Snow by Uri Shulevitz is a youthful story about a young boy and his dog who believe that the random snowflakes falling will accumulate while others in the town are rather pessimistic.  In the end, the entire town is a winter wonderland.  Read it to recapture some of your youth!

  This 1999 Caldecott Honor Book is set in what appears to be a small East European village.  Shulevitz uses wonderful muted tones of green, blue and brown with gray overtones to create a black & white feel to his water-color illustrations.  These simple yet dramatic illustrations compliment the spare text that accompanies them.  The illustrations create a dark mood and set the tone for the beginning of the story.  Shulevitz uses somewhat of a "loose" technique in his illustrations thereby creating a calm and serene setting for his readers.

  The illustrations tend to gain a bit more color and lose some of the gray overtones at the climax when the snow is accumulating on the small village.  The boy begins to celebrate with his dog and the Mother Goose characters from the bookstore window display.  The two final pages of illustrations sum up the exhilaration and exuberance that the boy and his dog are feeling.  They are very bright and colorful yet still simplistic.  The entire village is covered in snow, however, it is a crisp white color and the sky is a brilliant blue conveying a realism that almost any reader can relate to.

    Shulivitz has had a long and busy career.  For three years starting in 1956, Uri was in the Israeli Army.  He was a member of the Kibbutz Ein-Geddi (collective farm), in Israel, from 1957-58.  For the next two years he was an art director of a youth magazine in Israel, and was an illustrator of children's books from 1958-59.  At the School of Visual Arts in New York City, Uri was an art instructor from 1967-68.  He taught art at The Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York from 1970-71.  In 1970, he worked at the New School for Social Research in New York City.  He became a member of the Authors Guild of Authors League of America (member of children's books committee).

    Mr. Shulevitz has received many honors over the years, extending from 1964-present.  Some honors and awards Uri received include: The American Institute of Graphic Arts Children's Books Awards, A Certificate of Excellence (1973-74), A Certificate of Merit, inducted into the Society of Illustrators for Charley Sang a Song Books. His books were displayed at Children's Books Exhibition at the New York Library and at the International Biennali of Illustrations, Bratislava, Czechoslovakia.  He has won the American Caldecott Medal for The Fool of the World and the Flying Ship (1969), The Caldecott Honor Book Award for The Treasure.  He was selected for inclusion in American Book sellers 1969 Gift to the Nation from the Library of the White House and given a Bronze Medal.  The Christopher Award was given to him when he was a part of the International Book Exhibition.  In 1976, Uri represented the United States on the International Honors List at Congress of International Board on Books for Young People.

    Uri has written and illustrated many children's books. His other interests are in art, music, old tales and parables of eastern traditions, yoga and tai-chi-chuan.  He especially appreciates Rembrandt's art works.  Still today Uri is writing and illustrating children's books with no signs of slowing down.

Art -- Students can make cut out snowflakes. The class can discuss the difference between all of the snowflakes and how no two are the same. This can be tied into how no two people are the same . The discussion can lead to how no two people are the same.

-Younger students can do a finger-painting project. On black paper, students can paint a snow scene.

Writing -- The students can write about the Mother Goose characters that are found in the book.

Social Studies -- Students can make predictions about how much snow certain cities will have. Then they can use the Internet or other sources to see if their predictions were correct.

Discussion --The class can talk about the seasons and how animals adapt to them.

Science -- The class can take a trip to a weather station to see the different equipment that is used by the meteorologist to predict the weather.

-When it is snowing, students can catch snowflakes on black construction paper. Then they can look at the flakes through a magnifying glass and discuss the different shapes. They can also use a ruler to see if they can measure them. (Science and Math)

Math -- Students can record weather predictions from television and see how accurately they compare with what we actually get.

•  SNOWFLAKE - by Paul Gallico, (1950)
• The Most Beautiful Gift - by Jonathan Snow, 1996.

• Snowflake Bentley: Man of Science, Man of God - by Gloria May Stoddard
• Snowflakes - by Joan Sugarman, 1985.
• Snowflake Bentley - by Jacqueline Briggs Martin, Mary Azarian (Illustrator), 1998 (Caldecott Medal Book).

  After reading the picture book Snow, have the children take a look at this site.  Have the children do some research and ask them to write a plan of how they would be prepared for the snow.  The children will work in groups of two.  When all the groups have done their research and written their plan out, have each group present it to the class.  This exercise will help them concentrate on safety for weather.