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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).

Morning folks. I’ll start today with a video that contains some classy tunes. It’s my recent interview with Eric Rohmann about his new book GIANT SQUID. Delicious delicious giant squids. Sorry. This interview occurred on a day when I was half hoping the staff recording the interview would have a big steaming plate of calamari waiting for me. Twas not to be.

Britain’s doing that thing again. That thing where they throw a bunch of celebrities into a video for charity. I could recognize about 5.5 of them. You may have better luck in the end. How did Brittany get in there, by the way?

Hmmm. Boyz II Men plus The Snowy Day? Sure! What the heck. I’ll bite. This is for the new Amazon Prime Video holiday special. Oddly, it was the only clip from the special I was able to find online.

Oops!  Did I not post KidLit TV’s live presentation of School Library Journal’s Best of 2016 list!  Where are my manners?

And finally for the off-topic videos, Matt (the resident husband) had two more new one about the process of writing.  First up, finding that odd moment of humanity in your characters . . .

Second up, fun with exposition!

#5 The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats (1962)
166 points

The first book I would run to on my trips to the library. Just wonderful. – Hotspur Closser

What is it like to be a small child in the snow? Ezra Jack Keats gave us the answer with this timeless story of Peter’s gentle adventures on a day of snow. The pictures are so striking that I had to check to remember that there are, in fact, words. They describe the way Peter walks in the snow with his toes pointing out and then in, the way he drags his feet and finds a stick to drag, too. The stick is “just right for smacking a snow-covered tree.” Such fine, detailed observations! Peter wants to join the big boys’ snowball fight, but knows he’s too little. Instead he makes a snowman and a snow angel. The snowball he takes home in his pocket is the final, funny detail that brings the book to a kindly close. Because even though it melts, there is more snow for tomorrow—and a friend to play with. – Kate Coombs

For the triangle of little boy back peeping through pajamas on the first page, and for the hope Peter packed into his pocket. - DaNae Leu

According to Keats, “The purpose of the book and the subject matter of the book was so strong that my style changed completely. I had never painted that way before. It turned out to be the beginning of a whole new style to me because I was so deeply involved.”  Classic.  And how.

The description from my review: “In this book, Peter wakes up to discover that snow has covered the city in the night. Delighted, he pulls on his bright red (and now world-known) snowsuit and plunges into a day of exploring and playing. He makes fun tracks, and hits snow off the branches of trees. He constructs a smiling snowman and slides down steep mountains of white powder. At the end of the day his mother gets him out of his wet clothes and gives him a nice hot bath. The next morning the snow is still there, and an ecstatic Peter calls up a friend to do the whole day over again.”

100 Best Books for Children gives some additional background information on the book.  “Today it is hard to believe that critics virulently attacked Ezra Jack Keats and that The Snowy Day was one of the most controversial children’s books of the 1960s . . . During the late 1960s and 1970s Keats . . .  was accused of everything from stereotyped characters to having no right, as a white man, to feature black children in his books.”  Some confusion continues to exist today over Keats’ race.  When I complained that my last Top 100 Picture Books Poll was lacking in diversity (a fact that, sad to say, has only been correctly modestly this second time around), one commenter said, “Wasn’t Whistle for Willy in there? For a multicultural author?”  And since Willy is, in effect, Snowy Day’s sequel, you can see where the confusion lies (Peter, for the record, would go on to also appear in Peter’s Chair, A Letter to Amy, Goggles, Hi Cat

One of our all-time favorite books, “The Snowy Day” by Ezra Jack Keats, just celebrated it’s 50th anniversary! Because this book is so special to so many people, it’s one of the titles we carry on the First Book Marketplace.

If you work with kids in need, sign up with First Book to get copies of this beloved, award-winning book for the kids in your classroom or program. We guarantee they will love it.

And if you remember “The Snowy Day” fondly from your own childhood (or parenthood), let us know what it means to you and your own children.

On October 7^th, children and adults nationwide will take part in Jump Start’s 5^th Annual Read for the Record Day. This one-day celebration of literacy will kick off on NBC’s the TODAY Show, followed by thousands of celebrations in communities and classrooms nationwide. The day will aim to break the world record of the most people reading the same book on the same day, while raising awareness of America’s education crisis. This year’s book of choice? Ezra Jack Keat’s The Snowy Day.

From now until Thursday, you can play a part in breaking this world record by reading The Snowy Day online at www.wegivebooks.org. For each book read, The Pearson Foundation will donate a hard copy of The Snowy Day to a child, preparing them to read on Thursday.

So help break a world record, make a child smile, and spread the power of literacy by reading online today!

For more information about this campaign, please visit: http://www.readfortherecord.org

First Book’s national nonprofit partner, Jumpstart’s Read for the Record© day is only 45 days away.  This ground breaking campaign brings children and adults together to read the same book, on the same day, in homes and communities all over the world. The campaign also kicks off Jumpstart’s yearlong program, preparing preschool children in low-income neighborhoods for success in school and life.

Countless celebrities including singing sensation, Justin Bieber; actor, Vince Vaughn; Tony, Emmy, and Golden Globe winning actress Mary-Louise Parker; singer/actor, LL Cool J and so many more, have read as part of Jumpstart’s Read for the Record  Day.

This year’s Read for the Record book is the award winning title, The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats.  The First Book Marketplace is carrying this title for only $2.72.  Order your books today, so they arrive in time for your event.

How can you participate in this year’s Read for the Record Day on October 7?

• Pledge to Read – Jumpstart is aiming for 2.5 million children to be read to on that day.  Go here to register your event.
• Event Tips – Want to participate, but need some help planning an event.  Here are some great tips on how to incorporate The Snowy Day into your program.

For more information about Jumpstart’s Read for the Record Day visit their website:  http://www.readfortherecord.org

Before we move on to our discussion of A Girl Named Disaster and the introduction of the next Tiger’s Choice, we want to talk about the latest comments in the discussion of how to turn children into passionate readers.

Parents who read to their children are an essential element in creating readers, and Jeannine and Marjorie both bring up new ways for parents to ensure that this happens. Marjorie, whose sons’ book reviews light up the PaperTigers blog this week, suggests a virtual book group as being a way for children with irrepressible physical energy to come together in a space that doesn’t lend itself to exuberant (and distracting) physical activity. “After all,” she points out, “they are growing up with an affinity for virtuality which we can only wonder at!” Providing a way to link the world of books with the virtual world seems to be a brilliant way to keep reading alive in the brave new world of the internet. If anybody else has ideas on blending these two disparate pastimes, please let us know.

Jeannine, who read three to four books a night with her son when he was small, says that talking about the books was as much fun as reading them. She observes that parents can encourage their children to be engaged readers who can eventually take part in intelligent book discussions by through questions (”Why do you think he did that?”) and through connecting real-life activities with books shared with children. “If you’re reading about a garden, go outside and dig in the dirt,” she urges. And she adds, in the same spirit as Corinne, “As for the TV–just say no!”

Suggestions that add to this conversation, previously posted to the CCBC-net listserv, (the Cooperative Children’s Book Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Education), are reprinted here with permission. Megan Schliesman, CCBC Librarian, says, “When my husband, daughter and I gather together for a shared story (we are currently on book 3 of Suzanne Collin’s “Gregor the Overlander series), I am aware–as several have already mentioned–that we are not only experiencing a terrific story, we are also making shared memories.”

Lee Bennett Hopkins, a well-known poet and anthologist, echoes another poet, Sherman Alexie, in advocating The Snowy Day. “Read aloud The Snowy Day by [Ezra Jack] Keats; follow it up with “Cynthia in the Snow” where snow is “Still white as milk or shirts/So beautiful it hurts.” in Gwendolyn Brooks’ Bronzeville Boys and Girls….With every book you read aloud, find a poem to go with it. I believe we spend too much time TEACHING children to READ–and NOT enough time TEACHING them to LOVE to read. GET the difference.”

Let’s celebrate that difference and continue the discussion on how to make it become a vital part of the lives of children.