Review - When the Snow Is Deeper Than My Boots Are Tall

When the Snow Is Deeper Than My Boots Are Tall
by Jean Reidy
illustrated by Joey Chou
Date: 2019
Publisher: Henry Holt & Company
Reading level: C
Book type: picture book
Pages: 32
Format: e-book
Source: library

When the Snow Is Deeper Than My Boots Are Tall is a charming rhyming picture book celebrating the fun of snow and the coziness of winter.

Find a frosty window./ Watch the flakes fall./ Look! The snow is deeper than my toes are tall.

With young, rhyming verse and bright illustrations, Jean Reidy and Joey Chou captures the joy and excitement of a big snowfall. As the snow climbs over a boy's toes, ankles, shins, and boots, there's more and more fun to be had—snowmen, sledding, snow angels, and, finally, a cup of hot cocoa by a warm fire.

(synopsis from Goodreads)

This is a cute book about a snowy day. Our young narrator tells us, in rhyme, about how deep the snow is getting, relating its depth to parts of his body (e.g., it's up to his ankles, it's over the tops of his boots, etc.). Eventually, though, the snowy day turns uncomfortable: cold toes, wet cheeks, and a hat-stealing wind. So after a last bit of fun, the boy goes inside with his family to share the other side of a snowy day: the coziness of a fire, hot drinks, and companionship.

It's a charming story. The meter of the rhyming text is okay. The illustrations are fairly strong, if simple; they're colourful and cute.

Overall, this is a nice little winter-themed picture book that doesn't incorporate any holidays (as so many winter titles do) and instead focuses on the experience of being outside when it's snowing.

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

Enjoyment: 3/5

Overall: 3.5 out of 5