{25 Days of Holiday Book Reviews}: Snow on Snow on Snow

Today's review comes is by Pam Sullivan.  Dr. Pam is a professor in the Reading Education Department at James Madison University, teaching both undergrads and grad students.  She was my professor for two of my classes, and I really enjoyed having her!  

Review: Snow on Snow on Snow by Cheryl Chapman (Dial, 1994)
Reviewed by Pam Sullivan

image from Amazon

This is an older but lovely winter book. Here is the summary from Goodreads:  A gentle, lyrical story is set in motion by repeated words as a boy wakes up "under blankets under blankets under blankets" and goes out into "snow on snow on snow" to go sledding "down down down the slopes."

Rather than a traditional story, this book is best viewed as a poem with illustrations. The rhythmic and soothing words tell the events of a snow day from waking to living “happily ever after, ever after, ever after”. The simple words are accompanied by graphic and bright illustrations. Synthia Saint James (illustrator) conveys emotion and a sense of childhood. Clancy, the dog, is particularly engaging.

In a school setting, I recommend this book for fluency work. Like many poems, it can help develop expression and prosody. The short length makes it a wonderful choice for rereading.

At home, this is a favorite read aloud with my four-year-old daughter. As she transitions from the emergent to the beginning stage of reading development, it is also one of my choices for her to read with/to me. The repetition and simple words make it a natural choice for choral and echo reading. As a read aloud, it reminds me of Ezra Jack Keats’ ‘A Snowy Day’ and it would be a good companion for that book in the classroom or at home.

Thank you, Pam!