Module 2: The Snowy Day

Module 2:  The Snowy Day

Book Cover Image

• Book Summary:  The Snowy Day is about a little boy named Peter who has adventures playing in the snow.  He steps in the snow and make footprints, he makes a snowman, and even slides down a hill in the snow.  Peter thought his snow adventures were over when he dreamed that the sun had melted the snow away.  He woke up to discover that new snow was falling and he was able to start a new day with his friend in the snow.

• APA Reference of Book:  

 Keats, E.J. (1962).  The snowy day.  New York, New York:  The Viking Press.

• Impressions:  The Snowy Day is a book that has no real excitement or surprises.  With the exception of Peter having a dream about the sun melting the snow away, the story is very predictable.  It was also hard to see the characters facial expressions through the art work.  Although this book is predictable, it is a cute book to share with younger students during the winter season.

• Professional Review:  In 1962, when Keats's The Snowy Day landed on book shelves, it became an immediate favorite of children and adults alike, received accolades from critics and reviewers, and was awarded the 1963 Caldecott Medal. The first full-color picture book to feature an African-American protagonist, the title placed Peter in that heightened hierocracy of children's book characters (Madeline, Eloise, Max) whose images need no further introduction. Nahson has brought together an inviting, informative, and charming (in all the right ways) book to coordinate with the exhibition, "The Snowy Day and the Art of Ezra Jack Keats," at the Jewish Museum in New York City. Accompanying Nahson's preface and essay, "Bringing the Background to the Foreground, or the Poetry of a Trash Can," is a piece by Maurice Berger, who traces Keats's background, civil-rights advocacy, and influence on the children's literature field. Thirty-one beautifully produced plates, which appear in the current exhibition, showcase Keats's innovative and exemplar)' illustrations. Throughout, this offering reflects a choice of high-quality paper and care in the printing process. Following the New York show, the exhibition will travel to the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art in Amherst, MA, the Contemporary Jewish Museum in San Francisco, and the Akron Art Museum in Ohio. Handsome and readable, this volume is a joy from endpaper to endpaper. Libraries will want to have copies available for art and classroom teachers, students of children's literature, parents, and youngsters themselves to browse through and explore (Elleman, 2011).

Reference:  Elleman, B. (December, 2011).  The snowy day and the art of Ezra Jack Keats.  School    Library Journal.  57(12) p144.

• Library Uses:  This book could be used for younger grades (PreK-2) to discuss the winter season.  Questions could include, "Have you ever seen snow before or what does snow look and feel like?"  Older students could write about their first snow day.  If they have never experienced a snow day, they could write about what they think a snow day would be like.