|
|
|
|
WHEN
It
Starts
to
SNOW
illustrated
by Martin Matje
Holt,
1998
|
*CCBC
Choice, 1999
*Braille
edition
*French
edition,
translated by Elisabeth
Guinsbourg
*Japanese
edition,
translated by Masayo Koike
*Working
Mother, Best of
'98
*Starred
review,
Publishers Weekly
*Paperback
big book edition––14 1/2" x 17
1/2"
|
| From
the
book jacket: |
What if if starts to snow?
What
do you do?
Where
do you go?
So
begins this charming
question-and-answer
story as each animal––from the
mouse to the bear––tells us what
it will
do and where it will go when the
snow starts to fall from the
sky.
Phillis
Gershator’s lyrical text and
Martin
Matje’s imaginative pictures
make this an ideal picture book
for
sharing in a cozy classroom
circle, or reading under the
covers when
the weather gets nippy.
|
| A
little
about the book: |
When I saw
Holly Meade’s final, sun-filled
illustrations for Rata-pata-scata-fata,
I fell in love with her work. I
asked her what she wanted to work on
next and she said, “Snow.” So I
tried to write a book about snow. My
first version wasn’t successful, and
Holly went on to create other
books (some featuring LOVELY scenes
of snow!). But I kept doing
revisions on the snow theme, and
thus began my connection with a
wonderful editor, Christy Ottaviano.
She selected Martin Matje to
illustrate our snow book, the
artist’s first children’s book in
the
United States. I had hoped to do
another picture book with Martin,
and
one was planned, but he died at a
tragically young age. His legacy
includes so many terrific books
filled with artwork uniquely
imaginative,
inventive, and witty. I feel lucky
to have been associated with
him.
A special
song for When It
Starts to Snow
is included in the CD for kids
titled "This
Is the
Day! Storysongs & Singalongs."
For using Snow in the
classroom, check out the many
suggestions in the blog
Speech
in the Schools.
|
| From
the reviews: |
“In this engaging picture book about
the chain of events set in motion
by a snowfall, a cluster of animals
respond in rhyme to a boy’s
question.... Gershator writes with a
simple, lilting
eloquence....French artist Matje
inventively renders the winter sky in
the color of hot chocolate tinted with
whipped cream, a perfect
evocation of both the coziness and
chill of a snowy day. This striking
visual element provides the backdrop
for his boldly graphic
characterizations...everyone, even the
hulking bear, has tiny bright
eyes that peer out at the audience in
comic wonder. With words that
roll off the tongue, pictures of
charming woodland inhabitants and a
dash of science, this one will have
readers raring to go on a snow
quest of their own.” Publishers
Weekly,
starred review.
“Matje’s illustrations lead the eye
from one scene to the next in a
kind of flow, out the door, over the
ice, to the pond, into the forest,
and back to the house....The text has
a rhyming, rhythmical pattern
with enough repetition to be read
easily by beginners. this is a
charming book to read aloud with the
younger set, in anticipation of
the change from fall to winter. The
rhyming, repetitive text gives a
rolling rhythm while reinforcing
concepts of seasonal change and animal
behavior--such as migration,
coloration, and hibernation.” Five
Owls, selected title
“In simple rhymes and soothingly
rhythmic language, common animals
describe, in succession, their
responses to falling snow.... Matje, a
French illustrator, makes his American
debut with uncluttered gouache
scenes of simply drawn creatures, seen
through a mild, fluffy snowfall.
Although the text is longer here, the
mood and simplicity of expression
recall Ezra Jack Keats’ The
Snowy Day
(1962) and Ruth Krauss’ The
Happy
Day (1949).” Booklist
“The bright white snowflakes are
satisfyingly fat and ever-present, and
the child’s glee in the ‘brand-new
snow/coming down/coming down’ is
contagious....a cozily satisfying
lapsit for the toddler fascinated by
both snowflakes and animal noises.” Bulletin
of the Center for Children’s Books
|
|
|
|
|
