Snow: (Caldecott Honor Book)

Written by Uri Shulevitz

Narrated by Sean Schemmel

Snow is a 1998 New York Times Outstanding Book of the Year and a 1999 Caldecott Honor Book.

"It's snowing, said boy with dog.
"It's only a snowflake," said grandfather with beard.

No one thinks one or two snowflakes will amount to anything. Not the man with the hat or the lady with the umbrella. Not even the television or the radio forecasters. But one boy and his dog have faith that the snow will amount to something spectacular, and when flakes start to swirl down on the city, they are also the only ones who know how to truly enjoy it.

Uri Shulevitz' playful depiction of a snowy day and the transformation of a city is perfectly captured in simple, poetic text and lively watercolor and pen-and-ink illustrations.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Macmillan Audio
• Release date: Sep 29, 2009
• ISBN: 9781427210029

Uri Shulevitz

Uri Shulevitz is a Caldecott Medal-winning illustrator and author. He was born in Warsaw, Poland, on February 27, 1935. He began drawing at the age of three and, unlike many children, never stopped. The Warsaw blitz occurred when he was four years old, and the Shulevitz family fled. For eight years they were wanderers, arriving, eventually, in Paris in 1947. There Shulevitz developed an enthusiasm for French comic books, and soon he and a friend started making their own. At thirteen, Shulevitz won first prize in an all-elementary-school drawing competition in Paris's 20th district. In 1949, the family moved to Israel, where Shulevitz worked a variety of jobs: an apprentice at a rubber-stamp shop, a carpenter, and a dog-license clerk at Tel Aviv City Hall. He studied at the Teachers' Institute in Tel Aviv, where he took courses in literature, anatomy, and biology, and also studied at the Art Institute of Tel Aviv. At fifteen, he was the youngest to exhibit in a group drawing show at the Tel Aviv Museum. At 24 he moved to New York City, where he studied painting at Brooklyn Museum Art School and drew illustrations for a publisher of Hebrew books. One day while talking on the telephone, he noticed that his doodles had a fresh and spontaneous look—different from his previous illustrations. This discovery was the beginning of Uri's new approach to his illustrations for The Moon in My Room, his first book, published in 1963. Since then he was written and illustrated many celebrated children’s books. He won the Caldecott Medal for The Fool of the World and the Flying Ship, written by Arthur Ransome. He has also earned three Caldecott Honors, for The Treasure, Snow and How I Learned Geography. His other books include One Monday Morning, Dawn, So Sleepy Story, and many others. He also wrote the instructional guide Writing with Pictures: How to Write and Illustrate Children’s Books. He lives in New York City.

Reviews for Snow

[citizenjoyce · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is a very short and beautifully illustrated story of Anna May Wong who grew up in Los Angeles's Chinatown working in her family's laundry and became a movie star. She took roles that people thought showed Chinese women in a bad light, so after a trip to China she vowed only to work in films that showed positive images of Chinese. She contributed money and effort to the Chinese people and influenced generations of actors who came after her.

[melodyreads · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

surprisingly simple text tells a delightfully complex story

[cheryl_in_cc_nv · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Magical, yes. The art and the text both support the mood and the theme. I'm not sure why I'm rating it higher - maybe because I wanted more of the dancing in the snow scenes. After all, in the beginning we were shown *two* bookstores, but when the city became white only one bookstore's inhabitants came to life.

[moaks1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I liked this book for two reasons. First, I liked how the illustrations didn’t cover the whole page and started out dull. They were near the sides of the pages which made you focus on one picture at a time. Eventually, they became larger, brighter, and covered the full page. Second, I liked how the text didn’t over crowd the pictures. There was just enough text to tell the story, but not too much where it took away from the illustrations. For example, on page 18, the text has five to six words on the far left side of the page and the next page has five to six words on the far right side of the page. After the readers start on the left side, they would be attracted to look at the pictures before reading the text on the right page. The big idea of the story is to stay positive when people are getting you down.

[arodri13-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The book Snow by Uri Shulevitz is a great book. I liked this book because of the illustrations and the word usage. In the beginning of the story the town is depicted as barren, without snow. This book is an example of realism. The author portrays this image by using dark and grey colors, in contrast to the end of the story where the town is white and bright, covered in snow. The boy in the story hopes and believes that snow will come, while the other town members are skeptical. “Snow!” “Snow!” The boy shouts throughout the story, depicting the excitement and expectation of the glistening white powder. This is an example of the word usage that I liked. The overall message of this story is to keep hoping, and not to compromise what you think and believe even though the odds do no look in your favor. The towns members did not think it would snow, and it did!

[jraeke1-1 · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

I do not like this book because I don’t like the way it is written. When reading it I felt like there were a lot of words missing that would have made the story flow better. Another reason I don’t like this book is because the illustrations are mostly dark and have a lot of sharp edges. The sentences seemed choppy. For example, on one page the sentence reads, “said grandfather with beard.” Another example I would use is, “said boy with dog. It doesn’t flow nicely to me while reading. The illustrations in the book use a lot of sharp edges and dark colors. On one page there are a lot of black and dark greens, yellow, and gray. The lady that is drawn in the illustration has a sharp pointy nose, fingers, shoes, and the other people also have really sharp pointy shoes. The overall message of the story is not to listen to other people’s negativity. Sometimes things can happen even when everyone is telling you they can’t.

[kryoung1-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A simple but cute and informative story about the first snow of winter in a town with a boy and his dog. It had interesting illustrations that helped to tell the story as it was a book of few words.

[nbmars · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Uri Shulevitz, illustrator as well as author, fills his pages with many charming details that will delight readers with careful eyes. He is much like Sendak in that regard, and indeed, the people in this book look quite “Sendakian.”The story is simple, but full of magic. A young boy is excited to see snowflakes start to fall, but the grumpy adults in the town pooh-pooh the idea that it will amount to anything. Meanwhile, the snow keeps coming:"circling and swirling, spinning and twirling, dancing, playing, there, and there, floating, floating through the air,falling falling everywhere.”The boy, his dog, and the characters from The Mother Goose Bookshop who have come alive all dance together in a joyful celebration of the snow, and of the miraculous change that snow effects on the world.Evaluation: This award-winning book is a delightful way to share the enchantment of the first big snowfall with the preschool set.

[fjola-5 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

It's a very simple story about a little boy hoping for snow. The illustrations are wonderful and atmospheric, in their subdued, grayish and yet warm tones. I could almost feel the imminence of quiet snowfall in the illustrations. But no one pays heed to these signs, except for the little boy, who otherwise stands out already by the bright, vivid colors of his clothes. I was very charmed by the story, but the story might have more appeal to the parents than the child.

[swelker-2 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This book was about a boy seeing snowflakes. People in his town told him that there would only be a few snowflakes. Eventually the people in town were proven wrong, the whole town ended up covered in snow. I could see why this book won an award for its illustrations. The colors used for the oncoming snow were greys and whites. The different shapes helped the illustrations come alive.

[whisper1_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Seeing the entire sky and buildings are grey, a young boy knows in his heart that snow will appear.Throughout the book we cheer for the young book and his conviction and, who holds fast to his belief in the face of cynical, rational adult voices of reason. As one flake turns to two and the original fake melts and another falls, the young boy knows that all snowflakes know is how to snow, snow and then snow more.As the boy and his dog run past the Mother Goose bookstore, the characters fly off the building and cavort and frolic in the snow with the boy. Floating, floating, they softly follow the boy on his snow laden path.Having such wonderful delightful fun, the boy and his Mother Goose friends spin, twirl as the entire city is now white. I loved the illustrations. There is sheer delight in the creativity of the mother goose characters leaving the books and joining the fun.

[abigailadams26 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

A little boy has faith that the snow will come, in this Caldecott Honor Book from Uri Sheluvitz, who also won a Caldecott Medal for Arthur Ransome's The Fool of the World and the Flying Ship: A Russian Tale. As each naysayer denies the possibility of snow, the boy and his dog set off through the city, welcoming the snow when it does indeed begin to come down. Joined by the Mother Goose figures which hop down off a bookstore sign, they cavort in the snowy streets, celebrating the beauty and wonder of that fluffy white stuff falling from above...Any child who loves snow will identify with the young boy in this book, and thrill to the gorgeous illustrations, which perfectly capture the beauty of a wintry day, and the magic of snowfall. I tend to be something of a lenient critic, when it comes to books which incorporate images of winter scenes - I love pictures of snow, especially falling snow! - so Shulevitz' book was probably pretty much guaranteed to please me. True, the narrative feels a little scattered, but then, aren't snowy days like that, sometimes? And, after all, the artwork more than compensates!

[sammarocco · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Snow, a Caldecott Honor book by Uri Shulevitz, captures the reader in a wonderland of snow. The soft colors are used in the illustrations to show the joys of snow. Through the illustrations, you can see a transformation that takes place from a dull, gray city to a glittering, white city when the snow falls. The illustrations also have texture and the reader can see movement through the book. These movements in the illustrations engage the reader and help the reader better understand the text.

[elpowers · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Very pretty- great contrast

[lisabohman · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is a story about a young boy and his dog who take in the first snowfall in their city. I love how the story begins dark and gray and then everything changes with one snowflake. The little boy and his dog are ecstatic about the snow, but everyone says it's nothing until the snow eventually starts to really fall. The boy, dog, and other townspeople rejoice. This is a sweet story about the excitement of snow for children. It is a good reminder to us about the excitement and anticipation of snow and how it has to begin somewhere, with just one flake. The illustrations in this story are simple, yet effective. I would read this book to my class in the wintertime around the first snowfall of the year.

[didaly_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The lesson to rely on what you experience rather than what others tell you is played out to postmodern effect in the story being told more by pictures than words in the end. As in most of his work, although the real world can be humdrum and lonely, it is toylike enough to remain appealing. Even the fashions of the grumpy adult characters are adorable enough for children to feel in control of them, and amused rather than threatened.

[mrsbond_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

It all begins with one little snowflake. Not much can come of something that small, right? Story follows a little boy with a dog as they see what happens to the city.

[petersinclair_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This wonderfully illustrated book is about how a kid perceives snowfall. Throughout the book, the adults in his life, and the radio and TV deny the coming snow, but the boy and his dog celebrate the snow from the first flake until the city is blanketed. It's fun because the boy is just as exuberant from the first flake to the millionth.

[karrieskorner · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Please see my review of The Wall for my comments about this book.

[imagrtdnlvr · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is a 1999 Caldecott honor book. This is a story about a boy that sees one snowflake and gets excited about it starting to snow. The town people blow him off because it's only one flake. There was no mention of snow on the radio or television even though there were more snowflakes falling. He kept his excitement up and finally, many snowflakes were falling until the whole town turned white.I chose this book because of the simplicity of words and pictures. As I read this story to my three year old, he would say snow every time I turned the page. I find this book to be very useful for beginning readers because of the repitition throughout the story.I would use this as an extension of a weather lesson. They could see how snow starts out with one flake and then many join in. I would also have the children do a winter collage and tell their story to the class.

[lianedewan · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Snow is about a little boy who lives in a very grey, plain village. He travels through his town with his dog trying to tell everyone that it is starting to snow. No one believes that it will snow. As it begins the snow and the town is covered in white all of the statues come to life and dance through the town with the boy and his dog.I wasn’t a fan of this book. The illustrations towards the end of the book where the statues come to life are interesting. I did not like the way the text was organized.I would use this book in a Kindergarten class as a part of seasons unit

[staceytate_1 · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

This book is about a boy with dog who hopes for snow but everyone around him says it will not snow. After one, two, and even more snow flakes they all say it will not snow.Then it did and the boy and the dog are very happy and dance in the snow. The pictures in this book take an interesting turn when stautes come to life and dance in the snow as well.I did not particularly like this writing style used in this book because it said things like Boy with dog, man with beard, and so on. It also said..."But snow does not listen to TV". It was very oddly worded but the pictures were preatty neat.This would be a book to read at the begining of christmas time to introduce the weather change and also to make snow flakes would be great because everyone loves them.

[kidlit9 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

As snowflakes slowly come down, one by one, people in the city ignore them, and only a boy and his dog think that the snowfall will amount to anything.

[susan8suihkonen · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This story uses simple language to show how just a few snow flakes can make a big difference even against all odds.