In the Snow

by Huy Voun Lee

Continuing the lesson begun in At the Beach, a mother teaches her young son ten new Chinese characters by using the snow as a canvas and a fallen branch as a brush and explaining how Chinese writing is like drawing pictures. Reprint.

Genres: Childrens, China, Picture Books, Asia, Cultural

32 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1995

About the author

I was born in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. My family came to the United States in 1975 as refugees. We became citizens in 1983. I am a Children’s books illustrator. Sometimes, I also write my own books. Like most artist, I enjoy experimenting with different media. My favorite medium is paper, because it offers me the most versatility to create 2D or 3D art. If my works can make someone smile, then I think I succeeded my goal as an artist. I hope my works brighten your day!

Reviews

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am not quite sure what to make of this one. I picked it up from the storybook shelves at the library while doing a storybook run. So, as you might guess, I expected a storybook. Instead, I got a lesson on how Chinese characters are formed, a very didactic book on Chinese characters. If I were looking for a resource for people learning to make Chinese characters I think I might have given this book five stars. But, I was looking for a storybook and for that I want to give one star; there is no story here at all. But, I am not sure it is the author's fault that the library put it with the storybooks, so I split the difference with three stars.

[Tom Ericksen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a really cool book. I really like how the main character and his mom bond while writing in the snow. I like how the little boy tweaks his thinking just a little to remember what characters are what. I also like the glossary in the back with the characters defined with words and pictures.

[Diane · Rating 4 out of 5]

A mother and son practice writing Chinese characters in the snow. Introduces the characters for ten simple words.

[Kitty · Rating 3 out of 5]

I do like books that explain the shapes of chinese characters, but my prekindergartener was hoping for a little more plot from this one. He's still learning to write the english alphabet.

[Jonathan Fifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book (as well as Huy Voun Lee's other book, "In the Park") are little stories designed to teach kids some basic Chinese characters. The story is of Xiao Ming and his mother, who is teaching him how to remember what different Chinese characters mean. Xiao Ming compares writing characters to drawing, and they go back and forth saying how the character for tree looks like a tree, forest looks like 2 trees, rest looks like someone leaning against a tree, snow looks like the character for rain and a hand (as you can hold snow in your hand), and other such tricks. Other than the characters shown on each page, the book is entirely in English and the beginning and end have pronunciation guides on how to say the words (also in English).
These two books are interesting to me, as they are the first I've found that allow non-Chinese speaking adults to work on Chinese characters with kids. It seems to be primarily aimed at Chinese language learners, but I feel it could also be used with the child I am observing. Other books with Chinese writing would not work as I do not know how to read the characters, and being 3, neither does the child I'm working with. However, this book would allow me to say the names of the characters and also allow her to see what they look for. The one significant downside is that the story itself does not seem that interesting, and I worry that it would be hard to hold her attention on it. However, seeing a book with Chinese and English mixed together might offset that for her.

[Robin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Xiao Ming's mother helps him learn new Chinese characters by writing/drawing in the snow.

Author was born in Cambodia and moved to the US in 1975.

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a good introduction for young children to the written Chinese language. As Xiao Ming and his mother walk through the winter forest, the mother links words and images on their walk to help teach 10 characters. The cut-paper collages are beautiful to look at and the text is easy to read for young readers. Thoughtful endpaper summaries of the characters introduced help reinforce learning. My son was captivated by this book and spent many hours copying the characters, happily learning effortlessly.

[Whirl Girl · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved the idea behind this book - about a boy who is learning Chinese characters with his mom and comparing the word to its appearance in nature. But, for us, the story never really took off. It was a little too abstract for The Whirl Girl. Had the boy actually drawn the characters in the snow, I think she would have been better able to understand the point of how the characters developed. The Whirl Girl was quite responsive, though, when we used it as a guide for painting Chinese characters, one of my favorite crafts projects of the month.

[Michael Morley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Huy Voun Lee brings a soft peaceful story about a mother wanting to pass down knowledge teaching her son his own language. This story is brought to life by amazing pictures of winter, and being part of Xiao Ming’s mother teaching him the proper symbols for specific words in Chinese, such as tree and forest. It shows the reader how excited Xiao Ming is about wanting to learn more, and how important it is to be taught your own language and to be part of the world.

[Laree Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a great book about a chinese boy and his mother. One day decide to take a walk in the snow. As they are walking through the snow his mother teaches him different chinese writing characters along the way.I would have this book in my classroom library.

[Sally · Rating 4 out of 5]

Teaches Chinese characters. Sweet story.

[Christy Valyou · Rating 5 out of 5]

A delightful way for children to learn some basic Chinese written characters. Loved this book.

[Wendy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great introduction to traditional Chinese writing in a lovely story.

[Kali Woods · Rating 3 out of 5]

In this book, a mother explains her native language of Chinese to her son and shows him what the symbols are for certain things on their morning walk. As Xiao Ming and his mother walk, she begins to draw letters in the snow, and explain why they look the way they look. Xiao Ming had a big imagination and loved drawing pictures, therefore, his mother used his love of drawing to teach him about his heritage. She showed him the letters for tree, forest, water, pond, rest, rain, snow, sun, moon, sparkling and bright. Xiao Ming’s mother knew that this was a teachable moment, as she was teaching, and he was learning, he was having so much fun. She knew with his love for drawing, he would remember this lesson.