Animals in the Snow

by Margaret Wise Brown, Carol Schwartz (Illustrator)

Follows the adventures of five animals--a squirrel, a bird, a cat, a dog, and a bunny--as they react to the first snowfall of the year by running to their warm homes and leaving tracks in the snow.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Animals

32 pages, Hardcover

First published October 16, 1995

About the author

Margaret Wise Brown wrote hundreds of books and stories during her life, but she is best known for Goodnight Moon and The Runaway Bunny. Even though she died nearly 70 years ago, her books still sell very well.

Margaret loved animals. Most of her books have animals as characters in the story. She liked to write books that had a rhythm to them. Sometimes she would put a hard word into the story or poem. She thought this made children think harder when they are reading.

She wrote all the time. There are many scraps of paper where she quickly wrote down a story idea or a poem. She said she dreamed stories and then had to write them down in the morning before she forgot them.

She tried to write the way children wanted to hear a story, which often isn't the same way an adult would tell a story. She also taught illustrators to draw the way a child saw things. One time she gave two puppies to someone who was going to draw a book with that kind of dog. The illustrator painted many pictures one day and then fell asleep. When he woke up, the papers he painted on were bare. The puppies had licked all the paint off the paper.

Margaret died after surgery for a bursting appendix while in France. She had many friends who still miss her. They say she was a creative genius who made a room come to life with her excitement. Margaret saw herself as something else - a writer of songs and nonsense.

Reviews

[Kathryn · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have a very weird relationship with Margaret Wise Brown's books in that I love some and can't stand others and there is very little middle ground. I'm afraid this falls into the latter category. The story is just so pedestrian. We literally have the same words repeated over an over again such as, "The cat comes out of his house. The dog comes out of his house. The bird comes out of her house." Aaahhh!!! I suppose this may be a comforting or useful tool for early readers but I just think there are so many superior "simple" books out there that this one is not really worth pursuing. The illustrations are cute enough but nothing really special or unique.

[Nichole · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lots of repetition makes this book really good for early readers.

[Gladimore · Rating 1 out of 5]

TERRIBLE TERRIBLE TERRIBLE!

[Marilyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Alissa loved it.

[Carol Gordon Ekster · Rating 2 out of 5]

The illustratons are gorgeous, but the text lacks interesting language. It would be great for an early reader, but it is not set up in that format.

[Kimbely Fletcher · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book uses simple repetitive text. The little animals and the children have mini adventures in the snow. The animals run to their homes for warmth. The children find their foot prints.

I would use this book in a thematic unit about different seasons of the year. I really enjoyed this book because it is adventurous for young children I would use this book to teach about winter time.

[Kit Feral · Rating 2 out of 5]

The repetition in this made me want to scream. My toddlers loved it. So 2 stars or 5, depending on who you ask.

[Pam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good illustrations, and the words were alright.

[Christine Kallner · Rating 2 out of 5]

This one was just OK. It's repetitive in a way I don't particularly care for. As others have said, this might be a good choice for early readers, but I don't think that was really the intention.