S is for The Snowy Day: Library Notes

We have had a snowy winter so perhaps this book has already been well-read and loved by the child(ren) in your life!  I wanted to be sure you know it exists because it is a classic. It covers the winter season, clothing for cold weather, and it suggests things to do on a snowy day...all in one book! Not only that, but it also helps children know that snow melts too and as the boy goes through that disappointment they think through what to do when they face that scenario too.

Ezra Jack Keats wrote and illustrated this picture book in 1962 about a boy named Peter. His illustrations won him the Caldecott Medal. He layered fabrics and decorative paper and then added to that to create his illustrations.  A great follow up activity for children would be to attempt a picture using various materials such as those used in this book.

The scenario is simple and familiar.  What do you do on a snowy day? Crunch in the snow. Make patterns as you walk and leave footprints behind. Make snowmen, snow angels, snow balls. Slide down hills. As you read you can remember your own experiences doing these and share the memories with the child(ren) with you. Peter was too young/small to be in a snowball fight so you are left with all the calm, positive suggestions. When he goes home, he takes the snow inside with him, not realizing it will melt in the heat. Peter carries on with his day indoors, having a warm bath and snuggling under his blankets for a good night's sleep. Dreaming that the sun melted away all the snow, Peter was delighted to wake up and see that even more snow was falling! It meant he would have another fun day. What I love most about this book is that he knew the one thing that could make a second snowy day even better than the first, a friend to share it with! Of course! How perfect is that idea?

The Snowy Day tells the story in the past tense. It uses a lot of action words to practice verbs with a child, including irregular verbs that don't just add -ed like slid, made, slept and put.  It includes sounds as words like crunch and plop to create a more vivid, sensory-rich picture. There are also a number of adjectives to add more descriptions such as a smiling snowman, a warm house and 'a great, big, tall, heaping mountain of snow'. So this book is great for teaching literacy concepts too.

It encourages thinking about things too. He thought about what to do in the snow, how to use the stick and how to imagine that he was a mountain climber. He thought about the snow and his snowball. It is rare for a child in a book to pause and think about his day but important to show children that reflection is a natural part of the day. What went well? What didn't? What do you want to do again tomorrow? How can you make it even better?

In addition to the book, encourage children to be creative as they explore each day and have as much fun as Peter did on The Snowy Day.