those pages. I hope my children will grow to love this book like I do. It has become one of my personal treasures.

By and large, the general rule guiding picture books and the Caldecott awards they garner is that no children's author/illustrator ever wins the Caldecott Award for their best work. This rule generally applies to all awards, I suppose in some way. Oscar winning actors, actresses, and directors never seem to win for their best films either. But the case seems to be even more extreme when it comes to picture books. Let's take author/illustrator extraordinaire Uri Shulevitz as our example. Now review your Caldecott knowledge and tell me what book earned Shulevitz a Caldecott. If you said, "The Fool of the World and the Flying Ship", you are correct. Now, tell me which book Shulevitz both wrote and illustrated which DESERVED the Caldecott Award (not Honor). If you said, "Snow" then you are once more right right right. I recently discovered this charming and thoroughly pleasing little book all on my own and I can tell you here and now that aside from the great "Snowy Day" by Ezra Jack Keats, there is no other book that so skillfully pinpoints the elation a child feels at the first real snowfall of the year.

We're in a village. A village where the clouds hang heavy overhead and the only words on the first page are, "The skies are gray. The rooftops are gray. The whole city is gray". The next two-page spread gives a perfect sense of anticipation. Underneath this mono-colored set of stores and houses are the words, "Then......one snowflake". And if you look very very carefully, there's a single spot of white against the gray swelling watercolor that is the sky. A boy in an orange hat points out the flake with delight, his dog by his side. His grandfather, however, doesn't think snow is possible. Then there are two snowflakes (with a man in a hat pish-pishing the possibility). Then there are three snowflakes and a lady with an umbrella proclaims that they'll simply melt. And they do, it's true. "But as soon as one snowflake melts another takes its place". And in spite of the adults and in spite of the radio and in spite of the television, it begins to snow. The boy frolics with his dog and some imaginary friends. And by the time the snow is done the whole city is white but the sky is a brilliant bright sunny blue hue.

This is a book about hope. How childish belief can overcome adult nay-sayers and jaded remarks. Never mind that after a few months the kid will want to see anything BUT snow. At this point in time, he's trumped the grown-ups of the world. I especially enjoyed the parts of the book that declared that "snowflakes don't listen to radio, snowflakes don't watch television". What snowflakes do is fall. Shulevitz spares his words for the moments when they are most needed. When they do come, they are brisk and to the point. His boy and dog, on the other hand, are playful and exuberant. This book in some ways resembles nothing so much as a Maurice Sendak story. The frolicking child character is especially Sendakian, it now occurs to me. Still, these illustrations are far more subtle and restrained than most other picture books. The snowflakes, when they appear, are so tiny and insignificant that it takes a quick eye to spot them. The watercolors are lovely muted tones and the characters (at least the adults) are people with exaggerated gravity, quickly becoming ridiculous when they find themselves caught out in an "unexpected" snowfall.

You can tell readily if some books will be lovely deeply and dearly by children for years to come. This is one such of a kind. It's bound to be beloved by millions for decades and decades. A wonderful discovery

The illustrations in this book capture the mood of snow. The gray sky gives way to more and more and more white snowflakes culminating in a snow covered world. The artwork's gradual buildup of the storm truly evokes the soft, silent feel of snow.

Everything goes together in this book. The illustrations are simple and evocative, the text is minimal, you need to read it with weight to convey the mood; the gray, unremarkable city populated with gray, unremarkable adults is uninspiring. A little boy sees one snowflake (yes, it's there, look hard) and gets excited. Not so the adults: 'grandfather with beard', 'man with hat', and 'woman with umbrella' brush him off. The city is still gray. WE are gray, but the boy believes and indeed the snowflakes keep coming until they begin to build up on the street and buildings. The boy and his Mother Goose companions get happier and the illustrations get brighter. The dour adults are driven indoors, the boy dances with delight. Imagination, enthusiasm, and hope have triumphed.

With few words and understated illustrations the book is amazingly alive!

My only reservation is that many of the pictures are rather too small for a story group to really appreciate from a distance. In order for the children to take note of the details (such as one lone snowflake) it is necessary to bring the pages down to each child for a closer look. This does bleak the reading flow. A few unfolding pages when applicable (as in "Papa, Please Get The Moon For Me")would go a long way to making this story more visual. Aside from that little quibble I think this is a delightful book for children.

This is such a lovely book. Simple text that easily portrays the joy of the season. I initially chose the book for it's stylish illustrations, but have found it has much more to offer. It's a favorite even on a sunny day!

This book envelops the reader and the simplicity is superb to any children's book I have ever read. It is my boyfriend's favorite book, and he is 18 years old! Keep up the beautiful work, Uri.

With watercolor illustrations, this spare story of a snowy day is an absolute pleasure. Sean Schemmel performs distinct voices on the audiobook, making it a wonderful companion to the award-winning book.

Illustrations and story are wonderful!! This too will go with my daughters' January
study for her kindergarten class. The children love to listen to a story read and
this one is great.

Shulewitz has a marvelously whimsical way of telling a story and a loving sympathy with children.
His fanciful illustrations and minimal story tell it all. A small boy and his dog jump with excitement at the first snow flake only to be put down by several adults who are oblivious to the coming of a snow storm in the air. even as the snow begins to pile up.
We feel the excitement of the boy and his dog and are amused by the adult characters. Even small children will enjoy this book and some older ones too.

Age Recommendation: 3-6; Very simple storyline and words. Illustrations tell the entire story, and there are lots of people and animals, which little kids love.
Summary: Snow tells the story of a gray town that is full of pessimistic grownups. A little boy, accompanied by a pet dog, spots a single snow flake, and runs around shooting that it is snowing. The grownups refuse to accept the snow, but eventually are covered by it. The city is transformed from gray to white.
Critical Review: Uri Shulevitz uses very simple words to convey a wonderful message of optimism. He also included beautiful illustrations that complement the text. For example, when the boy sees a certain number of snowflakes, the text has the same number of snowflakes on the page. I can see a little kid pointing out the snowflakes, and being all excited. The images are subtle and gray-scale. They remind me of a folktale, which is fitting to the story. There are only a few words per page in most cases, "`It's nothing,' said man with hat" (p. 6). Shulevitz uses repetition with, "It's snowing" throughout the story. Shulevitz uses personification: "snowflakes don't listen to radio" and "snowflakes don't watch television" (p. 13, 14).The overall theme with the book is childish hope. It also illustrates that a snow fall can turn a gloomy, pessimistic town into a wonderful wonderland. The pictures start with a grayscale town, filled with characters dressed in grayed colors. When the snow has covered the buildings the characters are no longer gray, but bright colors and the sky is no longer gray, but blue.