Review - Over and Under the Snow

Over and Under the Snow (Over and Under)
by Kate Messner
illustrated by Christopher Silas Neal
Date: 2011
Publisher: Chronicle Books (CA)
Reading level: C
Book type: picture book
Pages: 44
Format: e-book
Source: library

Over the snow, the world is hushed and white. But under the snow exists a secret kingdom of squirrels and snow hares, bears and bullfrogs, and many other animals that live through the winter safe and warm, awake and busy, under the snow. Discover the wonder and activity that lies beneath winter s snowy landscape in this magical book.

(synopsis from Goodreads)

Our library had all three books in the Over and Under series, so I thought I'd check them out. While I can't say I absolutely loved this first one, I still think it's a strong picture book.

The narrative tells the story of a child and their father who are cross-country skiing. Along the way, they see many signs of animals. Some live above the snow, and some live in the subnivean zone, which is a pocket formed between the snow and the ground. Each animal is illustrated in a simple, bold style.

I don't love the illustrations, but they're adequate and showcase all of the different creatures in their snowy homes. The book also has some fairly extensive endnotes (for a picture book, anyway) that talk about how each of the creatures featured in the book actually spend their winter.

Overall, this is a strong picture book with a non-fiction flavour. I can see it being a great addition to classroom libraries.

Quotable moment:

Premise: 4/5
Meter: n/a
Writing: 4/5
Illustrations: 3/5
Originality: 4/5

Enjoyment: 3/5

Overall: 3.5 out of 5