(GLCs: Click here for grade level guidelines.)
Date(s) Used: Dec. 2011
Synopsis:
From Publishers Weekly:
In this companion to Dawn and Rain Rain Rivers, Shulevitz uses text as spare as a December landscape to cast a spell of winter magic. Despite predictions to the contrary ("'No snow,' said radio"; "'It'll melt,' said woman with umbrella"), a boy and his dog spy a single snowflake and rush outside in gleeful anticipation. Sure enough, one snowflake turns into two, two into three, and before long snow is "dancing, playing,/ there, and there,/ floating, floating through the air." In a lovely fantasy sequence that hints at the wonder children find in snowfall, a trio of Mother Goose characters climb down from a bookshop window to join the boy and his dog as they frolic through the city streets. The Caldecott Medalist works a bit of visual alchemy as the tale progresses, gradually transforming the chilly gray watercolor washes with flecks of snow, until his cityscape is a frozen fairyland. Pure enchantment from start to finish.
| Discussion topics for before reading: |
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Have you ever been in the snow?
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What color is snow?
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What happens with the first big rain of the fall?
Vocabulary
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Melt
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Float
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Circling
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Swirling
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Spinning
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Twirling
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| Discussion topics for during/after reading: |
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Can you see the first snowflake (page 3 of story)?
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Can you count the snowflakes? (Ask each page a specific number of snowflakes is mentioned)
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Why don’t you think anyone is listening to Boy with Dog?
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What is Boy with Dog wearing? What special clothing do you need for snow?
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Find the television through the window
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What’s happening at Mother Goose Books?
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Are the characters real OR are they a part of Boy with Dog’s imagination?
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Have you ever said something would happen and no one listened? Did it happen?
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Is the umbrella big enough to protect the women from the snow?
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| Craft ideas: |
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Create snowflakes (fold paper into quarters and/or thirds and cut)
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Draw a snow scene
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Draw a snowman and decorate
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*Note: These craft ideas are just suggestions.
You can use them, but you don't have to use them.
You can expand upon them, or add your own twist.
Remember, though, that the focus of your time should
not be on the development and execution of a craft;
the focus should be on the read-aloud and the
enjoyment of the book!
