Martin Matje (1962–2004)

There are several reasons I liked this book about when it snows. The first reason is because of the plot. The book is not just about what kids like to do when it snows, but what the animals do when it snows. "'I wear a new coat," says the stoat, "a king from head to toe." White winter fur when it starts to snow. "I follow the turtle," says the frog. "Down into the mud I go." Peep, peep, peep when it starts to snow.'" As children read this book they gain knowledge of what many different animals do in winter when it snows. The next thing I liked about this book were the illustrations. The illustrations on each page matched the animal that the book was describing. This helps to give the children a visual representation of the animal the book is talking about if they don't already know what it is. Lastly, I liked the language/ writing. The text was descriptive and engaging as I read about what different animals do when it snows. In addition, the text repeated itself a few times asking the questions "What if it starts to snow? What do you do? Where do you go?" This not only keeps the readers engaged but also reminds them of what the animals are talking about as they tell you what they do when it snows. All in all, I feel that the 'big idea' of this story is to learn about what all the different animals do when it snows. Not all animals play in the snow like we do, some hibernate, some fly south, and others stay indoors (ex: cats). We are lucky to be able to play, and have fun in the snow!… (mehr)