The Snowflake : A Water Cycle Story [Hardcover]

Neil Waldman (Author, Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 5 and up | Grade Level: K and up

"A beautiful take on the water cycle. Waldman traces the journey of a single drop of water throughout the year, with each month receiving its own spread. The water begins as a snowflake that melts into a droplet, flows into the ground, bubbles up in a spring, flows into a farm's irrigation system, evaporates into the morning fog, becomes part of a cloud, rains down, enters a plumbing system, washes a little girl's face, flows out to the ocean, gets swept onto the shore and evaporates into the sky to become a snowflake once more. The clear text is undeniably lyrical: "It flowed past fields of waving sea grasses, over corals of many colors, and into the mouths of great striped fish." The real stunners here, though, are the dazzling, cool-tones paintings that convey the wonders of nature with delicate precision. A must for libraries and science classrooms." School Library Journal

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 1-5-A beautiful take on the water cycle. Waldman traces the journey of a single drop of water throughout the year, with each month receiving its own spread. The water begins as a snowflake that melts into a droplet, flows into the ground, bubbles up in a spring, flows into a farm's irrigation system, evaporates into the morning fog, becomes part of a cloud, rains down, enters a plumbing system, washes a little girl's face, flows out to the ocean, gets swept onto the shore and evaporates into the sky to become a snowflake once more. The clear text is undeniably lyrical: "It flowed past fields of waving sea grasses, over corals of many colors, and into the mouth of a great striped fish." The real stunners here, though, are the dazzling, cool-toned paintings that convey the wonders of nature with delicate precision. A must for libraries and science classrooms.
Kathleen Kelly MacMillan, Maryland School for the Deaf, Columbia
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

K-Gr. 2. This beautifully illustrated picture book follows a single droplet of water as it moves and changes throughout one year. With a double-page spread for each month, the story traces the droplet's journey from snowflake to mountain pond to underground stream to river to irrigation system to cloud to reservoir to city water system to bathroom sink to drain pipe to cloud and back to snowflake. A few sentences of text on each spread comment on the droplet's form, travels, and surroundings. More effective and memorable, though, are the subtle hues and varied compositions of Waldman's paintings in this unusually handsome presentation of the water cycle. Carolyn Phelan
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 5 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Millbrook Press (September 3, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0761323473
• ISBN-13: 978-0761323471
• Product Dimensions: 11.1 x 8.4 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #53,228 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #34 in Books > Children's Books > Science, Nature & How It Works > Nature > Weather

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A simple yet elegantly presented picture book, November 17, 2003

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Snowflake : A Water Cycle Story (Hardcover)

Neil Waldman's The Snowflake: A Water Cycle Story is a simple yet elegantly presented picture book showing the cycle of water, from earth to cloud and back again, as well as how this process continues month by month as the year progresses. Waldman's beautiful pastel illustrations add a gentle touch to this enriching, informative, and entertaining work which is especially recommended for young readers ages 6 through 8.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars One snowflake's path around the world, December 31, 2006

By 

Corinne H. Smith (Athol, MA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Snowflake : A Water Cycle Story (Hardcover)

The complex topic of hydrology is simplified here so that children (and adults) can easily understand it. In calendar style, we follow the path of one particular snowflake falling on a mountain. Over the course of twelve months, it becomes a droplet of water that melts into a stream, passes through an agricultural irrigation system, lifts up into a summer fog, drops into a reservoir, flows through city water pipes, drifts in the ocean, rises into a cloud and once again becomes a snowflake falling on a mountain. We come full circle and can start the story all over again from the beginning of the book.

Neil Waldman's paintings brightly convey the realistic journey and are colorful, clean and beautiful to boot. "The Snowflake" is a nice addition to elementary school and nature center shelves, as well as a good read-aloud storytime selection that will prove thought-provoking to the young.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Great concept. Story a bit bland., April 10, 2008

By 

Robin Lapre (tenn) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Snowflake : A Water Cycle Story (Hardcover)

I really liked the concept of following a snowflake (turned droplet) around the water cycle. However - I found the reading a bit dry. The story is presented as a month by month snippet , i.e. January, then February, and so forth. I felt like the story could have been spruced up a bit - maybe by giving the snowflake a bit more of a "persona" to make it fun for young readers. I also thought it could have gone into more of an explanation about what was happening, rather than just saying "it evaporated." I don't think my kids will be requesting to hear this one again and again. Incidentally, I am a very science-y person and it would not have taken much to interest me about the water cycle... so in sum: Nice concept. Boring reading.