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Snow
'No breath of wind,
No gleam of sun
Still the white snow
Whirls softly down'
As the day draws to a close, a family prepares for Christmas - decorating the tree, hanging stockings by the fire, putting out a plate of mince pies...
Outside, the world turns to white.
No gleam of sun
Still the white snow
Whirls softly down'
As the day draws to a close, a family prepares for Christmas - decorating the tree, hanging stockings by the fire, putting out a plate of mince pies...
Outside, the world turns to white.
32 pages, Paperback
Published October 16, 2014
2 people are currently reading
119 people want to read
About the author
Walter de la Mare
525 books173 followersWalter John de la Mare was an English poet, short story writer and novelist. He is probably best remembered for his works for children, for his poem "The Listeners", and for his psychological horror short fiction, including "Seaton's Aunt" and "All Hallows". In 1921, his novel Memoirs of a Midget won the James Tait Black Memorial Prize for fiction, and his post-war Collected Stories for Children won the 1947 Carnegie Medal for British children's books.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 45 reviews
November 3, 2021
2.5 stars Lovely poem by Walter de la Mare and nice illustrations of children playing in the snow. I didn't feel the illustrations went well with the magical feel of the poem. Some scenes didn't really match the words.
January 6, 2024
The poetry is, of course, gorgeous. The illustrations are sweet. But they simply don't gybe.
We have the children preparing for Christmas (de la Mare says nothing about that), then Santa and his reindeer arriving, Santa going down the chimney, the dog in the armchair waking sleepily to snow melting in the fireplace and hearth. Next scene is the kids looking out at the window at the snow, then running out into the forest to build a snowman, have a snowball fight, etc. Then some more (pretty) landscapes of a snow-bedecked town.
So there's no second narrative given by the illustrations. And what the illustrations give is fragmented and confusing (Christmas Eve and then you skip the best bit of Christmas morning with the presents that Santa just spent 3 and a bit pages delivering?! You know your audience here, right?!).
Swing and a miss. A generous 3 stars (2.5) for bringing proper poetry to kids, and because I liked the art, even if the concept of a "storyboard" was totally lost on the team(?) behind this.
EDIT: Bedtime has come, and so I had time to revisit this. There IS a single, small frame showing gifts unpacked and a sled unwrapped. The next scene (small frame) is the kids getting dressed to go out and play in the snow.
So my bad. Apologies. But I don't want to change my rating. I still feel the pretty pictures didn't do the words any justice. (We could have had 'icy thorns, twigs and blades' shown as a spread, rather than Santa and his 8+1 reindeer flying in, and all the subsequent scenes on the roof, chimney, hearth).
We have the children preparing for Christmas (de la Mare says nothing about that), then Santa and his reindeer arriving, Santa going down the chimney, the dog in the armchair waking sleepily to snow melting in the fireplace and hearth. Next scene is the kids looking out at the window at the snow, then running out into the forest to build a snowman, have a snowball fight, etc. Then some more (pretty) landscapes of a snow-bedecked town.
So there's no second narrative given by the illustrations. And what the illustrations give is fragmented and confusing (Christmas Eve and then you skip the best bit of Christmas morning with the presents that Santa just spent 3 and a bit pages delivering?! You know your audience here, right?!).
Swing and a miss. A generous 3 stars (2.5) for bringing proper poetry to kids, and because I liked the art, even if the concept of a "storyboard" was totally lost on the team(?) behind this.
EDIT: Bedtime has come, and so I had time to revisit this. There IS a single, small frame showing gifts unpacked and a sled unwrapped. The next scene (small frame) is the kids getting dressed to go out and play in the snow.
So my bad. Apologies. But I don't want to change my rating. I still feel the pretty pictures didn't do the words any justice. (We could have had 'icy thorns, twigs and blades' shown as a spread, rather than Santa and his 8+1 reindeer flying in, and all the subsequent scenes on the roof, chimney, hearth).
December 10, 2023
"No breath of wind, / No gleam of sun – / Still the white snow / Whirls softly down / Twig and bough / And blade and thorn / All in an icy / Quiet, forlorn." So begins Walter de la Mare's evocative wintry poem, which captures the enchanted beauty of snowy vistas—the light and shadow, crystal flakes and powdery piles—and which forms the text of this lovely picture book. The accompanying illustrations from Moldovan artist Carolina Rabei depict a small snow-bound town, and one family's preparation for and celebration of Christmas—Santa Claus appears, in four magical pages—expanding the "story" in the poem to include seasonal observances...
The poem Snow was originally included in Walter de la Mare's 1913 poetry collection, Peacock Pie , and is one of four such selections—the other three being Silver , Summer Evening and The Ride-by-Nights —recently made into picture books featuring Rabei's artwork. The four titles together make up Faber & Faber's Four Seasons of Walter de la Mare series. Snow is the second of these books I have read, after The Ride-by-Nights , and was apparently nominated for the Kate Greenaway Medal (now ignominiously renamed the Carnegie Medal for Illustration). I can certainly see why it received that distinction, as the artwork is quite beautiful. I have a weakness for wintry scenes, and Rabei more than delivers! That being said, although I loved both artwork and poetry here, I wasn't sure what to make of the inclusion of the Christmas element in the former, as I think the poem is more about the beauty of winter itself, and the mystery and majesty of snow, rather than about the holiday. I don't think this was the "wrong" choice, as I did love the Christmasy scenes, and for many people winter is tied to the holiday, but I did find myself wondering what else could have been depicted, if the choice has been made to create a "simple" winter book. Leaving this quibble aside, this is nevertheless one that I would recommend to picture book readers and listeners, who enjoy poetic picture books and/or stories about winter wonders.
The poem Snow was originally included in Walter de la Mare's 1913 poetry collection, Peacock Pie , and is one of four such selections—the other three being Silver , Summer Evening and The Ride-by-Nights —recently made into picture books featuring Rabei's artwork. The four titles together make up Faber & Faber's Four Seasons of Walter de la Mare series. Snow is the second of these books I have read, after The Ride-by-Nights , and was apparently nominated for the Kate Greenaway Medal (now ignominiously renamed the Carnegie Medal for Illustration). I can certainly see why it received that distinction, as the artwork is quite beautiful. I have a weakness for wintry scenes, and Rabei more than delivers! That being said, although I loved both artwork and poetry here, I wasn't sure what to make of the inclusion of the Christmas element in the former, as I think the poem is more about the beauty of winter itself, and the mystery and majesty of snow, rather than about the holiday. I don't think this was the "wrong" choice, as I did love the Christmasy scenes, and for many people winter is tied to the holiday, but I did find myself wondering what else could have been depicted, if the choice has been made to create a "simple" winter book. Leaving this quibble aside, this is nevertheless one that I would recommend to picture book readers and listeners, who enjoy poetic picture books and/or stories about winter wonders.
October 20, 2017
Snow is a beautiful story which is a good demonstrator of how within picture books the words and pictures provide different details to a story. The words provide us with a poem like style of writing, describing the snow fall. However, within the pictures we are told the story of a family and their preparations and celebrations of Christmas.
Beautifully created, this story would be a great text to study around Christmas time, giving children the opportunities to develop their comprehension, writing and poetry understanding.
Beautifully created, this story would be a great text to study around Christmas time, giving children the opportunities to develop their comprehension, writing and poetry understanding.
October 21, 2019
This book features beautiful illustrations which are not always accompanied with words. This book would be great to explore poetry and word choices in ks1. Additionally, this would also be great as a book to accompany the topic of seasons.
October 21, 2019
A great book that incorporates beautiful illustrations with a good level of descriptive and poetic language that can be magpied in a class. This book would also be perfect when teaching children about the seasons, I wish I had found this book when I was teaching the topic in year 1!
September 26, 2019
This book was recommended to me by my friend Amy, I have mixed feelings on this book. The illustration of the book is gorgeous, the pictures alone tell their own story. I do feel that the language in the book could be a bit too high level for KS1 students.
I think the middle ground would be that this book is great for an older student to read to a younger one, where the older student reads the story and the younger sees the story.
I think the middle ground would be that this book is great for an older student to read to a younger one, where the older student reads the story and the younger sees the story.
October 12, 2017
Carolina Rabei's beautiful illustrations are the perfect accompaniment to Walter de la Mare's poem. The pictures are charming and full of small details that help bring the poem to life for children. The text marries perfectly with the illustrations which creates a book that is truly evocative of a peaceful wintry scene. The reader can really sense the hush that arrives alongside a blanket of snow, "all in an icy quiet".
The book would be wonderful to use in a classroom. It could be used to help children think about seasons, the weather and Christmas etc.
Children could be tasked with writing their own snow poem based around the illustrations in this book.
The book would be wonderful to use in a classroom. It could be used to help children think about seasons, the weather and Christmas etc.
Children could be tasked with writing their own snow poem based around the illustrations in this book.
September 26, 2019
The illustrations in this book fit perfectly with the poetic writing. I think it would be a great book to read to a KS1 class, perhaps with a science lesson about the seasons. It could also be used as inspiration for poetic writing in literacy.
September 28, 2022
a beautiful poetic picture book, with stunning images.
November 30, 2014
This is a beautiful new presentation of a classic winter poem. Walter de la Mare evokes the magic of a wintry scene with his words, and Carolina Rabei has captured the wonder of Christmastime snow in the accompanying illustrations.
I love the muted, sepia-toned palate that is set alight with bursts of orange-red, warming the entire book. Against the stark majesty of the transformed landscape the words describe, there is a sense of playfulness and anticipation in what we see – a tree being dressed, a family setting out their stockings before bed, a sleigh-riding visitor and his reindeer so quiet that even the sleeping puppy is not stirred from his dreams…
‘Snow’ (first published in 1924) presented in a picture book format with a contemporary illustrator, makes for a crisp, fresh experience. This book feels like an instant timeless classic and it is a perfect winter bedtime read to share snuggled up with small children.
I love the muted, sepia-toned palate that is set alight with bursts of orange-red, warming the entire book. Against the stark majesty of the transformed landscape the words describe, there is a sense of playfulness and anticipation in what we see – a tree being dressed, a family setting out their stockings before bed, a sleigh-riding visitor and his reindeer so quiet that even the sleeping puppy is not stirred from his dreams…
‘Snow’ (first published in 1924) presented in a picture book format with a contemporary illustrator, makes for a crisp, fresh experience. This book feels like an instant timeless classic and it is a perfect winter bedtime read to share snuggled up with small children.
March 16, 2019
This book is cool because most people reading it would be able to relate to the excitement that comes with snow and being able to go out and play in it. The use of rhyme reflects the nature of snow as in the way it can be quite relaxing to sit and watch snow fall. However, the sentence structure may be quite difficult for some people to grasp because some of them don't follow the same patterns that most normal sentences follow.
January 28, 2016
Evocative & atmospheric - two words that I never thought I'd use about a picture book!
October 21, 2019
This book contains beautiful illustrations and a very simplistic but sophisticated rhyming structure that can be used as an introduction to rhyming couplets. What is so lovely about this book is that the images depicted are very relocatable and thus could be used for children to discuss their own experiences of snow/winter.
When reading this book i felt that it could be a great stimulus for a key stage 1 writing task where the children write their own story/poem using rhyming couplets based on a season of their choice and then illustrate it them selves. This text could therefore be used as a cross curricular resource bringing in science (the seasons), art (season specific illustration) and rhyming techniques in English.
When reading this book i felt that it could be a great stimulus for a key stage 1 writing task where the children write their own story/poem using rhyming couplets based on a season of their choice and then illustrate it them selves. This text could therefore be used as a cross curricular resource bringing in science (the seasons), art (season specific illustration) and rhyming techniques in English.
July 17, 2020
The book looks great. The illustrations are nice and the poem is nice too.
However, as a whole it doesn't fit together well.
The poem is split between pages so if you want to keep the flow of beautiful language you will be rushing through the story.
If you want to enjoy the pictures, both the flow and the meaning of the poem will be lost.
What I tend to do is go through the pictures and the story as a wordless book and once we finish I quickly flip through it again and read the poem. But even so, the language of the poem is a bit complicated to explain.
However, as a whole it doesn't fit together well.
The poem is split between pages so if you want to keep the flow of beautiful language you will be rushing through the story.
If you want to enjoy the pictures, both the flow and the meaning of the poem will be lost.
What I tend to do is go through the pictures and the story as a wordless book and once we finish I quickly flip through it again and read the poem. But even so, the language of the poem is a bit complicated to explain.
January 17, 2021
This book was so weird. I actually really liked the illustrations which were cosy and festive and full of warmth. But the poem was very austere and all about the lonely chill of winter. At first I just through, oh, a mismatch between illustrator and author. But then I realized this is an old poem and the illustrations were done specifically for it and I was confused. My 3.5 year old was lukewarm to it (no pun intended) and so we only read it twice before taking it back to the library.
November 11, 2021
We're really on a kick of these poem picture books; I really like this concept of breaking a poem down and having multiple illustrations for even a short poem. These illustrations are charming; I wouldn't consider the poem anything earth-shattering; I like "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" by Frost a lot better, but the kids enjoyed it and I think a book like this is great for poetry exposure.
May 6, 2018
This has been added to my basket of seasonal stories to read in the lead-up to Christmas - it is a lovely poem, but I think that the illustrations take this to another level. I loved the muted palette of white, black and red as well as the hidden details in the pictures. This would be a great text to have children draw out inferences and retell the story that is between the actual lines of text.
April 23, 2019
I enjoyed this book so much more than I thought I would. What a lovely poem by de la Mare. I haven't tried reading it to small children yet, and I would hesitate to read this to a large group at story time. The size and illustrations are much better suited to lap reading. I imagine I would read it tirelessly if I still had a toddler in my home.
November 18, 2024
The poem is really beautiful and the illustrations are gorgeous, but overall this book tells two different story. The poem is just the background, the outside world, the wilderness, while the illustrations tell the story of a family at Christmas.
I simply couldn't resist the gorgeous illustrations and had to get this book for m nibling's library.
I simply couldn't resist the gorgeous illustrations and had to get this book for m nibling's library.
January 5, 2018
Read: 5th January 2018 (rhyming)
A beautiful poem, perfect for little ones, (especially at this time of year) made even more enchanting by the illustrations. Would recommend this edition to everyone.
A beautiful poem, perfect for little ones, (especially at this time of year) made even more enchanting by the illustrations. Would recommend this edition to everyone.
February 3, 2018
The cover is enticing with silver reflective snowflakes covering the page helping portray what the book will be about. This book doesn't have much of a storyline however the illustrations draw the eye, filling the whole double page and adds to the story by portraying what the words actually mean.
April 4, 2019
This is a quaint, charming book for young children who believe in Winter and all its magic. I received it in the Spring, and as an adult, so I appreciate the magic, although it arrived slightly out of season!
December 5, 2020
Absolutely gorgeous illustrations to accompany the text . I found this in a charity shop today and it looked brand new. It will now get well thumbed over the years and has a new home with my Xmas books.
July 6, 2023
An understated but beautiful ode to the winter season, with accompanying illustrations that enhance the story and look wonderful. One of the books that I plan on reading every winter under a cozy blanket.
January 11, 2019
Did a reread and enjoyed it more than before.
February 7, 2019
Wonderful, evocative illustrations of a snowy day are paired with a classic poem.
September 26, 2019
A story all about a family preparing for Christmas. The beautiful illustrations allow the reader to have a clear picture in their head of the story.
October 10, 2019
Toddler hated it. Language too poetic
November 25, 2019
Full of great illustrations and rhyme- a book very seasonal picture book
Displaying 1 - 30 of 45 reviews