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Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Let It Snow

What a treat to be roaming the shelves in one of my favorite book stores over our Christmas break and find Super Snow Day (Dutton Books for Young Readers, November 11, 2010) written and illustrated by Michael Garland.  This newest of his seek and find books brings warmth to those windy, chilly days of winter.


Just the words, snow day, bring a keen and joyous sense of anticipation.  That anticipation is realized when Garland begins this book with a letter to the reader from Aunt Jeanne welcoming them to look, search and keep track of winter sport symbols, titles of songs, poems and books about snow, and animal tracks as well as the animals themselves. 

Readers follow Tommy, the book's main character,  throughout the days' activities from shoveling snow, to marveling at giant snow sculptures, ice fishing, sleigh riding, walking through the wintry woods, climbing a mountain, watching a bobsled race and yes, swimming at the beach. 

Michael Garland's lively and colorful illustrations leap off the page as a visual treat to the wonder of this snowy event which makes us all feel young at heart.  At the book's end readers are asked to compare their lists with his which surprisingly enough has more goodies that need to be located---words from different languages that mean snow, six-pointed snowflakes, letters that spell Happy Snow Day and the infamous Aunt Jeanne that appears in every scene. 

Page after page of pure puzzling fun makes this a winner for seasonal lessons or the simple thrill of a new treasure hunt.

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