Review - Snow Falls

Snow Falls
by Kate Gardner
illustrated by Brandon James Scott
Date: 2020
Publisher: Tundra Books (NY)
Reading level: C
Book type: picture book
Pages: 32
Format: e-book
Source: library

An introduction to the magic, beauty and fun of snow for very young readers, perfect for fans of Ezra Jack Keats' classic The Snowy Day.

Snow softens, snow tricks, snow tracks, snow glows and snow snows and snows and snows, transforming a small village into a winter wonderland. A girl and her dog set out and make the most of every snow-filled moment: sledding, building snowmen and snowforts, making snowangels (and snowdogs), and drinking cocoa by a cozy fire as the snow continues to fall. This luminous and lively picture book celebrates the beauty, magic and excitement of snow with simple, easy-to-read text, comprised almost solely of verbs and action words, and gorgeous art that highlights the amazing colors of a snowy day. As inviting as the first snowfall, but so much warmer, Snow Falls encourages little people and big people to go outside and enjoy the snow . . . before it goes!

(synopsis from Goodreads)

Similar to A. K. Riley's Snow Song, Snow Falls is a picture book that's driven largely by its illustrations. The text is minimal, with most of the spreads only having two words.

While I found Snow Song highly repetitive and annoying, Snow Falls is much easier to take, in part because there's so little text that you can sort of ignore it. (In fact, I think this one could even work as a wordless picture book.) The pictures are going to be the real draw here. They're colourful, charming, and infused with various shades of light that one tends to see only in the winter months. A little girl and her dog form a motif that's carried throughout the whole season. (There are also a couple of other things that repeat on every page. Readers will have fun spotting them!)

The story is very basic, but I'd recommend this one for the illustrations alone.

Quotable moment:

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

Enjoyment: 4/5

Overall: 3.67 out of 5