Snow

by Joan Clark, Kady MacDonald Denton (Illustrator)

Snow falls all day. Snow falls all week. Snow falls all month! Sammy’s world is a blanket of white. As he clambers up the heaps and mountains of snow, he imagines what might lie beneath — whales and seals, a black bear and her cubs, or could there be elves mining rubies and emeralds? Finally, the weather turns warm and the snow begins to melt, and Sammy finds a green surprise. In this simple, atmospheric book, author Joan Clark and illustrator Kady MacDonald Denton create a paean to that magical substance that enchants the eyes of children in winter.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Christmas, Storytime

32 pages, Paperback

First published August 3, 2006

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

Joan Clark BA, D.Litt (hon.) (née MacDonald)is a Canadian fiction author.

Born in Liverpool, Nova Scotia, Clark spent her youth in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. She attended Acadia University for its drama program, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree with English major in 1957.[1] She has worked as a teacher

Clark lived in Alberta for two decades and attended Edmonton's University of Alberta. She and Edna Alford started the literary journal Dandelion in that province in the mid-1970s. She eventually returned to Atlantic Canada, settling in Newfoundland.

Joan Clark's early work consisted primarily of literature for children and young adults, such as Girl of the Rockies (1968), The Hand of Robin Squires (1977), and The Moons of Madeleine (1987). By contrast, her 1982 short-story collection, From a High Thin Wire, is a decidedly mature and sometimes sexually charged work. This volume was revisited by Clark and republished with revisions in 2004. Clark has a reputation for continuously revising her works even after their initial printing.

Joan Clark's next publication for adult readers was The Victory of Geraldine Gull (1988), a novel examining the clashes of culture and religion between Cree, Ojibwa, and white communities in Niska, a village in Hudson Bay. The Victory of Geraldine Gull was a finalist for the GOVERNOR GENERAL'S AWARD and the Books in Canada First Novel Award. Clark published a second collection of short stories, Swimming Towards the Light, in 1990. The following year she was presented with the Marian Engel Award, recognizing her entire body of work.

Eiriksdottir: A Tale of Dreams and Luck (1993) was the first of two novels by Clark based on the Viking presence in Newfoundland. The novel focuses on Freydis Eiriksdottir, daughter of Eirik the Red and sister to Leif ("The Lucky") Eirikson. The Dream Carvers (1995) follows the adventures of Thrand, a Norse child.

Clark wrote her first published novel as a young stay-at-home mother, writing in longhand during her infant son’s naptimes. “I had never written fiction before and was amazed that I had been walking around without knowing that there was a story inside my head. That joy of discovery has kept me writing ever since.”

Clark served on the jury at the 2001 Giller Prize.

Clark lives in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador.

Reviews

[Kaethe · Rating 4 out of 5]

#25 in my 365 Kids Books challenge and request to Goodreads that the Top Readers, etc. lists be fixed. For a full explanation see my review for 101 Amazing Facts about Australia You can see all the books on their own shelf.

We got snow this week. We didn't get anything like this kind of quantity, and it mostly melted by noon or so, but for several hours there it was beautiful. This book does a lovely job of capturing the magical feel of a snow day, at least for those of us who don't have more than a couple a year at best. And you know I thought the art was great. For fun, pair this up with Snow. Or for a dose of realism, read it with The Long Winter or ramp up the horror withThe Shining. Feel free to point out particular favorites in comments.

[Erin · Rating 1 out of 5]

All tell and no show makes a book a dull toy. Everything in this story is imagined by the boy who does absolutely nothing in the story but sit and imagine. Honestly, I felt so sorry for the boy. He seemed so lonely. Not for me.

[Andréa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Note: I accessed a digital review copy of this book through Edelweiss.

[Jamie Forrest · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a Shining Willow Award Nominee. It is the story of one boy's imagination. His world gets covered in snow and he spends the days imagining what lies underneath. His imagination is wonderful and the illustrations (watercolour paintings, I believe) bring his dreams to life. I really loved this book.

[Anthony · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sammy wakes one morning to snow falling. The snow falls for a month, and Sammy's world is covered in snow, and that stimulates Sammy's imagination to wonder and visualize what could possibly be under all of that snow.

[Jackie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Snow is a story about so much snow that you begin to daydream about the green grass.

Used for "Snowy Things" storytime-01/2010.

[Andréa]

Note: I accessed a digital review copy of this book through Edelweiss.