Through the Looking Glass Children's Book Reviews
Snow
Picture Book
For ages 2 to 5
Groundwood Books, 2006 ISBN: 978-0888997128
There can be no doubt that, for children, snow is wonderful stuff. One day Sammy wakes up to discover that it is snowing. It snows all day, and into the night. In fact it keeps on snowing for a whole month. When the snow finally stops falling Sammy goes outdoors. Everything is covered with the beautiful white drifts and soon Sammy is standing on the very roof of his house looking across at the roofs of the houses around his own. As he watches the ploughs at work and the people busily wielding their snow shovels Sammy begins to imagine what might be lying underneath the drifts.
Sammy imagines a mother bear sleeping in her den with her two little cubs. He imagines an old sailing ship locked in the ice. He imagines Santa and his elves busily working in their workshops. Every day Sammy imagines wonderful things and every day his mountain on the roof of his house gets smaller and smaller as the snow melts.
With its wonderfully evocative multimedia illustrations and a story which every child can identify with, this picture book is a delightful seasonal treasure. Anyone who has waded through snow drifts or stood on a mountain of snow will understand how Sammy is able to let his imagination take flight across the whiteness to go to far off places and imagined worlds.
