First big snow of the year?
There's a picture book for that.
The Snowy Day, by Ezra Jack Keats, is the OG, undisputed, definitive picture book about winter’s first flurries, but here’s another one I love …
Where I live, this week was the first big snow of the year.
It was the kind of winter storm that puts the whole house on high alert hoping for a school closure. It sent me to the way back corner of the garage, hunting for the snow shovel. And it kicked off my annual tiff with my husband about whether we have enough rock salt.
Him: We’re good.
Me: Are you sure?
To soothe my anxiety, I pulled a picture book off the shelf.
Ten Ways to Hear Snow is from creators Cathy Camper and Kenard Pak.
At the center is a sweet story about an Arab-American family passing down a food tradition, and my favorite line in the book is nine quiet words from the main character’s grandmother:
“No noise is the sound that means it’s snowing.” - Sitti
But what I love best is Pak’s color palette and the way he depicts the newly blanketed natural world.
The people have skin tones from brown to olive. The interiors are mustard, marigold, honey and apricot. Outside, the snow is so white it’s blue.
Trussed up in red-knit scarf and hat on her way to visit her grandmother, Lina is a modern-day Little Red Riding Hood.
We tag along on her nature walk over crunching snow and past snowballs whizzing through the air.
Most of my work as an outdoor educator is nudging kids to slow down and look at nature more closely. Ten Ways to Hear Snow does exactly that.
There’s a Picture Book for That is a sometimes series. Here’s a hill I live on: Picture books are for big people too. Each installment of the series is a postcard-size recommendation spotlighting a book I think adults could use right about now. Sometimes 32 illustrated pages is exactly what us grown folks didn’t know we need. To delight. Or untangle a tough topic — for little ones or ourselves.
Next week … My reluctant nature.
Ping me with a favorite story to cozy up with in winter – not just picture books — novels and Netflix count too.
Thank you for writing! You hooked me with your Reluctant Nature title. I’m all in on nature, and looking forward to your book. Here’s an oldie that combines winter and nature—Jane Yolen’s Owl Moon. I chose it for my 4yo grandson. He snuggled close and shuddered through it like it was a horror movie. And then asked me to read it again. 🤷🏼♀️
Ooh, I love Kenard Pak. His Seasons series is gorgeous. Great recommendation. Can't wait for the next one.