No snow in our forecast! The six snowflakes that fell on the last day of October do not count.
Up here in the Northern hemisphere, we expect snow for the holidays. I remember some very, very, white and deep Christmases. But that was then, long ago, when (insert your nostalgic holiday memory here).
Number 1 book on snow - ever:
The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats. This was the very first mainstream book to ever feature a child of color as the main character. Although that is notable in itself, Keats' artwork and the simplicity of Peter's play raise this book to Book Idol level. A gazillion stars of loving this book!!
While we are talking about
The Snowy Day, Amazon Prime Video has tapped the talents of Angela Bassett and Boys II Men in its new animated version of Keats prize winning book.
Here's the story, on The Mary Sue, with a video clip and everything. The video should be available now.
Red Sled by Lita Judge. The book has no words - well, almost no words. The illustrations of woodland animals "borrowing" a child's sled during the night are so precious.
The Snow Day by Komako Sakai. A small rabbit is so happy when school is cancelled because of snow. The falling snow mesmerizes him. He has so much time to play. But his father is grounded in another city because of the snow. Sakai's muted paintings evoke that muffled quiet of a snowy day. Her palette matches the grey sky and city streets in the snow.
What is your favorite snowy day book?
Title: red sled Written and illustrated by: Lita Judge Published by: Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2011 Themes/Topics: sledding, animals, onomatopoeia Suitable for ages: 3-5 Fiction, 32 pages Opening: Scrinch, scrunch, scrinch, scrunch, scrinch, scrunch Synopsis: Almost wordless book of the nighttime animal … Continue reading →
*Picture book for preschoolers (However, this can be used with elementary students during a poetry unit.)
*Young boy as main character
*Rating: Red Sled is a clever book about a night time sled ride for a boy and his dad. Not to mention, there’s wonderfully bright illustrations!
Short, short summary: A sad lad and a sad dad take a red sled down a hill of freshly fallen snow one night. They have a ton of fun until–oops, crash! But falling in the snow is not so bad. When they go home to warm up, they are no longer sad, and now they are glad lad and glad dad. This book may sound simple, but it really is not! Patricia Thomas wrote Red Sled in the form of a chiasmus (ky-AZ-mus). This is a type of ancient writing. Here’s what she says in the back of her book: “This format creates a kind of mirror image, with thoughts, words, or even word sounds flowing toward a center point, then reversing to reflect that order as it reaches the end.” She, then, shows the reader in the author’s note the form of a chiasmus, using her Red Sled book. Very cool!
So, what do I do with this book?
1. The most obvious thing is to write a chiasmus, either as a whole class in a shared writing lesson or individually for older students. This will NOT be easy for anyone, so take your time, have fun, and play around with rhyme and the English language. Pick an easy, well-known, action-filled subject such as Patricia Thomas did.
2. Ask students to write or draw about a time when they went on a sled ride. If you live somewhere with no snow or sledding, then you can ask children to make up a story about sled riding, based on the book Red Sled.
3. This is a great book for oral reading, listening to rhymes, text patterns, and noticing the rhythm to language. Students could actually read this book with teachers because the text is large, or they could repeat after the teacher or parent. A really fun part to read with children is when the dad and boy are on the sled, and the text says, “Go! Go! No! No! Whoa! Whoa! Flip-flop stop.” Have fun with this book!
Please join me in celebrating the Winter Solstice by welcoming picture book author, Patricia Thomas! Pat and I met many years ago and have since gone on to speak at conferences together along with Lindsay Barrett George, and to travel together, which is always alarmingly exciting when I'm the driver. About this time last year, Pat's newest picture book (illustrated by Chris L. Demerest), The Red Sled was published by Boyds Mills Press
and received a very warm welcome by reviewers. Here are some nice clips from several reviews that will also give you a glimpse of what the book is all about:
* "A quietly exhilarating ride." --Kirkus , starred review
"A dad, a lad, and a red sled are the just-right combination for a story-poem about a father-son nighttime sledding adventure....This romp can be enjoyed by the youngest listeners, beginning readers, and older children learning various forms of writing"--Booklist
"With its evocative mood and tender simplicity, this will be a good choice both for storytime groups and for new readers."--Horn Book Magazine
http://www.amazon.com/Red-Sled-Patricia-Thomas/dp/1590785592/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1261406918&sr=1-1 The link will take you directly to Pat's Red Sled. You can learn about her others books, too!
Here's a little bit about Pat's writing journey:
Patricia Thomas discovered the magic of rhyming words about as soon as she could talk, had her first poem published in
Jack and Jill magazine when she was eight, and knew immediately that she would be a writer. Her books, stories, and articles cover a spectrum of styles, from the lyrical
Firefly Mountain…to
Nature's Paintbox: A Seasonal Gallery in Art and Verse, an original poetic approach to nonfiction…to such zany, nonsense verse classics as
“There Are Rocks in My Socks,” Said the Ox to the Fox, The One-and-Only, Super-Duper, Golly-Whopper, Jim Dandy, Really Handy Clock Tock Stopper, and
“Stand Back,” Said the Elephant, “
I’m Going to Sneeze!”, featured on
PBS Storytime series and now marking more than 35 years in print.
Pat's most recent picture book,
Red Sled, is written in a unique, deceptively simple style, based on an ancient writing form—but perfect for young readers. Her articles and stories have appeared in magazines, including
Faces and
Appleseeds, covering subjects from Arthurian legends to the Loch Ness monster to Benjamin Franklin. She is an instructor for Institute of Children’s Literature, and has done conference presentations, university guest lectures, and workshops on the art and craft of writing.
Pat shares this about the poetry style of her book
The Red Sled:The structure of this story-poem is inspired by an ancient form of writing called chiasmus. This composition creates a kind of mirror image, with thoughts, words, or even word sounds flowing toward a center point, then reversing to reflect that order as it reaches the end.<
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A perfect example of a beautiful story told with sparse language. There are too many lines I love - but "snowflake shake" made me smile.
Of course the "hot pot/ warm up cup" was always my motivation for trudging home.
Thanks for leaving a comment, Kristin. I bet your children would love a night-time sleigh ride and the hot pot/warm up cup!
I Love this story! You are right- Patricia makes every word count! A great example for us picture book writers!
What vivid pictures she creates with just a few simple words. Magical. You're right, Clara, this book would be an excellent study for picture book writers.
My favorite memories as a child include sledding and sleigh rides. Unfortunately, I don't get too much of that now, living in Florida. :)
Thank you Susan and Jennifer for stopping by to leave a comment. The text is magical, and coupled with the illustrations, the book captures a special childhood experience perfectly. It's a beautiful book!
I love books like this--especially since I have worked a lot with preschoolers. These books are not easy to write, and children love to hear them over and over and over again. I would love to win this book and donate it to the preschool where I sub sometimes!
Margo
http://margodill.com/blog/
Thanks, Margo! Only one more day until the drawing! Can't wait to see whose name gets pulled from Santa's hat!