Snow by Cynthia Rylant, Lauren Stringer (Illustrator)

From the Publisher

Cynthia Rylant’s lyrical descriptions of the sights and feelings evoked by falling snow blend gorgeously with the rich and beautiful world created by Lauren Stringer’s illustrations, in which a young girl, her friend, and her grandmother enjoy the many things a snowy day has to offer.

The New York Times - Paul O. Zelinsky

Snow is a little essay written as a poem. It muses on what snow is to us, and us to it. Cynthia Rylant is a writer whose rhythmic sentences can make just about anything sound enticing, and so it is here…In any good picture book, words and pictures complement each other, each of them necessary and neither sufficient. Rarely do they resonate together as effectively as they do here. Stringer's illustrations are in acrylics on paper. They excel in their use of color, accurately pinning down every mood.

Publishers Weekly

Rylant and Stringer (previously paired for Scarecrow) celebrate winter wonderlands in a cozy, lyrical tribute. Whether they encounter heavy snow that buries "cars up to their noses," or the best snow of all, the kind "that comes softly in the night, like a shy friend afraid to knock, so she thinks she'll just wait in the yard until you see her," kids embrace the precipitation. Author and illustrator largely look through a nostalgic lens. Rylant wistfully observes the snow's fleeting beauty and the passage of time; Stringer casts a granddaughter and grandmother duo in the lead roles. The result can feel more like a stroll down memory lane (or a preparation for one) than a childlike, in-the-moment romp. Stringer takes full advantage of the book's oversize dimensions and offers a range of perspectives. Her acrylic illustrations brim with blue-white crystal creations-flurries, drifts and snowflakes, no two alike. And when winter asserts itself at twilight, Stringer also shows grandmother and granddaughter staying warm inside, happy to be together: "It's the snow's turn now," Rylant says as Stringer offers an aerial view of the house, "We'll watch it fall." Like snow, the ending achieves a perfect silence. Ages 3-7. (Nov.)

Children's Literature

There are many different types of snow that make us feel many different feelings. There is a soft snow, a fat snow, a lot of snow, and a little bit of snow. Each snow has us do things that make us happy. Children love to play in the snow and to watch the snow as it falls. This poetic story does not rhyme, but it does have a rhythm to it that makes it seem like poetry. Snow is compared to a shy friend who just waits for you to see her. The illustrations complement the story very well. Children are seen on every page and are used to portray both the excitement and the coziness of snow. On many pages, adults are also painted, to show the reader that adults can love snow just as much as children do. Children will be able to recall memories of playing in the snow as they read this beautifully-written story. Reviewer: Rachel Miller

School Library Journal

PreS-Gr 2

A single snowflake on a midnight-blue marbled background ushers readers into this quiet celebration of snow that "comes softly in the night like a quiet friend" or falls so "heavy [it buries] cars up to their noses." In brief, lyrical text, Rylant states that snow helps us notice "the delicate limbs of trees" and "the light falling from a lamppost." It brings the delight of making snow angels and sledding and returning home to enjoy a warm drink. She urges readers to savor the phenomenon, for it remains only briefly. Stringer's acrylic paintings make use of small boxed scenes, full and three-quarter spreads, or full-page pictures framed in white, to display a world of snow-filled wonders. Varying perspectives help readers come up close to a group of multiethnic children gazing longingly at the flakes falling outside their classroom window and then view them from above as, clad in their puffy winter gear, they are finally released to cavort in its depths. There are interior views of a grandparent and child enjoying cozy activities at home and exterior scenes of the two enjoying a walk as twilight bathes the snow in pink hues. This is a gentle gem while Uri Shulevitz's Snow (Farrar, 2004) is a livelier treatment of the topic.-Marianne Saccardi, formerly at Norwalk Community College, CT

Kirkus Reviews

"The best snow is the snow that comes softly in the night, like a shy friend afraid to knock …." A little disingenuously, as she seems to love all types, from fat, heavy flakes to the light falls that "make you notice the delicate limbs of trees," Rylant begins her celebration of snow. An acknowledged master of "spare" and "poetic," the Newbery Medalist delivers, her words drifting and blowing and coming 'round to the children who "love the snow better than anyone else does" in the end. Stringer's illustrations are distinguished by lush, pillowy lines, the white edged with blues and pinks, and center the narrative on a child and her grandmother in sync with the snow. (Picture book. 3-6)

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