From: Lindsay <linds_na>
Date: Fri, 4 Dec 1998 14:18:27 -0800 (PST)

I was instantly struck by Shulevitz's "Snow" the moment I read it -- not just because it had that satisfying feel of a well-made picture book, but because it is the ONLY picture book about snow I have ever read that communicates the experience of snow to those who've never experienced it! I was born, grew up, and live in Oakland California. I never experienced falling snow until I was eighteen. I never lived in the snow until I moved to Madison for two years to attend library school. So-- I was struck with how evocative Shulevitz's book was for me (*sniff* *sniff* Those Februarys in Wisconsin... the salt crusted hallways of the University and overheated CCBC), and also aware that no other picture book had done this for me before. The experience is communicated not just through the text, but in the sparseness and sharp-smelling chilliness of the illustrations. As a public librarian in California, I really think twice about "snow" stories for my library --- they have to have a lot else going for them, because kids here can't identify with snow play. I still remember how flat all those kinds of books fell for me as a child. I didn't get it. But I'm snatching up Shulevitz's
"Snow". It's a very unassuming looking little picture book, so I'm glad others appreciate it too.

Nina, who now can laugh when the temperature drops to 40 (!!!!) and the natives panic...


  Nina Lindsay, Children's Librarian Melrose Branch, Oakland Public Library 4805 Foothill Boulevard Oakland, CA 94601
(510)535V23 linds_na at oak2.ci.oakland.ca.us
Received on Fri 04 Dec 1998 04:18:27 PM CST