A Thing Called Snow written and illustrated by Yuval Zommer OUP ISBN 9780192769824 £12.99
What a glorious evocation of the joy of winter and of snow in particular. Hare and Fox had been born in the spring and over the months have become close friends. When they feel a change in the weather, heralding the change from Autumn to Winter they are told that ‘snow’ is coming, but they don’t know what that means. Their friends try to describe it, but it is like being given a small piece of a jigsaw and they just have to keep searching. As night falls, they decide to curl up and go to sleep, before continuing their search in the morning. Magically they awake to find that they are surrounded by this wonderful white, cold fluffy ‘thing’ that is snow. They are then found by their friends and everyone makes the journey home through the snow.
This is a truly warming story about friendship and the magic of discovering new wonders. It is a concept that we can all understand, because there is always something that we have heard of, but never seen. It might be snow, or sand, volcanoes or even a steam train, but the magic of discovery is something that we all keep in our memories. This is a brilliant story on so many levels; it can be read as a straightforward winter tale, but it also acts as a link for talking about the seasons, animals in other countries, migration, friendship, safety and the environment. It is highly recommended for Reception and KS1, but younger children will love it being read to them.
Margaret Pemberton
