THE SNOWY DAY

Bibliography

Keats, Ezra Jack. 1962. THE SNOWY DAY. New York, NY: The Viking Press Company. ISBN 140501827

Plot Summary

The setting takes place in a snowy city with a little boy named Peter. He looks out the window and realizes it snowed a lot during the night. Peter puts on a red suit and heads outside. He has all sorts of adventures, like making a snowman, snow angels, and even pretends to be a mountain climber. Peter also comes across some older boys and wants to join their snowball fight, but once he gets hit with a snowball he realizes he probably is still too young to play with older kids. He heads inside and tells his mom all about his day.

Before going to bed he becomes sad when he realized that the snowball he had saved in his pocket wasn’t there anymore. He dreams that the sun had melted the snow. When he wakes up he sees that it was snowing again! So, he went out again into the snow, but this time he invited a friend.

Critical Analysis

The Snowy Day book is a fiction picture book appropriate for 2 years old and up.  It's uniqueness involves an African-American main character.  It is very realistic and is easy to read. It involves family life, from simple pleasures to the tough problems kids experience.  The readers can feel the pleasures of playing in the snow. For example, when he goes outside and makes a snowman, snow angles, and slides down a mountain. The character is innocent and wants to keep the snow forever.
The title "The Snowy Day

The illustrations are simple and show soft hues of browns, pinks, whites and that red that just pops at you when you turn the pages. The way the illustrations are represented seem like they are paper cutouts neatly glued to create a story. It’s refreshing to see an illustrator use different tones of skin color on his characters.

I enjoy reading this book to my students because it teaches how snow melts in your pocket and when you’re inside your warm house. I had a seven-year-old student tell me, “Ms. That boy is the same color as me.” That just proves that kids notice everything and relate to even the skin color of a book character.

Review Excerpts

- Caldecott Medal Award 1963

- School Library Journal (#5 on Top 100 Picture Books List)

- “The book is notable not only for its lovely artwork and tone, but also for its importance as a trailblazer. According to Horn Book magazine, The Snowy Day was “the very first full-color picture book to feature a small black hero”” — Amazon.com editorial review

- “…he did what very few can: quietly and intimately engage with the way children experience the world—the small excitements, the tiny heartbreaks, the bright newness of all five senses, and the unparalleled elation of snow on a school day.” — John Hodgman, author.

Connections

Spanish version:
Un Dia de Nieve. ISBN 0590937723

Other books by Ezra JackKeats:

- PETER’S CHAIR. ISBN 9780140564419 (sister, family life)

- A LETTER TO AMY. ISBN 9780670880638 (friendship and love)

For more snow day adventures read:
Yee, Wong Herbert. TRACKS IN THE SNOW. ISBN 9780312371340

DON'T LET THE PIGEON DRIVE THE BUS!

Bibliography

Willems, Mo. 2003. DON'T LET THE PIGEON DRIVE THE BUS!. New York, NY: Hyperion Books for Children. ISBN 9780786819881

Plot Summary

A bus driver wants to take a break and decides to leave for a short time, all he asks is not to let the pigeon drive his bus. His request isn’t easy because the pigeon is very persistent. The pigeon begs and pleads and even promises to be careful. He even throws a tantrum.  He also has a list of reasons why he should drive.

Critical Analysis

This is a very entertaining picture book for a young audience. The text is simple and short and allows for interaction. The pigeon talks to the readers, making the readers talk back to him as they read. The pigeon promises many of the same things children do. It captures a child's temper tantrum.

The author’s illustrations are very simple cartoons and give the reader a feeling that a child drew them. The colors consist of browns and blues with a white bubble with text. He brings the characters to life with the pigeons silly facial expressions that represent various emotions.

The group of 1st graders I read this book to loved it. It is so simple to read and follow; they kept stopping the read aloud to talk about the pigeon. They thought it was the funniest thing that the pigeon used phrases like; “I’ll be your best friend,” and “I never get to do anything.”

 Review Excerpts

- 2004 Caldecott Honor

- ALA Notable Book

- National Council of Teachers of English Notable

- Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books Blue Ribbon Book.

- Based on a 2007 online poll, the National Education Association named the book one of its "Teachers' Top 100 Books for Children."

- It was one of the "Top 100 Picture Books" of all time in a 2012 poll by School Library Journal.

- 2009 Indies Choice Picture Book Hall of Fame Title

- New York Times Bestseller

- Publishers Weekly Bestseller

- Booklist Editor’s Choice

- Nick Jr. Magazine Best Book

- Kirkus Reviews Editor’s Choice

- Charlotte Zolotow Highly Commended

- Amazon.com Best Book

- Miami Herald Best Book

- Child Magazine Best Book

- Book Sense 76 selection

- Borders Original Voices (June 03)

- Capitol Choices Noteworthy Book

- Bank Street College of Education Best Book

- Children’s Book of the Month Club Selection

- Children’s Literature Assembly Notable Book

- "Clean, sparely designed pages focus attention on the simply drawn but wildly expressive (and emotive) pigeon, and there’s a particularly funny page-turn when a well-mannered double-page spread with eight vignettes of the pleading pigeon gives way to a full-bleed, full-blown temper tantrum. Assuming that young listeners will take on the role of limit-setting grownups and not identify with the powerless but impertinent pigeon (“What’s the big deal!?” “No fair!”), this well-paced story encourages audience interaction. In fact, like the wide-eyed pigeon, the book demands it. By the end, the pigeon has moved on — to dreaming about driving an eighteen wheeler. And that’s a big 10-4, good buddy." - The Horn Book STARRED REVIEW

-"Listeners will be begging, pleading, lying, and bribing to hear it again and again." - Kirkus Reviews, STARRED REVIEW

- "cheeky debut is charmingly absurd." - Publishers Weekly

- "A brilliantly simple book that is absolutely true to life . . . The genius of this book is that the very young will actually recognize themselves in it." - School Library Journal

- "A winning debut . . . preschoolers will howl over the pigeon's dramatics." - Booklist, STARRED REVIEW

Connections

- Spanish version, 

¡No Dejes Que la Paloma Conduzca el Autobus! ISBN1423140524

Other stories silly books by Mo Willems that get kids to interact:

- THE PIGEON FINDS A HOTDOG. ISBN 9780786818693

- DON’T LET THE PIGEON STAY UP LATE. ISBN 9781406308129

- THE PIGEON NEEDS A BATH. ISBN 9781423190875

- THE PIGEON WANTS A PUPPY. ISBN 9781406315509

- THE DUCKLING GETS A COOKIE. ISBN 9781406340099

THE INVENTION OF HUGO CABRET - ORPHAN, CLOCK KEEPER, AND THIEF

Bibliography

Selznick, Brian. 2007. THE INVENTION OF HUGO CABRET. New York, NY: Scholastic Press. ISBN 0439813786

Plot Summary

In the 1930’s an orphan named Hugo is living in the walls of a Paris train station where he secretly maintains 27 clocks every day. Hugo is desperately trying to fix a broken automaton figure that can write scripts, because he believes that it will produce a message from his deceased father. He resorts to stealing toys for which he uses their small parts and gears from a toy booth. He also carries a precious notebook filled with drawings in his pocket. Along the way he meets a young girl named Isabella and her godfather, the owner of the toy booth. Although Hugo is careful, he is caught and made to work off his debt. A friendship is created.

Critical Analysis

This historical drama is written in simple text which is easy to follow and fun to read.  It tells about making friends and being open with them to overcome loneliness. Through persistence and hard work one learns how to fix things, leaving the reader wondering what his purpose is. The price that had to be paid for stealing toys and getting caught.

The story is about the adventures kids have and what they learn in the end.

Selznick's book is considered a historical fiction because the old man in the story was actually a poor film maker in France, who also collected automatons, and worked in a toy store in a train station.

Selznick’s illustrations are beautifully detailed with black and white pencil sketches. The illustrations themselves tell a story right out of a 1930's film.  One must look carefully at them to be able to understand the sequence of the story.

I love this book and so did my fourth graders! I have to admit, it wasn't love at first sight. The first thing we noticed was the size, and we were not very thrilled. But, as we got into it, the illustrations made reading this book worthwhile, they draw you into the story. After reading the story, the students wanted to flip through the illustrations again, since it gives the feeling of a real film.

 Review Excerpts

- Caldecott Medal 2008

- “A true masterpiece.” -Publishers Weekly, starred review

- “Complete genius.” –The Horn Book, starred review

- “Breathtaking…shatters conventions.” –School Library Journal, starred review

- “Captivating…like a silent film on paper.” –The New York Times Book Review

Connections

Brain Selznick also wrote: 

-WONDERSTRUCK. ISBN 0545027896

-THE MARVELS. ISBN 0545448689




Similar book: 

Tan, Shaun. THE ARRIVAL. ISBN 0439895294. This is a wordless "graphic novel” with scenes that are sepia-tone color and consist of realistic characters.



Adventure books students might also be interested in: 

- Wiesner, David. FLOTSAM. ISBN 0618194576

- Pearson, Ridley. THE KINGDOM KEEPERS. ISBN 0786854448

ALEXANDER AND THE TERRIBLE, HORRIBLE, NO GOOD, VERY BAD DAY

 Bibliography 

Viorst, Judith. 1972.ALEXANDER AND THE TERRIBLE, HORRIBLE, NO GOOD, VERY BAD DAY. Ill. By Ray Cruz. New York, NY: Aladdin. ISBN 0689711735.

Plot Summary 

The main character, Alexander, is a 12-year-old boy who is having a bad day. His day starts off with some gum stuck to his hair, tripping on his skateboard, and drops a sweater in a sink full of water. Then on the day before his 12th birthday party, another boy is having a party too and everyone is attending. The day keeps getting worse! He gets lima beans for dinner and there’s even kissing on TV. He can’t wait for this day to end. He repeats that he wants to live in Australia, because he thinks it would be a better place to live. His family doesn’t believe in bad days, so he wishes for them to feel what a bad day is like. At the end of the day, his mother gives him some comforting words of wisdom.

Critical Analysis 

The author writes this picture book using realistic events, setting and characters. The readers are left with the realization that everybody has terrible days and that they should appreciate the good things that do happen. The story is clear and dramatic and focuses on a self-centered child. Since there is no clear setting the author makes the reader feel that the story can actually happen anywhere and even to them. The book is intended for children ages 6-9, but anyone is able to relate to it and enjoy it.

 The illustrations are detailed in a way that readers can see the facial expressions of the characters and they are a very important part of the story. For example, when a reader struggles to read, he’ll look at the illustrations and have a better understanding of what the page was about.
 The illustrator, Ray Cruz uses black and white drawings with shading and varying texture to make the drawings realistic.

 This is such a hilarious book. The characters and events are so real that readers totally relate to the story. After reading this book to 2nd grade, we talked about being mad, sad, embarrassed, jealous, hurt, and disappointed. That's just how life is!

Review Excerpts

- “In this contemporary classic, veteran children’s author Viorst introduces us to Alexander, a kid with an unruly crop of hair, who gets out of bed to face day that seems to grow increasingly worse with each passing minute.”

 - Scholastic -2010 Picture Book Hall of Fame Inductee
 - ALA Notable Children's Books
 - George G. Stone Center Recognition Of Merit
 - Georgia Children's Book Award - Reading Rainbow Book

 Connections

-This book is also in Spanish!
Alexander Y El Día Terrible, Horrible, Espantoso, Horroroso. ISBN 0689713509 

- FORTUNATELY. ISBN 0689716605  by Remy Charlip is another one of those books that lends itself to game playing; unfortunately/fortunately.

 - Author Judith Viorst also has ABSOLUTELY POSITIVELY ALEXANDER: THE COMPLETE STORIES. ISBN 0689817738, which has three classic stories about Alexander.

 - Some of Viorst’s other books for children about family, friends, and feelings include:

 - I’LL FIX ANTHONY. ISBN 0689712022. (a brother thinks of ways he will someday get revenge on his older brother)

 - ROSIE AND MICHAEL. ISBN 0689712723. (friends tell what they like about each other, even the bad things)

 - SUNDAY MORNING. ISBN 0689717024. (brothers)

 - SUPER-COMPLETELY AND TOTALLY THE MESSIEST. ISBN 0689829418. (sisters, one is perfect and the other is totally the messiest person)