Snow Day Dance

by Will Hubbell

When her students head home, put on their pajamas, and do their special snow dance per the suggestion of their creative teacher, the kids discover that their magic has worked as they awaken to a winter wonderland and a perfect day off from school.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens

32 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2005

About the author

Also writes as under the pseudonym of Morgan Howell.

Reviews

[Laurie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Horn Book (Spring 2006)

One snowy afternoon, a teacher reminds her students to put their pajamas on backward that night and do a "magic dance" in the hope for a snow day. They all get their wish (though the dance is never revealed). Snow imagery abounds in the text; colorful scarves and parkas brighten the snowy scenes. Information about the science of snow is appended.



Kirkus Reviews (December 1, 2005)

When snow begins to fall during the school day, a teacher suggests wearing pajamas backward and doing a little dance in the evening, but no one dares to utter "snow day" for fear of a jinx. The mini vacation is met with much excitement the next morning, as the children enter a winter wonderland. Hubbell has captured all the magic of a new snowfall: The way the flakes muffle sounds, except for the squeaks your steps make; the tiny artwork that is each snowflake; the way the world has lost its color. Imagery abounds: "Cars hide under snowy quilts." A fence has been transformed into railings made of snakes and posts that wear hats. Making a snowman, examining snowflakes with a magnifying glass and sledding occupy the children. And their teacher? They see her in the woods-doing the snow day dance. Hubbell's paintings perfectly evoke a snowy vista, and the images of individual snowflakes are amazingly detailed. A closing section elucidates how snow forms, explains the different shapes crystals can take and introduces readers to some snowy vocabulary. A wonderful way to share the secret of engineering a snow day with a class of children. (Picture book. 5-8)

[Asho · Rating 3 out of 5]

I checked this out of the library in the hopes that reading it to my son would send out good karma to the universe and we'd get our first snowstorm of the winter. Much to my surprise, it worked! We went to bed after reading this and woke up to snow on the ground the next morning. So maybe it's our lucky snow charm?
The book itself isn't particularly notable, but it's cute. The author does a good job of capturing a child's excitement about a potential snow day. Or, rather, capturing everyone's excitement about a snow day, as the teacher is just as excited as the students.

[Jenni · Rating 5 out of 5]

The last time I read this book to my first grade class, we, of course, had to dance. We missed the next 5 days for snow!