Review - The Snow Globe Family

The Snow Globe Family
by Jane O'Connor
illustrated by S. D. Schindler
Date: 2006
Publisher: Putnam Publishing Group
Reading level: C
Book type: picture book
Pages: 40
Format: hardcover
Source: library

"Oh, when will it snow again?" wonders the little family who lives in the snow globe. They long for a swirling snowstorm--if only someone in the big family would pick up the snow globe and give it a great big shake. Baby would love to. She alone notices the little family. She gazes longingly at their snowy little world, but the snow globe is up way too high for her to reach. Then, when a real snowstorm sends the big children outside sledding in the moonlight, Baby finds herself alone in the parlor. . . . Will the snow globe family at last get a chance to go sledding too?

As readers follow the parallel adventures of both families, big and little, they will take special pleasure in the miniature world of the snow globe, where the skating pond is the size of a shiny quarter and a snowman is no bigger than a sugar cube.

(synopsis from Goodreads)

I don't know what to make of this one. It's a weird little story. I can sort of see where the author was trying to go with it, but it made me a little uncomfortable having to watch an unsupervised baby climbing around on the furniture near the fireplace.

Basically, there's a family of five (dad, mom, brother, sister, and baby) who live in a house. On their mantel is a snow globe, and inside that snow globe is a house with a miniature family that mirrors the bigger one. One thing both families have in common is that they love the snow. The main difference is that, for the family in the snow globe, snow's arrival coincides with a massive earthquake (of course).

Baby (of the large family) is the only one who seems to notice the little people in the snow globe. One day when the dad, brother, and sister are out sledding in the snow, the mom and Baby are left behind. The mom goes to run Baby's bath, leaving the kid unattended in what is essentially a Victorian parlour. The kid immediately stacks up a bunch of stuff in front of the fireplace so she can climb up and shake the snow globe. Of course, she promptly falls off, and is shown landing unharmed on pillows (which is not exactly realistic, given that she's right beside a stone hearth and a bunch of metal tools like pokers). The snow globe family gets shaken up, and they end up with some lovely drifts on which to sled. Then the mom catches Baby and, seeming to have forgotten all about the bath, takes her outside to play in the snow.

This book leaves me with more questions than answers. Especially with that ending. What happens if the snow globe actually breaks? What will happen to the little family? Will all the magic leak out and they'll cease to live? Who knows? We're just supposed to sort of accept that they're there and that they exist... with no explanation for how this came to be.

The illustrations didn't impress me that much. They're kind of bland. I found myself looking at the text more than the pictures, which isn't necessarily a good thing in a picture book.

Overall, I wasn't that impressed. I picked this one up because it was by Jane O'Connor (author of the Fancy Nancy books, most of which I've enjoyed). But it lacks magic, even though it's supposed to be about a magical family that lives in a snow globe. I don't think I'd recommend this one.

Premise: 2/5
Meter: n/a
Writing: 2/5
Illustrations: 3/5
Originality: 3/5

Enjoyment: 2/5

Overall: 2.33 out of 5