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The Jacket I Wear in the Snow: A Clever Rhyming Book about Layering Winter Clothes for Children
Rhyme follows rhyme as layer after layer of winter clothing ("bunchy and hot, wrinkled a lot, stiff in the knee, and too big for me!") is first put on and then taken off to the relief of the child bundled inside. Clever rebuses and jaunty illustrations make The Jacket I Wear in the Snow especially fun for prereaders and new readers.
32 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1989
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August 3, 2016Title: The Jacket I Wear in the Snow
Author: Shirley Neitzel
Illustrator: Nancy Winslow Parker
Genre: Pattern, Rhythm
Theme(s): Pattern book
Opening line/sentence:
This is the jacket I wear in the snow.
This is the zipper
That’s stuck on the jacket I wear in the now
Brief book summary: A girl names all of the clothing she needs to wear to play in the snow.
Professional Recommendation/Review #1: An easy full-color rebus enumerates ten items of clothing worn by a young child on a winter day. A catchy rhythm recounts frustrations familiar to anyone small bundled up for play in the snow.
Professional Recommendation/Review #2: Any child beyond the age of three can relate to this fetching book, especially the child who lives in a cold clime where bundling is de rigueur for one-third of the year. The Jacket I Wear in the Snow, in poem/rebus form with the repetitive rhythm of "The House That Jack Built," would be perfect for preschool story time using either winter or clothing as themes. "This is the jacket I wear in the snow. This is the zipper that's stuck on the [drawing of jacket] I wear in the snow." And thus goes the rhyme through scarf, hat, mittens, sweater, jeans, boots, long underwear, socks, and tears. Yes, tears, for child and sled collide with a snowman. Nancy Winslow Parker's simple, inimitable illustrations in soft, bright watercolors and colored pencils create the humorous yet tender-hearted elaboration of the story. Prior to the collision, the left-hand page has a large drawing of the garment under discussion; the right-hand page has the rhyme and rebus figure--each a miniature of the original. When tears fall, we see in half-page the bundled, tangled child attempt to extricate herself from the sled. Then, as mother comes to the rescue, the illustrations are appropriately larger, filling nearly the whole page until the clothing is removed, hung, and mother and daughter prepare to have hot chocolate, doughnuts, and cupcakes.
Response to Two Professional Reviews: I remember loving this book when I was younger. I related to her so much because of where I lived, and the 2nd review stated that. It is relatable for children who live in colder climates.
Evaluation of Literary Elements: The book has a catchy rhythm to it. It repeats itself and it just captures children’s attention. I read this in my preschool class and they love it. They always ask to read it when its getting cold out. The colors are capturing to them and the rhythm of the book draws them in.
Consideration of Instruction Application: I think a felt board would be a cool idea for this book. You would be able to dress up the little girl in all the clothing required to go outside in the snow. Using this you could ask the children what they think will come next. You could even have a snowman on the felt board
Author: Shirley Neitzel
Illustrator: Nancy Winslow Parker
Genre: Pattern, Rhythm
Theme(s): Pattern book
Opening line/sentence:
This is the jacket I wear in the snow.
This is the zipper
That’s stuck on the jacket I wear in the now
Brief book summary: A girl names all of the clothing she needs to wear to play in the snow.
Professional Recommendation/Review #1: An easy full-color rebus enumerates ten items of clothing worn by a young child on a winter day. A catchy rhythm recounts frustrations familiar to anyone small bundled up for play in the snow.
Professional Recommendation/Review #2: Any child beyond the age of three can relate to this fetching book, especially the child who lives in a cold clime where bundling is de rigueur for one-third of the year. The Jacket I Wear in the Snow, in poem/rebus form with the repetitive rhythm of "The House That Jack Built," would be perfect for preschool story time using either winter or clothing as themes. "This is the jacket I wear in the snow. This is the zipper that's stuck on the [drawing of jacket] I wear in the snow." And thus goes the rhyme through scarf, hat, mittens, sweater, jeans, boots, long underwear, socks, and tears. Yes, tears, for child and sled collide with a snowman. Nancy Winslow Parker's simple, inimitable illustrations in soft, bright watercolors and colored pencils create the humorous yet tender-hearted elaboration of the story. Prior to the collision, the left-hand page has a large drawing of the garment under discussion; the right-hand page has the rhyme and rebus figure--each a miniature of the original. When tears fall, we see in half-page the bundled, tangled child attempt to extricate herself from the sled. Then, as mother comes to the rescue, the illustrations are appropriately larger, filling nearly the whole page until the clothing is removed, hung, and mother and daughter prepare to have hot chocolate, doughnuts, and cupcakes.
Response to Two Professional Reviews: I remember loving this book when I was younger. I related to her so much because of where I lived, and the 2nd review stated that. It is relatable for children who live in colder climates.
Evaluation of Literary Elements: The book has a catchy rhythm to it. It repeats itself and it just captures children’s attention. I read this in my preschool class and they love it. They always ask to read it when its getting cold out. The colors are capturing to them and the rhythm of the book draws them in.
Consideration of Instruction Application: I think a felt board would be a cool idea for this book. You would be able to dress up the little girl in all the clothing required to go outside in the snow. Using this you could ask the children what they think will come next. You could even have a snowman on the felt board
November 25, 2014
This story is written in the style of "The House That Jack Built" using cumulative sequence to engage listeners and encourage emerging readers. A bundled child accumulates a list of her winter attire, starting with the jacket she wears in the snow, adding the zipper that is stuck on the jacket she wears in the snow, the scarf that is caught in the zipper and on and on through "the socks, wrinkled a lot." This is a very fun little story that ends in a nurturing scene where mom helps to unstick the zipper and serve the child a warm snack after a day in the snow.
The author of this picture book uses illustrations in place of some of the repetitive words after they have been used once, which is a great way for emerging readers to understand that an word can be the representation of an image. This book can be used in a preK - K setting, using a pointer to encourage the children to read along. Some will remember the repetitive phrases, but many more can join in as the teacher points to the pictures that replace the repeated nouns throughout the story.
This book can also can be used to supplement a conversation about the change in weather as winter approaches. It is always difficult to get used to wearing additional layers of clothing, but it is important for students to come to school prepared for the time they spend outdoors.
The author of this picture book uses illustrations in place of some of the repetitive words after they have been used once, which is a great way for emerging readers to understand that an word can be the representation of an image. This book can be used in a preK - K setting, using a pointer to encourage the children to read along. Some will remember the repetitive phrases, but many more can join in as the teacher points to the pictures that replace the repeated nouns throughout the story.
This book can also can be used to supplement a conversation about the change in weather as winter approaches. It is always difficult to get used to wearing additional layers of clothing, but it is important for students to come to school prepared for the time they spend outdoors.
November 25, 2020
Kind of an old lady who swallowed the fly cadence. Use of visual poetry makes it fun. But...when the little girl’s tears fell on her socks...well that made no sense at all. And after that everything was just messed up. Sending this on. Don’t even know where I got it. 🤷🏼♀️
February 10, 2023
Fun, silly repetition that is highly relatable to children in Sweden, where outdoor play is mandatory in all weather.
Mother Tongue notes: I have the students bring all their outdoor clothes into the classroom, so we can name all their gear in English. We have a relay race where they have to run around the room, adding and naming a piece of outwear after each lap.
For children learning the vocabulary, read the book out loud and have them pantomime putting on each piece of clothing as it’s mentioned. Start to read faster and faster as the list gets longer. Some students will begin to memorize the list and repeat it with you.
Mother Tongue notes: I have the students bring all their outdoor clothes into the classroom, so we can name all their gear in English. We have a relay race where they have to run around the room, adding and naming a piece of outwear after each lap.
For children learning the vocabulary, read the book out loud and have them pantomime putting on each piece of clothing as it’s mentioned. Start to read faster and faster as the list gets longer. Some students will begin to memorize the list and repeat it with you.
October 5, 2014
This book is about a boy that wants to go play outside in the snow. He cannot go outside without the proper clothes or else he cold get sick. He goes through all of the items needed for him to go outside. He puts on a jacket, a scarf, mittens, jeans, boots, and many other items. Then he goes outside to go play in the snow, but gets hurt sledding down a hill. He begins to dry then his mother comes to get him and take him home. Then they go back to the house and she takes off all of the clothes that he put on to go outside. She also fixes the clothes that he has on to make him more comfortable. At the end she gives him hot coco, donuts, and muffins to eat.
This is a great book to read to children that are learning what certain items are. The book tell you what the item is then on the next page it just shows a picture of it. For example it will say this is a scarf while showing a picture of a scarf. Then on the next page it will say will replace the word scarf with a picture of a scarf. This causes the children to pay more attention and it helps children learn items they may have not known about. It is a very simple book and is really easy to read. It might be a little to simple and bland for older children though. I think this should be read to kids that are four or under. The illustrations are very simple and the background is white on every page. There is also a snowman that popped out of nowhere which makes you assume that he built it earlier on in the story, but It just does not show it. The snowman is knocked over when he talks about getting injured. This allows kids to imagine or assume what happened during that gap in the story. The snowman is fully built on the front and the back of the book.
This book is very repetitive so that helps the children learn the clothing items in it. This book also seems like it would be read in a very gentle tone by the way the characters look. There also random birds on the book I am not sure why they are there but I think they might represent something. The book is also checkered all over in bright colors on the front and back. The cat in the book makes the illustration more entertaining because it is very curious and fascinated with everything the mom and child are doing. Overall this is a very entertaining book for a very young child, but if you are older than four it will probably not be that great to you.
This is a great book to read to children that are learning what certain items are. The book tell you what the item is then on the next page it just shows a picture of it. For example it will say this is a scarf while showing a picture of a scarf. Then on the next page it will say will replace the word scarf with a picture of a scarf. This causes the children to pay more attention and it helps children learn items they may have not known about. It is a very simple book and is really easy to read. It might be a little to simple and bland for older children though. I think this should be read to kids that are four or under. The illustrations are very simple and the background is white on every page. There is also a snowman that popped out of nowhere which makes you assume that he built it earlier on in the story, but It just does not show it. The snowman is knocked over when he talks about getting injured. This allows kids to imagine or assume what happened during that gap in the story. The snowman is fully built on the front and the back of the book.
This book is very repetitive so that helps the children learn the clothing items in it. This book also seems like it would be read in a very gentle tone by the way the characters look. There also random birds on the book I am not sure why they are there but I think they might represent something. The book is also checkered all over in bright colors on the front and back. The cat in the book makes the illustration more entertaining because it is very curious and fascinated with everything the mom and child are doing. Overall this is a very entertaining book for a very young child, but if you are older than four it will probably not be that great to you.
March 24, 2013
The Jacket I Wear in the Snow by Shirley Neitzel illustrated by [author Nancy Winslow Parker] is a rhyming rebus story of a child who must put on, and later have taken off, multiple layers of hot winter clothing.
Parker's illustrations were created with watercolor paints, colored pencils, and a black pen. Pictured clothing related items include jacket, zipper, scarf, cap, mittens, sweater, jeans, boots, long underwear, and socks. My favorite images are tears, tangled in sled, jeans, and last picture.
This cumulative rebus story uses simple words and frequent recaps of the dressing and undressing. After naming and showing a clothing item, the piece of clothing is substituted in a sentence for that word. The rebus feature expands as more clothing is described and pictured until a long cumulative sentence has 10 pictured items.
This works both as a read-aloud and a beginning reader. Gentle humor is added as the child is rescued and undressed by his mother. It can be used for winter, clothing or writing themes. Jacket is recommended for school and public library collections.
For ages 2.5 to 7, clothing, snow, weather, print-motivation, vocabulary, read-aloud. rebus, beginning reader, and fans of Shirley Neitzel and Nancy Winslow Parker.
Parker's illustrations were created with watercolor paints, colored pencils, and a black pen. Pictured clothing related items include jacket, zipper, scarf, cap, mittens, sweater, jeans, boots, long underwear, and socks. My favorite images are tears, tangled in sled, jeans, and last picture.
This cumulative rebus story uses simple words and frequent recaps of the dressing and undressing. After naming and showing a clothing item, the piece of clothing is substituted in a sentence for that word. The rebus feature expands as more clothing is described and pictured until a long cumulative sentence has 10 pictured items.
This works both as a read-aloud and a beginning reader. Gentle humor is added as the child is rescued and undressed by his mother. It can be used for winter, clothing or writing themes. Jacket is recommended for school and public library collections.
For ages 2.5 to 7, clothing, snow, weather, print-motivation, vocabulary, read-aloud. rebus, beginning reader, and fans of Shirley Neitzel and Nancy Winslow Parker.
July 22, 2018
The Jacket I Wear in the Snow is a fun cumulative poem (think: "The House that Jack Built"). Cumulative poems are great for kids with autism because of the built-in repetition and predictable structure.
In this story, a young girl's scarf gets snagged in her zipper, trapping her in layer upon layer of offending clothing. We hear about each piece in terms of her complaints: "These are the jeans, stiff in the knee" or "This is long underwear, bunchy and hot." When the girl falls to the ground weeping, it's not depicted as a meltdown, per se, but it's a moment that many of our kids can relate to—and it's a very good thing to see yourself sympathetically portrayed in a book.
The mini illustrations that sub for clothing words within the sentences provide a huge boon for kids who organize their thoughts better with visuals. Kids can point and label at the correct moment in the text and "read" along, helping to develop their sense of sentence structure. It also provides an overall visual chart of the story.
In the end, the girl's mother dries her tears and helps her out of all the clothes. We last see her happily eating donuts and drinking hot cocoa.
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I review books for children from the perspective of a parent of kids with autism. The review above is part of a longer post on books about clothing and dressing:https://www.lineupthebooks.com/dressing/
In this story, a young girl's scarf gets snagged in her zipper, trapping her in layer upon layer of offending clothing. We hear about each piece in terms of her complaints: "These are the jeans, stiff in the knee" or "This is long underwear, bunchy and hot." When the girl falls to the ground weeping, it's not depicted as a meltdown, per se, but it's a moment that many of our kids can relate to—and it's a very good thing to see yourself sympathetically portrayed in a book.
The mini illustrations that sub for clothing words within the sentences provide a huge boon for kids who organize their thoughts better with visuals. Kids can point and label at the correct moment in the text and "read" along, helping to develop their sense of sentence structure. It also provides an overall visual chart of the story.
In the end, the girl's mother dries her tears and helps her out of all the clothes. We last see her happily eating donuts and drinking hot cocoa.
---
I review books for children from the perspective of a parent of kids with autism. The review above is part of a longer post on books about clothing and dressing:https://www.lineupthebooks.com/dressing/
September 17, 2014
This book is about a child describing the clothes he has to wear out in the snow. Each article of clothing is described in a way that only a child could really describe which enhances the feeling of innocence and youth. The child is excited about playing in the snow and is happy to wear all the clothing necessary for him to be able to play even if it means he has to wear uncomfortable clothing. Although when he does go play he ends up getting hurt and his mom comes to the rescue to save him from his accident and to free him from all the layers of clothing. This book is very light hearted and fun to read and I feel children would have a fun time reading it. The illustrations replace the words causing the reader to pay more attention to it and forcing them to remember the articles of clothing. This is a good way to be interactive with the reader and children who could read this book and it makes for a more enjoyable read.
October 1, 2021
I grew up with this book and The Dress I'll Wear to the Party in my picture book collection. I was delighted to find "The Dress..." in a free box one day and my daughter has loved it. This week we're learning about Clothing in her homeschool preschool so I had to get this book from the library. It was fun to finally introduce her to what I feel is the second of a pair, and she surprised me by saying "This is like that other book..." I love seeing those moments when something "clicks" like that!
February 28, 2018
Anybody that’s ever bundled up to go outside and play in the snow knows that while warmth is important, sometimes you can overdo it and become very uncomfortable. The narrator of this cute, rhyming cumulative tale has on so many clothes that are too stiff, wrinkled, or caught up in the zipper that finally tears bring help from Mother. Simple text for beginning readers and full-color artwork created with watercolor paints, colored pencils and a black pen make this a fun, wintertime book to have on the primary bookshelf.
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August 7, 2020This book is a book that would be perfect for teaching a lesson about weather, specifically winter weather. The vocabulary and amount of sentences is perfect for kindergarten classes and would bring up a really great conversation about what clothes we wear in what seasons. The illustrations are simple and look like they were colored in with colored pencils which adds a little more of a child like quality to the book. I also really like how their are pictures that substitute for the words, kind of like a fill in the blank which makes it more fun to read than if what was just a regular book.
September 20, 2010
This is a great book to combine with multiple subjects (literacy, science, social studies)It is a fun read-aloud book but can also be used to teach children about winter and the process of snow, cold weather, appropriate clothes to wear at that time,etc. It can be used to discuss holidays that occur during the winter and the different ways that students celebrate. It is definitely a multi-purpose book and can be utilized in a variety of ways while still teaching children to read.
January 2, 2017
Great book for "tween" readers.. those between reading pictures and reading text. A rebus story, as well as one that builds and sequences items that are needed for the snow. For example, "this is the hat ( picture) I wear in the snow." There are tons of extension activities that can be used with this text. The simplistic illustrations and repetitive text makes this a classic and must-read for young children.
September 6, 2018
A "This is the House that Jack Built" styled account of everything you wear in the winter.
Ages: 3 - 7
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Ages: 3 - 7
**Like my reviews? I also have hundreds of detailed reports that I offer too. These reports give a complete break-down of everything in the book, so you'll know just how clean it is or isn't. I also have Clean Guides (downloadable PDFs) which enable you to clean up your book before reading it!
Visit my website!
May 26, 2014
This book is about a child getting ready to go out in the snow by putting on lots of clothing. I rated this high not for the storyline, but because the book had a fun rhythm when read aloud and it had mini pictures in place of some of the words so children who are learning to read can follow along.
April 16, 2016
I really wanted to like this book, but I didn't. It's disappointing because the articles of clothing would make a really good flannel board set, but I thought the story was a downer, with the kid being so upset about their clothes that they couldn't enjoy the snow, and I was not a big fan of the substitution of words for the articles of clothing with tiny pictures of the clothing.
January 30, 2018
Winter Clothing Story Time. Picture book goes through the process of getting dressed for a trip out in the snow. Pictures of clothing items are inserted where the correct words would be. This might work better one-on-one than in Story Time.
March 8, 2022
A unique book where the character gets dressed and describes his clothes as he does it then once dressed cries outside. His mother bring him in the house and undresses him and he describes the clothes once again.
January 29, 2019
I've heard of this book a lot but hadn't actually read it until today. It's pretty simple. On many pages, the picture for the outdoor gear appears in the space of the actual word. I think the long underwear really dates this book as kids today have no idea what that is.
February 16, 2019
A decent rhyme that teaches children to memorize articles of clothing as the story builds. The only problem is that no one calls it a “jacket” - it’s a coat. And who is putting on long underwear anymore?
May 7, 2020
I really like this book of repetition. It reminds my in a slight way of the "Napping House," which is a family favorite. We will definitely be reading this one again and again.
Highly recommend.
Highly recommend.
July 4, 2018
read 5 times during 4th of July parade on the float
November 23, 2018
good kind of st repetition but also a bit outdated.
February 14, 2019
A great book to encourage participatory reading. I read this to a few five different groups, and each time I'd have them say the name of the picture in the text. It was great fun.
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December 4, 2019When I was trying to read this to my Papa, I was S-L-O-W. It was super good; I like the pictures, I like everything in this book. THE END (of my review) Good bye!
May 23, 2020
We need more books like this with picture reading for those early learners...and priced so they are affordable.
March 19, 2021
Elle's Review (6 years old)
I dnt like the number of stuff, I want something fun
I dnt like the number of stuff, I want something fun
August 14, 2025
Over the years, I have enjoyed sharing The Jacket I Wear in the Snow, by Shirley Neitzel, author and Nancy Winslow Parker, illustrator with both preschool and kindergarten classes. The things I liked most was that instead of printed words for each piece of clothing the child wore in the snow, a small illustration of the item was in the sentence. I used this to encourage interest in reading and using pictures is a skill this age children find exciting. They also found the book easy to memorize because of the reptetion in the text, which is another encouraging method to increase interest and excitement about reading. Great book for increasing reading skills and interest in learning to read.
December 2, 2022
I think my childhood opinion of this book has colored my view of it as a potential readaloud book. Even though I know cumulative tales are recommended for storytimes, I've always avoided using this book because I thought it was the WORST when I was little. (I'm not sure why--I don't think I liked the illustrations?) It's a little on the long side for my storytime crews, but it's certainly not the worst. Definitely one I should come back to.
March 11, 2022
Genre: Poetry
Grade Range: PreK - 1st
I really enjoyed this book! I loved that the pictures were used in place of some of the words. This book also rhymed and had a beat to it, which made it fun to read. This is an interactive book and kids can shout out the words for the pictures. The illustrations were cute too. This would be a great book to read with students!
Grade Range: PreK - 1st
I really enjoyed this book! I loved that the pictures were used in place of some of the words. This book also rhymed and had a beat to it, which made it fun to read. This is an interactive book and kids can shout out the words for the pictures. The illustrations were cute too. This would be a great book to read with students!
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