Snow Scene - Hardcover

PreS-K— A guessing game leads youngsters from winter to spring in this quiet tour de force. The question, "What are these?" appears on a close-up of bark. A page turn reveals the answer, "Trees," as a stand of birches deep in snow-filled woods stretches across a spread. The questions continue: "And those?" next to purple splotches. The answer: "Shadows./Of crows." Each question is printed near a partial image that is completely revealed with its answer on the following page. Ice-covered branches and a girl with snow-flecked hair are included among the snowy landscapes that follow. Finally, dark, silent winter evening scenes give way to light, as the palette changes from deep purplish-blues to the bright blues, pinks, and greens of spring. Creatures appear after a winter sleep and earth surfaces through winter snow. A striking close-up of May flowers soon follows. All that's left of winter is a snow-capped mountain, described in delightful metaphor: "Winter's hat!" The acrylic paintings, all spreads, are lush and textured. The boy and girl who enjoy the winter woods and making a snowman reappear to relish such spring joys as romping in the rain and reading under a tree. The text is large and spare with one or two words on a page. VERDICT This perfect marriage of stunning illustrations and brief, often rhyming text in a question-and-answer format that will engage the lap set from the start is a first purchase.— Marianne Saccardi, Children's Literature Consultant, Cambridge, MA