Snow School

by Sandra Markle, Alan Marks (Illustrator)

The author/illustrator team of Sandra Markle and Alan Marks has had a profound impact on the world of children’s nonfiction with their collaborative efforts on books about different animals around the world. From wolves in Yellowstone to penguins in Antarctica, readers and critics have raved about the way in which Markle and Marks share their stories and information about animals in the wild.

In their newest project, readers are introduced to twin snow leopard cubs and their mother from the Hindu Kush mountains of Pakistan. Lyrical, informative text and stunning watercolor illustrations lead readers through the struggles these snow leopards face—from finding food to bearing harsh weather conditions—and the lessons the young cubs learn as they prepare for a life on their own, out from underneath the watchful, caring eye of their mother.

Back matter includes further resources and facts as well as an author’s note about the research process and information about how we can help this endangered species.

Genres: Animals, Picture Books, Nonfiction, Nature, Childrens, Science, Asia

32 pages, Hardcover

First published February 1, 2013

About the author

Sandra Markle is the author of more than two hundred children's books, which have won numerous awards, including Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor Book, IRA/CBC Children's Choice, NSTA/CBC Outstanding Trade Books for Children, NCTE Orbis Pictus Recommended, and ALA Notable Books for Children. She lives in Lakewood Ranch, Florida and frequently travels to schools sharing her program "Sandra Markle's Books Are REAL Adventures."

Reviews

[Brooke · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very informative children's book with great illustrations.

[Jim Erekson · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I didn't like this as much as Waiting for Ice, Markle & Marks are consistently good at presenting a realistic tone for what it might feel like to be an animal. The bloodiness and brutality of a predator/prey life is strong in both the words and the pictures. Words and pictures are in a corresponding relationship throughout the book. Marks' watercolors are just impressionistic enough to avoid a sense of photo-realism. While his animal figures are impeccably drawn, the looseness of the watercolor helps him emphasize dynamics and emotional tone over mere representation.

Being a trail runner I worry about cougars sometimes, so I've done a bit of research, and the one picture in this book that doesn't feel right is the one where the mother leopard is on the top of a high precipice looking down at a group of ibex. Everything I have read would suggest that a hunting cat would never choose a perch that would put it in relief against the sky. The watchword is, if you've been out on a trail, you've probably been stalked (but didn't know it). So while a snow leopard perched on a high rock may be dramatic, if they did things like that they probably wouldn't be so hard to find in the wild.

[Laura Salas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stunning book! The narrative follows one snow leopard family, showing how the cubs learn to hunt and survive in their harsh Asian mountain habitat. The text is beautiful, brief, and dramatic. The art is gorgeous! I didn't like one page where the art contradicts the description in the text, but other than that, I found this book pretty dang flawless.

[Courtney]

2013. Concept 9. Good read aloud during endangered species unit or in conjunction with the snow leopards informational book. All about snow leopards growing up and learning their lessons they need to survive.

[Kara Marsee · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent and beautiful look at the lives of endangered snow leopards.

[Sojourn & Ransom · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sojourn liked the hunting. Ransom liked the snow leopards fighting off the eagle.

[R. L. Peterson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent educational book about Snow Leopards!

[Quan Byrd · Rating 5 out of 5]

good book about baby snow leapords

[Abigail · Rating 4 out of 5]

Prolific children's author Sandra Markle and illustrator Alan Marks team up in this gorgeous picture book examination of snow leopards, following two young cubs through their first two years of life, as they learn what they need to know from their mother. From the time when they are still very young, and confined in their mountain den high in Pakistan's Hindu Kush Mountains, through their first forays out, the narrative describes their snowy schooling—the lessons about hunting and safety that they must learn, following their mother through a harsh and cold landscape, until they are ready to set out on their own. The book closes with a note about snow leopards, and a list of further resources...

Markle and Marks have collaborated on other titles— Little Lost Bat , Finding Home , A Mother's Journey —but although I have read and enjoyed other titles from both, Snow School is the first of their joint projects I have encountered. I tracked it down because I have recently been reading other juvenile titles about this species—Justin Anderson's Snow Leopard: Ghost of the Mountains and Sy Montgomery's Saving the Ghost of the Mountain: An Expedition Among Snow Leopards in Mongolia —and wanted to see more. I am glad I did, as this was a truly beautiful book! The artwork from Marks, created using watercolor and pencil, is simply gorgeous—it doesn't hurt that the subject matter is gorgeous!—and the narrative from Markle informative and engaging. I liked how the text was structured, which each episode teaching a specific lesson, from learning to be still and silent when hunting to always avoiding humans and their livestock. I would definitely recommend this one to young animal lovers in general, and to any child interested in snow leopards in particular.

[Tasha · Rating 4 out of 5]

High in the mountains of Pakistan, two week-old snow leopard cubs snooze in a den waiting for their mother to return. It’s May and the pair are only a week old. When the male cub goes outside, he is attacked by a golden eagle and only saved by his mother rescuing him. As the cubs grow, the practice pouncing one another and then start to eat directly from the game their mother kills. Their mother teaches them skills they must have to survive in the harsh climate. They learn to mark their territory, to silently hunt, to be quick, to guard their food, to find shelter when snow comes, and when to retreat. It is a story of how small cubs grow into strong hunters and how these great and beautiful cats manage to survive in their mountainous and cold habitat.

Markle is the author of over 200 books for children. In this one she takes on one of the most elusive creatures on earth and shows the strong family bonds and the huge amount of learning these young cats must accomplish to live. She writes her nonfiction in verse, making it more easily read. Nicely, as the mother is teaching her cubs, Markle makes sure readers understand the lesson by repeating it neatly at the end of the stanza.

Marks’ illustrations capture the snow leopards and their beauty and grace. There are moments of such daring leaps and heart pounding danger that Marks captures with flawless accuracy. His use of soft watercolors adds to the mystique of these cats and also captures the speed and motion as they hunt.

Beautiful illustrations and strong text result in a book that will teach children much about the snow leopards and their lives. Appropriate for ages 7-9.

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brother and sister snow leopard cubs are born in May in Pakistan. Stunning and graphic watercolor-and-pencil illustrations accompany a lyrical narration depicting their first year or so of life and the lessons they must learn to survive. By the end of the second summer, the young male snow leopard has completed his lessons when he shares his first big kill with his mother and sister. Back matter includes information about this endangered species with additional resources to investigate and an Author’s Note that describes Markle’s research process.

[Holly Mueller · Rating 4 out of 5]

This beautifully illustrated book is about a family of snow leopards. Twin cubs learn from their mother ways to survive in Pakistan's Hindu Kush Mountains. Alan Marks's watercolors are gorgeous. I love the last one of the mother and her growing cubs. I like that Sandra Markle teaches children about snow leopards through narrative verse. If they have brothers or sisters, they will be able to relate to the cubs' antics, mistakes, and triumphs.

[Diane · Rating 3 out of 5]

Narrative non-fiction about a mother snow leopard teaching her cubs how to hunt and survive in their harsh environment. Additional information in the back of the book could answer some questions that the text doesn't cover. There are also websites, with video links, to observe snow leopards in action.

[Beverly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovely pencil and watercolor illustrations. This is a realistic book that depicts how young snow leopards learn many things from their mothers, including how to hunt. Fascinating information, but simple enough for primary grade students.

[Karen Arendt · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great book to use to introduce students to research process. Rad the book to students, then do some research on snow leopards. Pair students and have them each bread arch one question. Come back together as a group and share what was learned. This could easily be done with 1st or 2nd grade.

[Edward Sullivan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A snow leopard mother and her two cubs in Pakistan's Hindu Kush Mountians. Engagingly written, informative, and beautifully illustrated.

[Paula · Rating 3 out of 5]

Growing up as snow leopards is not easy. Lots of lessons learned from mother and nature

[Pamela · Rating 4 out of 5]

A strong narrative nonfiction w beautiful pictures and interesting information about the raising of snow leopards in a very harsh mountainous environment.

[Turrean · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautifully done. The pictures reminded me of Ed Young's work. Nice narrative non-fiction.

[Rebecca Plaza · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lots of good detail on the daily, seasonal life of snow leopards on the mountains of Pakistan.

[Attila · Rating 3 out of 5]

A children's picture book about a snow leopard and her cubs living in the Hindu Kush mountain range. Nice and realistic illustrations.

[Amy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sounded too much like a nature channel program. Too clinical for a young child.