The Snowy Day Review by Allison Trippe

Bibliography

Keats, Ezra Jack. The Snowy Day. New York: Puffin Books, 1976.  
ISBN 0-14-050182-7

Plot Summary

Peter, a young and whimsical boy, awakens to find an unlikely playmate has covered his surroundings: snow. Peter can hardly wait to explore and play in the blanket of white. All day long he crunches, builds, smacks, slides, and pounds until he retires for the evening. He enjoys his time with the snow so much that he even decides to take some home with him. Reflecting on his day, he longs to be back outside frolicking in the white abyss. That night, almost as if it were a nightmare, Peter dreams that the sun melts all of the snow. As he wakes up the next day, he is delighted to discover more snow has fallen. When he leaves his house that morning, he invites a friend to join him for another day of merriment in the snow.

Critical Analysis

Like a character equally as important as the protagonist Peter, the snow symbolizes a new friend. Through adventure and exploration, Peter comes to know and love his new, wintry companion. Children are able to to easily relate to Peter’s imagination and wonder throughout the believable and realistic plot. With an integral setting taking place in a snowy city, this classic children’s book, originally published over fifty years ago, stands the test of time. Themes of friendship, imagination, and innocence are implied in Ezra Jack Keats’ masterful yet simple story. The Snowy Day is concisely told and to the point.

The author-illustrator combines a simple story with colorful, geometric images. The contrasting white snow and Peter’s bright, red snowsuit help the reader “watch” Peter play. With somewhat ambiguous figures, Keats enables children to connect to Peter’s experience but leaves room for imagination. The eye-catching collage of patterns and solids, and the overlapping designs on each page offer a unique and effective technique.

Review Excerpts

Winner of the 1963 Caldecott Medal

Top 100 Picture Books #5 by School Library Journal

From Horn Book: “The Snowy Day was the very first full-color picture book to feature a small black hero.”

From Publisher’s Weekly: “Ezra Jack Keats’s classic The Snowy Day, winner of the 1963 Caldecott Medal, pays homage to the wonder and pure pleasure a child experiences when the world is blanketed in snow.”

Connections

• Teachers can use The Snowy Day as a read aloud with Pre-K up to second grade. This book can compliment a lesson about winter weather.
• Art teachers can guide students understanding and appreciation of color, contrast, and shape. Students could create a snowy background and layer geometric shapes to show their favorite winter activity.
• Following the reading of The Snowy Day, students could be given a writing prompt such as “Snow is…” or “Snow reminds me of…” and illustrate their writing pieces.
• This story could be use to teach students how to sequence events.

*Created as an assignment for a Texas Woman's University course.