The Snowy Day

The Snowy Day. ISBN:0-670-86733-0. Ezra Jack Keats. (1962). Winner of Caldecott Medal. Fiction. Ages 2+. Young African American middle class boys.

This book is about a little boy named Peter, who woke up to something new in his neighborhood.....snow! Peter reminds us all of the happiness and delight that children get from the very simple pleasures in life. We do not have to search too far past our own backyard for amazing new wonders. In the pictures in the book, we never see any of the other characters' faces, because the illustrator is trying to focus on Peter's experience and expressions and not draw attention away from him. We do see a smiley face on the snow man, which helps us understand that Peter's experience and the snow are what is really the main idea of this book. On the pages that picture Peter's neighborhood, the buildings do no have details drawn on them, I assume as to not draw attention away from the snow (focal point). The pictures themselves are very simplistic, as to represent the beauty in simplicity being showcased in this book.

In my classroom, I would use this book in literature while we are learning about seasons. In writer's workshop I would have the children draw a picture and write in their journal about fun experiences they have had in the winter time. I would ask them if they like to experience that alone or with friends and family. This book could be used as a tool to get their minds thinking about what to write about.

We could also use this as an introduction to the science of matter (solid, liquid, gas), and discuss what happened to Peter's snowball when he put it in his pocket and why.