The Snowy Day and the Art of Ezra Jack Keats

by Claudia J. Nahson, Maurice Berger (Contributor), Emily Casden (Contributor)

In 1962, Ezra Jack Keats's picture book The Snowy Day introduced readers to young Peter, the first African American protagonist in a full-color children's book, who traipsed alone through the snowy, wondrous sidewalks of New York City. The book was a runaway success, capturing the Caldecott Medal and selling more than two million copies. In The Snowy Day and subsequent books, Keats's awareness of the city, its daily hum, and the role of its children are deeply felt and delicately rendered in words and bright collages and paintings. He made a prominent place for characters and places that had not been represented in children's books, saying about Peter, "My book would have him there simply because he should have been there all along." Coinciding with The Snowy Day 's 50th anniversary, the current publication features more than 75 illustrations alongside essays by Claudia Nahson and Maurice Berger, who discuss Keats's Jewish background, his advocacy of civil rights, his inventive art, and his wide-ranging influence.

Published in association with The Jewish Museum, New York

Exhibition The Jewish Museum, New York
(09/09/11-01/12/12) The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art, Amherst, MA
(06/26/12-10/14/12) Contemporary Jewish Museum, San Francisco
(11/15/12-02/24/13) Akron Art Museum (March 2013, dates tbd) 

Genres: Art, Nonfiction, Books About Books

104 pages, Hardcover

First published October 25, 2011

Reviews

[Annie ⚜️ · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s no secret I love children’s picture books. Ezra Jack Keats’s works are some of my favorites for many reasons. I happened to have stumbled upon this book not realizing it was an accompaniment to an exhibition I had also been lucky enough to stumble upon while visiting to Eric Carle Museum in Massachusetts. It was then that I had become an admirer and now it all circles back. Beautiful plate selections of his landmark works.

[Cara Byrne · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Often lonely and in great need of attention and affection, Keats's characters are frequently depicted canvassing their familiar neighborhood turf that might bring about a sense of renewal or someone who might display nurturing feelings toward them [...] The characters' real or imaginary outings are often propelled by the necessity to find solace from oppressive feelings at home" (Nahson 9). This is a really helpful guide to Ezra Jack Keats' most famous work, as well as his lesser known contributions to American children's literature.

[Jacqueline Hanson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading Level: L
Book Level: 2.5
Book Summary: Peter wakes up to beautiful snow falling and covering the Earth. He ventures out into the snow and plays all day in the snow. The next day, he goes out and plays again but this time with his neighbor.

Mentor Book Writing Trait:
The Snowy Day is a great mentor text for the writing trait presentation. The pictures are vital to the story. While they do match the words, they also add to the story being told on each page. This would be a great book to do a picture walk with students and ask them to tell the story on each page without reading the words. You could then read the book to the students and discuss what the pictures tell you about the story that the words didn't. You could then challenge students to write their own story or revisit a story that they've already written and think about how they can add pictures to tell more of the story that the words didn't.
This book could also be used as a mentor text for word choice. The author does things like repeat a key word three times or spread out a word to demonstrate it's meaning. This modeling is great for students to see and then try to replicate in their own writing. You could brainstorm as a class how to write certain words to demonstrate their meaning like spreading out the word long or changing the font of the word tall so that the letters are tall and skinny. They could then write their own story using this strategy or revise already written work to add these features.

[Evelyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this analysis of Keats' work ages ago when my kids were small and we were deep in picture books. For me, The Snowy Day goes hand in hand with Where the Wild Things Are, in spite of surface differences. It's the poetic language and complete devotion to a child-centered world view as well as the time frame of publication. This book consists of a few scholarly analyses with extensive photographs of Keats' work for reference. I would love more biographical information than is already here. Sources are generously footnoted and I'd love to read some additional analysis of his work. I'm glad this book survived the hyper purging that goes on at our local library.

[Gina · Rating 4 out of 5]

This has a couple of essays, a timeline, and a lot of artwork that blends together to give a greater understanding of Keats' inspiration, work, and influence. Touching and also somewhat sad, but makes me want to read more.

[el · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ah the more you know. Keats and I grew up in similar neighborhoods, and I was raised on his books, often featuring Peter, a small child with dark skin like mine. These stories and experiences reading with my mother are memories I can point to as my trek towards library professionalism.

[Turquoise · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book offers an informative background on Ezra Jack Keats, the author of The Snowy Day and other children's books. It has illustrations from several of those books and talks about their art.

[Katie Little]

This is a great book from my childhood. I loved it growing up and it's still good today.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I haven't seen the exhibit yet, but this seems like a great companion/introduction to it. The first essay by Claudio Nahson is especially strong and insightful--she honed in on not only the way Keats focused on African-American and poor children, but also on his ability to speak to any kid that feels invisible, unwanted, or alone. She uses relevant examples from several of his books. The most affecting for me was "Louie," which by all bookseller descriptions/Amazon reviews makes it sound like a trite feel good book, when it is in fact really sad and upsetting (making the ending even more compassionate). She includes a lot of background about his upbringing, (which was new to me) and how that may have influenced the storylines and art. The second essay is more slight. The book has a lot of Keats's art and is designed nicely. I also really appreciated the timeline at the end of the book--it contained just the right amount of information.

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the catalog that accompanies the current EJK exhibition at the Jewish Museum, on the 50th anniversary of the picture book The Snowy Day. The authors point out Keats important role in being the first to portray a black child as the protagonist of a picture book. Absent was any discussion of Keats' role in the context of painting at the time.

[Renee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quick read and wish I would have read more of Keats's books before reading this. I think I will read his books, have a closer look, and then maybe go back to reread this. The text did give me insight into his life that I found interesting and surprising. Some facts and interesting things can be added to my story class when using his books.

[Phoebe · Rating 3 out of 5]

This museum exhibit catalog is fascinating and encouraged me to go back to Keats and look again at his art. We are reminded of how groundbreaking Keats was and the important contributions he made, how he freed children's literature to move beyond white-skinned, blond-haired suburban characters.

[Shari (Shira) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got this book at exactly the right time. I recently read A POEM FOR PETER by Andrea Davis Pinkney. This book provided more details about Keats' (Katz) life and enhanced my understanding about his art.