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Snow Sounds: An Onomatopoeic Story
Sweep, crunch, swoosh, scrape . . . All night long, snow falls silently, bringing forth a world blanketed in white—and a very noisy day.
For at dawn’s light, machine, man, and child begin to dig out: first the big highway grader and snowplow, then the smaller town plow, a father’s snow blower, and a boy’s shovel . . . But will the streets get cleared in time?
Spare poetry and elegant watercolor paintings cleverly bring to life this unique story of snow removal and the fun onomatopoeic sounds accompanying it.
For at dawn’s light, machine, man, and child begin to dig out: first the big highway grader and snowplow, then the smaller town plow, a father’s snow blower, and a boy’s shovel . . . But will the streets get cleared in time?
Spare poetry and elegant watercolor paintings cleverly bring to life this unique story of snow removal and the fun onomatopoeic sounds accompanying it.
32 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2006
2 people are currently reading
166 people want to read
About the author
David A. Johnson
9 books3 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
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Illustrator
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 56 reviews
March 15, 2015
I was totally sucked in by the cover of this book. The illustrations do an amazing job of conveying that feeling you get during a blizzard of being wrapped up in a soft haze. Plus, who doesn’t love onomatopoeia! I grabbed it off the shelf right before we went into story time. Then right before nap, I flipped through it. And promptly decided not to read it to the baby, not yet anyway.
As I said, the book is beautiful. The first few pages show a boy awaking to a snowstorm. Each page is punctuated only by the noises of the day; the smoosh, slush of the snowplow, the crinkle of the cat investigating a christmas present. But then (on a page that also shows the flush of a toilet) we can see the back of a woman in a blue dress with a white apron. Is it his mom? Maybe. But I don’t know a lot of moms who are dressed down to an apron and white stockings when their child is getting ready in the morning. Nope, that particular outfit triggers thoughts of a maid, which is pretty odd in this day and age. We continue watching the trucks clear the road and the child prepare for school (and I am thinking I’ll have trouble peeling my child away from this book, with the cat and the snowplows and snow blowers, he will love this). Then the child, who is quite small, not quite waist height, is bundled up and sent outside (by the maid or whoever the woman in uniform is) and he then shovels the very long walk to the street by himself. The school bus pulls up and he races off to school. The maid/mom chases after him with a present, which is unwrapped on the final page.
So the book is lovely, but I guess I just don’t think it makes sense. I assume if a child takes a present on the bus it’s for someone else, but the way the book is set up, it looks like it was for him after all? Why would a mother have her child open his present on the bus? Why would a house with a maid on staff not have staff to clear the walk? What was the guy with the snowblower doing if he wasn’t clearing the walk? I fear I am far too logical. If you are not similarly afflicted, you will absolutely like the great sounds and charming pictures.
As I said, the book is beautiful. The first few pages show a boy awaking to a snowstorm. Each page is punctuated only by the noises of the day; the smoosh, slush of the snowplow, the crinkle of the cat investigating a christmas present. But then (on a page that also shows the flush of a toilet) we can see the back of a woman in a blue dress with a white apron. Is it his mom? Maybe. But I don’t know a lot of moms who are dressed down to an apron and white stockings when their child is getting ready in the morning. Nope, that particular outfit triggers thoughts of a maid, which is pretty odd in this day and age. We continue watching the trucks clear the road and the child prepare for school (and I am thinking I’ll have trouble peeling my child away from this book, with the cat and the snowplows and snow blowers, he will love this). Then the child, who is quite small, not quite waist height, is bundled up and sent outside (by the maid or whoever the woman in uniform is) and he then shovels the very long walk to the street by himself. The school bus pulls up and he races off to school. The maid/mom chases after him with a present, which is unwrapped on the final page.
So the book is lovely, but I guess I just don’t think it makes sense. I assume if a child takes a present on the bus it’s for someone else, but the way the book is set up, it looks like it was for him after all? Why would a mother have her child open his present on the bus? Why would a house with a maid on staff not have staff to clear the walk? What was the guy with the snowblower doing if he wasn’t clearing the walk? I fear I am far too logical. If you are not similarly afflicted, you will absolutely like the great sounds and charming pictures.
January 22, 2016
The children attending library story time enjoyed making the sounds portrayed in this book.
Snow is very quiet so we all said "Hush" with a finger lifted to our lips.
Along comes a snow plow so we made pushing motions with our arms while saying "Swoosh!"
When the snow plow truck backs up it makes a beeping sound so we opened and shut our hands while repeating "Beep, beep, beep."
Snowblowers are very noisy so we held our hands as if we were holding the handles of the blower and made a motory blowy sound, "Whooosh!"
Then we pretended we were shoveling snow and made a "Srape" sound.
While we were having all this fun, the children were actually sharpening their PHONEMIC AWARENESS. (Find out more about this by following this link: http://www.phonologicalawareness.org/ ).
Snow is very quiet so we all said "Hush" with a finger lifted to our lips.
Along comes a snow plow so we made pushing motions with our arms while saying "Swoosh!"
When the snow plow truck backs up it makes a beeping sound so we opened and shut our hands while repeating "Beep, beep, beep."
Snowblowers are very noisy so we held our hands as if we were holding the handles of the blower and made a motory blowy sound, "Whooosh!"
Then we pretended we were shoveling snow and made a "Srape" sound.
While we were having all this fun, the children were actually sharpening their PHONEMIC AWARENESS. (Find out more about this by following this link: http://www.phonologicalawareness.org/ ).
March 19, 2019
This is the story of a snowy, Christmas Eve night, the endeavor of clearing it all out the next morning, and the sounds that accompany it. This book follows the snow as it falls at night, the big snow plows that come in the morning, and the father and son as they shovel out the driveway.
I liked this book a lot! This book was somewhat a wordless picture book but all of the words were onomatopoeia. I liked how the illustrator made the pictures match so well with the word describing it you could almost hear the sound as you examine the picture. The illustrator also some of the words in weird positions and sometimes spread out across both pages.
This could be a really great book to use for early language development clients because it is full of onomatopoeia. The clinician could cover up the words and have the client come up with an onomatopoeic word that could go along with the picture. This could also work with ESL clients since they can also come up with an onomatopoeic word in both their own language and English.
I liked this book a lot! This book was somewhat a wordless picture book but all of the words were onomatopoeia. I liked how the illustrator made the pictures match so well with the word describing it you could almost hear the sound as you examine the picture. The illustrator also some of the words in weird positions and sometimes spread out across both pages.
This could be a really great book to use for early language development clients because it is full of onomatopoeia. The clinician could cover up the words and have the client come up with an onomatopoeic word that could go along with the picture. This could also work with ESL clients since they can also come up with an onomatopoeic word in both their own language and English.
January 9, 2018
This will work better one-on-one than with a group. The telling of the story through sounds is done well but unfortunately the artwork, while nice, would not work for a group as it's too difficult to see images from further away. I had difficulty distinguishing everything when holding the book. For example, it's very easy to miss the calendar at the beginning that shows it's Dec. 23 or the headlights of the snowplow on the following page. Also, I'm confused as to why the mother would give her child a present to open on the school bus, not to mention the author/illustrator has the mother speak -- the one instance rather than keeping the book entirely onomatopoeic.
December 23, 2014
Booklist (September 1, 2006 (Vol. 103, No. 1))
Every word is a sound in illustrator Johnson's authorial debut, and the pictures tell the story. In his signature style of frosted, crystalline textures and muted tones, Johnson's art shows a young boy waking on a snowy morning and preparing for school, while snow is being cleared away outside. The fun comes from the onomatopoeic text: the "snore"and "purr"of the cozy first image, showing the sleeping boy and his cat, to the "jingly clink vroom"of the closing scene's school bus. Johnson uses visual techniques to amplify each word's meaning. The predawn "hush"appears in dove-gray letters that almost fade into the background, while later, after everyone is awake, the school bus'"honk"is printed in sharp red. This book has a quiet charm that will span age groups. Preschoolers will simply enjoy repeating the sounds and inventing their own, while teachers may want this for early elementary poetry units. Pair the book with Kate Banks'The Great Blue House (2005), which also celebrates sounds and the words that describe them.
Horn Book (November/December, 2006)
A boy wakes up on the last day of school before Christmas break and hears a snow plow coming down the country road: "Crash / Crush / Clank." With a spare text consisting almost entirely of onomatopoeic words, Johnson has created an aural portrait of a snowy day-the perfect companion to Lynne Rae Perkins's Snow Music. His sandy-textured full-spread paintings use thin draftsman-careful lines and broad sweeps of subtly shaded color that move from sleepy grays and blues to warmer pastels as the sun rises. Using a variety of sizes, colors, typefaces, and curves, each word is carefully nestled into the art. After breakfast ("Glug / Glug / Crackle"), the boy shovels the steps ("Scoop / Scrape") just in time for the school bus's arrival ("HONK HONK").
Horn Book starred (Spring 2007)
A boy wakes up on the day before Christmas break and hears a snow plow coming down the country road: "Crash / Crush / Clank." With a spare text of mostly onomatopoeic words, Johnson has created an aural portrait of a snowy day. His sandy-textured full-spread paintings use thin lines and broad sweeps of subtly shaded color.
Kirkus Reviews starred (July 15, 2006)
It's December 23, and a young boy is sleeping. Next to his bed is a special present. Outside his house, through the hush of an icy, blue morning, something is happening: Snow is falling! As the boy awakens, a snowplow moves by his house, clearing the way for the boy to go to school and making evocative sounds-swooshes and crashes and beeps. There are sounds inside the warm, golden-hued house too-crinkles and flushes, crackles and meows. The boy does some shoveling, making noises similar to that of the plow, and then with a honk, the bus arrives. It's time to go to school, but not without his present-a toy snowplow. Beautifully rendered ink-and-watercolor illustrations with an alternating pallet perfectly capture the shimmering snow and the house's cozy interior. The youngest children will delight in the simplicity and familiarity of the story, while older children will be fascinated by the use of onomatopoeia (a handy definition appears on the back of the book). A wonderful introduction to the world of poetic language. (Picture book. 4-8)
Library Media Connection (April/May 2007)
As a young boy sleeps, his neighborhood is blanketed with beautiful fluffy snow. The author's watercolor and ink illustrations depict this tale through hazy images, appropriate to a snowstorm. The boy appears anxious, awaiting the arrival of the school bus. The nearly wordless story is told through pictures, with onomatopoeia labeling the illustrations. The word for each sound, from soft snoring to the harsh scraping sounds of snowplows and shovels, is sprinkled across the pages. This is an excellent and fun resource for introducing and reinforcing onomatopoeia. Recommended. Colleen D. Bocka, School Media Specialist, Nathaniel Rochester (New York) Community School
School Library Journal (October 1, 2006)
PreS-Gr 2-One way to describe this offering is to call it a wordless story with a soundtrack. Johnson switches between interior and exterior scenes to create a visual narrative: a youngster rises and gets dressed; a snowplow clears the road to his rural house; the boy shovels the walk while his father cleans the driveway; the school bus arrives; his mother rushes out with a forgotten present; the smiling child sits onboard anticipating a holiday celebration. Full-bleed watercolor spreads capture the light of a wintry morning perfectly: a deep gray-blue predominates, shot through with a translucent mottled white and accented with small focused patches of vibrant color-a yawning mouth, the date (December 23) circled on a calendar, the gift wrapped in red paper. Descriptive words accompany the artwork, from the boy's quiet "Snore" and the predawn "hush," to the snowplow's "Crash Crush Clank" and the bus's "Jingly Clink." This accomplished offering has a variety of uses and will appeal to a wide age range: younger children will enjoy the action, while those with more developed narrative skills will comb through the pages to create and re-create the story. Although the book's complete aesthetic delight might best be appreciated by children from snowy climes, most libraries will value this unique and intriguing title.-Nina Lindsay, Oakland Public Library, CA Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.
Every word is a sound in illustrator Johnson's authorial debut, and the pictures tell the story. In his signature style of frosted, crystalline textures and muted tones, Johnson's art shows a young boy waking on a snowy morning and preparing for school, while snow is being cleared away outside. The fun comes from the onomatopoeic text: the "snore"and "purr"of the cozy first image, showing the sleeping boy and his cat, to the "jingly clink vroom"of the closing scene's school bus. Johnson uses visual techniques to amplify each word's meaning. The predawn "hush"appears in dove-gray letters that almost fade into the background, while later, after everyone is awake, the school bus'"honk"is printed in sharp red. This book has a quiet charm that will span age groups. Preschoolers will simply enjoy repeating the sounds and inventing their own, while teachers may want this for early elementary poetry units. Pair the book with Kate Banks'The Great Blue House (2005), which also celebrates sounds and the words that describe them.
Horn Book (November/December, 2006)
A boy wakes up on the last day of school before Christmas break and hears a snow plow coming down the country road: "Crash / Crush / Clank." With a spare text consisting almost entirely of onomatopoeic words, Johnson has created an aural portrait of a snowy day-the perfect companion to Lynne Rae Perkins's Snow Music. His sandy-textured full-spread paintings use thin draftsman-careful lines and broad sweeps of subtly shaded color that move from sleepy grays and blues to warmer pastels as the sun rises. Using a variety of sizes, colors, typefaces, and curves, each word is carefully nestled into the art. After breakfast ("Glug / Glug / Crackle"), the boy shovels the steps ("Scoop / Scrape") just in time for the school bus's arrival ("HONK HONK").
Horn Book starred (Spring 2007)
A boy wakes up on the day before Christmas break and hears a snow plow coming down the country road: "Crash / Crush / Clank." With a spare text of mostly onomatopoeic words, Johnson has created an aural portrait of a snowy day. His sandy-textured full-spread paintings use thin lines and broad sweeps of subtly shaded color.
Kirkus Reviews starred (July 15, 2006)
It's December 23, and a young boy is sleeping. Next to his bed is a special present. Outside his house, through the hush of an icy, blue morning, something is happening: Snow is falling! As the boy awakens, a snowplow moves by his house, clearing the way for the boy to go to school and making evocative sounds-swooshes and crashes and beeps. There are sounds inside the warm, golden-hued house too-crinkles and flushes, crackles and meows. The boy does some shoveling, making noises similar to that of the plow, and then with a honk, the bus arrives. It's time to go to school, but not without his present-a toy snowplow. Beautifully rendered ink-and-watercolor illustrations with an alternating pallet perfectly capture the shimmering snow and the house's cozy interior. The youngest children will delight in the simplicity and familiarity of the story, while older children will be fascinated by the use of onomatopoeia (a handy definition appears on the back of the book). A wonderful introduction to the world of poetic language. (Picture book. 4-8)
Library Media Connection (April/May 2007)
As a young boy sleeps, his neighborhood is blanketed with beautiful fluffy snow. The author's watercolor and ink illustrations depict this tale through hazy images, appropriate to a snowstorm. The boy appears anxious, awaiting the arrival of the school bus. The nearly wordless story is told through pictures, with onomatopoeia labeling the illustrations. The word for each sound, from soft snoring to the harsh scraping sounds of snowplows and shovels, is sprinkled across the pages. This is an excellent and fun resource for introducing and reinforcing onomatopoeia. Recommended. Colleen D. Bocka, School Media Specialist, Nathaniel Rochester (New York) Community School
School Library Journal (October 1, 2006)
PreS-Gr 2-One way to describe this offering is to call it a wordless story with a soundtrack. Johnson switches between interior and exterior scenes to create a visual narrative: a youngster rises and gets dressed; a snowplow clears the road to his rural house; the boy shovels the walk while his father cleans the driveway; the school bus arrives; his mother rushes out with a forgotten present; the smiling child sits onboard anticipating a holiday celebration. Full-bleed watercolor spreads capture the light of a wintry morning perfectly: a deep gray-blue predominates, shot through with a translucent mottled white and accented with small focused patches of vibrant color-a yawning mouth, the date (December 23) circled on a calendar, the gift wrapped in red paper. Descriptive words accompany the artwork, from the boy's quiet "Snore" and the predawn "hush," to the snowplow's "Crash Crush Clank" and the bus's "Jingly Clink." This accomplished offering has a variety of uses and will appeal to a wide age range: younger children will enjoy the action, while those with more developed narrative skills will comb through the pages to create and re-create the story. Although the book's complete aesthetic delight might best be appreciated by children from snowy climes, most libraries will value this unique and intriguing title.-Nina Lindsay, Oakland Public Library, CA Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 26, 2018
This book was showing the different sounds that snow makes when different things happen, such as stepping on it.
I thought this book was okay it wasn't my favorite. I would have liked a little more actual story to it.
I would use this as a prompt for students to think of other sounds that things make.
I thought this book was okay it wasn't my favorite. I would have liked a little more actual story to it.
I would use this as a prompt for students to think of other sounds that things make.
April 21, 2020
At first I was going to say 5 stars because I loved the quiet of this book and all there was to see in the pictures, but then I read a review that reminded me of the gift at the beginning and end of the story. I think that part of the book was just too much to fit in there. A good idea, but poorly executed.
December 31, 2017
Tells the story of a snowy day through sounds and realistic illustrations (pencil and watercolor). The images have interesting vantage points like birds eye or from below creating curious perspective.
January 6, 2019
Almost all of the words here are sounds associated with a snowy morning. We hear things like unusual quiet/mutedness, the snow plow, and shoveling.
The text and illustrations worked well together, and it was all really evocative.
The text and illustrations worked well together, and it was all really evocative.
March 11, 2018
Beautiful use of onomatopoeia.
September 17, 2018
On a snowy morning there are sounds that reveal what's happening. Few words and fabulous illustrations.
November 30, 2018
Great way to teach the concept of onomatopoeia in the winter!
December 31, 2018
The only words in this book are sounds made during/after the snow (one exception: "Wait!").
Some of the early words are hard to read because there's not much contrast with the illustrations.
Some of the early words are hard to read because there's not much contrast with the illustrations.
February 26, 2019
I really wanted to love this book, but it was just meh
May 1, 2019
A really excellent book for teaching onomatopoeias!
October 9, 2019
Growing up in a rural area, snow storms are a vivid part of my childhood memories. This book captured the feeling, the light and the sounds of those memories.
December 17, 2020
Wish I knew about this book while I was teaching 5th grade onomatopoeias. Also would have been good during our 5 senses week with Peter.
January 5, 2022
Great way to introduce onomatopoeias.
February 15, 2022
Beautiful illustrations of winter.
April 22, 2021
Clever words and illustrations to introduce onomatopoeia.
May 1, 2017
“Snow Sounds: An Onomatopoeic Story” by David A. Johnson is a picture book intended for children ages 4 – 8, in preschool through second grade. Two days before Christmas, a young boy and his family find themselves in the midst of a snowstorm. Between plowing the roads and shoveling the walk, readers are taken on a journey of the ear, matching sounds to actions in the early morning hours of freshly fallen snow.
Nearly wordless, the author uses onomatopoeia, a technique that imitates the sounds of objects or actions with the formation of words and phrases. I gave this story four stars because I think it is an excellent resource for the developing echoic skills of preschoolers. With exaggerated vocalization, the reader can help young listeners associate sounds to actions, like the swoosh and smoosh of the plow moving deep snow from the road, the chug, chug of the snow blower as the father clears the sidewalks, and the scoop and scrape of the shovel, as the young boy makes the walk accessible. The illustrations give the impression of looking through falling snow, hazy with grey tones of a snowstorm before the rising sun. The book becomes very interactive when children repeat the sounds they hear and can be used as a lesson when students are asked to find things in the classroom that may make similar sounds.
Nearly wordless, the author uses onomatopoeia, a technique that imitates the sounds of objects or actions with the formation of words and phrases. I gave this story four stars because I think it is an excellent resource for the developing echoic skills of preschoolers. With exaggerated vocalization, the reader can help young listeners associate sounds to actions, like the swoosh and smoosh of the plow moving deep snow from the road, the chug, chug of the snow blower as the father clears the sidewalks, and the scoop and scrape of the shovel, as the young boy makes the walk accessible. The illustrations give the impression of looking through falling snow, hazy with grey tones of a snowstorm before the rising sun. The book becomes very interactive when children repeat the sounds they hear and can be used as a lesson when students are asked to find things in the classroom that may make similar sounds.
February 23, 2017
This book has very neat illustration that go along with the "story" of the book. It only contains onomatopoeia sounds to tell the story. I would use this book in a kindergarten or first grade classroom because it would not keep the interest of older readers. The activity I would use with this book is to have them make their own stories with pictures and the descriptive words that describe their pictures.
June 16, 2011
I picked up this book from the library due to my son's overwhelming love of snow. I grabbed it, flipped through it, saw it had very few words, and decided it was good for our reading time. (On a side note, I absolutely hate when I don't do this and I get a book with wordy paragraphs that my son cannot handle yet. He wants to read the book, so he won't let me stop reading, but he climbs all over me because he finds wordy paragraphs boring.)
When I got home and read it to him, I was a little surprised by the subtitle of the book "An Onomatopoeic Story", but we started it together nonetheless. I admired the gorgeous watercolor pages, full of expressive drawings. These pictures make you remember the feel of a snow day from your youth, with the dark and the quiet.
My son settled into my side and after I started to make sounds, but not tell a story, he became impressed by the snow plow sounds I was making. I encouraged him to tell me a story about what was going happening on the pages. The lack of a story to tell became a story to hear from him. I'd prompt him, "What is the boy doing at his window?" "What is the boy eating?" "What is he feeling?" At first, my two year old would simply looked stumped and say, "Hmm..." (No lie, my son puts his finger on his chin thoughtfully and says hmm.)
After the second or third reading, with prompts, he started to answer and tell me more about the pages. "People drive the snow plow", "Boy eat cereal. Cat get some too.", and "Boy get toy. Boy happy?"
We'd have rudimentary discussions about the different types of snow plows in the book, and who was awake, and why. Now, it's a nightly story at bedtime. I don't know how I'm going to explain to him that we don't own this book! It might be a keeper and one we have to grab off of Amazon.
Reviewed at: http://sunhibooks.blogspot.com/2011/0...
When I got home and read it to him, I was a little surprised by the subtitle of the book "An Onomatopoeic Story", but we started it together nonetheless. I admired the gorgeous watercolor pages, full of expressive drawings. These pictures make you remember the feel of a snow day from your youth, with the dark and the quiet.
My son settled into my side and after I started to make sounds, but not tell a story, he became impressed by the snow plow sounds I was making. I encouraged him to tell me a story about what was going happening on the pages. The lack of a story to tell became a story to hear from him. I'd prompt him, "What is the boy doing at his window?" "What is the boy eating?" "What is he feeling?" At first, my two year old would simply looked stumped and say, "Hmm..." (No lie, my son puts his finger on his chin thoughtfully and says hmm.)
After the second or third reading, with prompts, he started to answer and tell me more about the pages. "People drive the snow plow", "Boy eat cereal. Cat get some too.", and "Boy get toy. Boy happy?"
We'd have rudimentary discussions about the different types of snow plows in the book, and who was awake, and why. Now, it's a nightly story at bedtime. I don't know how I'm going to explain to him that we don't own this book! It might be a keeper and one we have to grab off of Amazon.
Reviewed at: http://sunhibooks.blogspot.com/2011/0...
February 22, 2017
This is a good book to read around Christmas time. It would be good for pre-k and kindergartners. When learning about onomatopoeia this would also be a good book for older elementary school kids.
March 10, 2013
Snow Sounds: An Onomatopoeic Story by David A. Johnson show a young boy, eager to reach a holiday party, listening to the sounds of shovels, snowplow and other equipment used to clear his way.
Johnson's illustrations were created using ink and watercolor on paper. The misty, murky look of a snowstorm and a dark winter day are captured well. My favorite images are hush, smoosh, crash, beep, whoosh, and scrape.
Johnson uses about thirty words including inside sounds like yawn, flush and glug, plus outside snow clearing sounds like swoosh, slush, smoosh, crash, crush, clank, woosh, chug, beep, scrape, and scoop. Some of these outside sounds are rather loud, not quiet. I wish there had been some softer snowfall sounds like the Whoosh of wind, Plink of flakes on windows, Rattling windows from strong snowy winds, or the Crunch of stepping on frigid snow. Growing up in the country before snow blowers, the quieter sounds are what I remember and that resonate with me.
Johnson's pictures and sounds should appeal to many, though his faces are less successful than other pictured elements. I especially enjoyed the pictures with the cat. This has a variety of language arts applications. 3.5 stars.
For ages 2.5 to 7, snow, onomatopoeia, sounds, language, winter and fans of David A. Johnson.
Johnson's illustrations were created using ink and watercolor on paper. The misty, murky look of a snowstorm and a dark winter day are captured well. My favorite images are hush, smoosh, crash, beep, whoosh, and scrape.
Johnson uses about thirty words including inside sounds like yawn, flush and glug, plus outside snow clearing sounds like swoosh, slush, smoosh, crash, crush, clank, woosh, chug, beep, scrape, and scoop. Some of these outside sounds are rather loud, not quiet. I wish there had been some softer snowfall sounds like the Whoosh of wind, Plink of flakes on windows, Rattling windows from strong snowy winds, or the Crunch of stepping on frigid snow. Growing up in the country before snow blowers, the quieter sounds are what I remember and that resonate with me.
Johnson's pictures and sounds should appeal to many, though his faces are less successful than other pictured elements. I especially enjoyed the pictures with the cat. This has a variety of language arts applications. 3.5 stars.
For ages 2.5 to 7, snow, onomatopoeia, sounds, language, winter and fans of David A. Johnson.
November 6, 2013
Snow Sounds by David Johnson is a picture book that teaches the different sounds that various creates and inanimate objects make. It introduces vocabulary words pertaining to those different sounds, such as “crinkle, snore, hush, swoosh, crash, meow” and so on. All these sounds are onomatopoeic, in that they make the same sound that the word makes. The only text in the book are such sounds corresponding to the illustrations. Therefore, the narrative of the story is told primarily through the images. The story is about a snowy morning and the sounds that are made by a snow plow and by a young boy getting up in the morning. Other sounds include a snow blower, shovel, and school bus. The story has a clear purpose of teaching onomatopoeic sounds and would be a great addition to such a lesson. It could be used for Kindergarten or first grade.
June 23, 2015
Although this book is considered wordless, it does have a few choice onomatopoeias spread throughout. This picture book “tells” the story of a young boy waking up on a snowy day, and all of the sounds that can be experienced as the streets are cleared for school.
The illustrations of this book give the illusion of tiny snowflakes covering every inch of the page. The lines are blurred and you can almost feel the cold if you have experienced it. I particularly enjoy that it is wordless as that peaceful snow-covered day comes to life with big machines and their loud sounds.
This book could be used for pre-K all the way through grade school. Younger students could talk about the illustrations and create their own oral story or a class story recorded by the teacher. Older children could write their own tale of what would be said during this snowy day.
The illustrations of this book give the illusion of tiny snowflakes covering every inch of the page. The lines are blurred and you can almost feel the cold if you have experienced it. I particularly enjoy that it is wordless as that peaceful snow-covered day comes to life with big machines and their loud sounds.
This book could be used for pre-K all the way through grade school. Younger students could talk about the illustrations and create their own oral story or a class story recorded by the teacher. Older children could write their own tale of what would be said during this snowy day.
March 8, 2014
The snow has fallen all night and has covered the streets and houses with a soft powdery snow. The story follows a young boy that is experiencing a very noisy day.
It's a very good picture book to read aloud to children and give them multiple examples of the narrative device onomatopoeia.The author uses a variety of words such as swoosh, slush, smoosh, bump, shuffle and flush. However, there is no narration and only one word of dialogue in the whole book. This could provide children a chance to create their own story using the pictures and sounds provided The book is filled with full-page watercolor illustrations that are beautiful. You will get wrapped up in the memory of a snow day you had as a child.
It's a very good picture book to read aloud to children and give them multiple examples of the narrative device onomatopoeia.The author uses a variety of words such as swoosh, slush, smoosh, bump, shuffle and flush. However, there is no narration and only one word of dialogue in the whole book. This could provide children a chance to create their own story using the pictures and sounds provided The book is filled with full-page watercolor illustrations that are beautiful. You will get wrapped up in the memory of a snow day you had as a child.
January 22, 2014
My five-year-old son picked this book out from the library today. He is fascinated by snow, which would be great if we lived two states to the north. But we live in SC and seldom see a snowflake.
I picked this book up because of the phrase "an onomatopoeic story". Who doesn't love onomatopoeia?
Now surprisingly, the story is made up of a very few words, but what wonderful words they are!
The illustrations were good, even very good for the most part. Except for the people. The people were lacking in both charm and wonder.
I picked this book up because of the phrase "an onomatopoeic story". Who doesn't love onomatopoeia?
Now surprisingly, the story is made up of a very few words, but what wonderful words they are!
The illustrations were good, even very good for the most part. Except for the people. The people were lacking in both charm and wonder.
January 17, 2021
Except for one word, the story is told entirely in onomatopoeic words. Nice "snowy" pictures. Pair with Snow Music by Lynne Rae Perkins for a snow-themed lesson about onomatopoeia.
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