The gotcha at the end is just one thing that makes this book so much fun. The cadence when you read it just shouts with joy. The illustrations are fun. This is just a perfect snow day read. ( )

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Sam, Pam, Will, and Jill are so excited for the snow and a day to go sledding!

I acquired this book at the same time as Lakin's Beach Day and Rainy Day in the same loose "series" featuring the quartet of crocodiles. After being very disappointed with Rainy Day, I wasn't particularly hopeful about the other two. But I was pleasantly surprised by Snow Day. Some of my earlier criticisms remain - the illustrations are only so-so and sometimes the very brief text leaves a little to be desired in terms of storytelling.

But that being said, I think the story here was able to be told with the relatively fewer words without suffering in huge gaps and thus diminishing the reader's understanding. I also found that beginning readers really enjoyed this book because they could read most of the words themselves with relative ease. It was also especially appropriate that we read it on a snowy day so the kids connected with that aspect.

One potential downside to this book was that I didn't really like how the crocodiles pretend to be principals and call in to the news saying that all schools are closed for the weather. That kind of deception seems out of place in a kids' book. It would have been better if they just went in and listened to the radio for school closings. (Then again, others seem to be interpreting this as the crocodiles are adults and are actually principals, but this seems even more odd to me and rather unlikely given the way the characters act throughout all the books. However, Lakin's sparse writing means it's very vague and unclear what's actually going, so multiple interpretations are definitely possible.)

To be clear, I'm still not crazy about the Sam, Pam, Will, and Jill books, but this one I would at least consider using again, especially to discuss weather patterns and winter events/outdoor play (i.e., snow closings, sledding, etc.). ( )

Sam, Pam, Will, and Jill are thrilled when they wake up to discover snow! They can't wait to go sledding, but what about school? Good thing they're principals who can call a snow day for all.

Used for St. John's Preschool Storytime 12/1/09. I had the three year olds and this was too old for them I think - they don't know about snow days and principals yet. Instead I think this would be great for beginning readers in 1st or 2nd grade. Lots of repetition in the text makes the harder words like "undies" and "goggles" more approachable and they'll love the discovery that what at first are assumed to be children are actually adults who want to play too. ( )

Genre: This book is a fantasy. The story is about a groups of lizard friends who have school canceled due to a snow day. While snow days do actually happen in real life this story is a fantasy because lizards do not talk and understand each other. If it were not for these aspects this story would not be a fantasy book.

Age: Primary

Media: Pastel

Use: 1. After a snow day have students write about the fun adventures they had. 2. Have students write about their favorite season after reading this book. ( )