Review of When It Starts to Snow by Phillis Gershator Illustrated by Martin Matje

I bought this book in an airport bookstore as my 20-month-old and I were about to board a cross-country flight. He was, at that point, still a lap child and I remember reading this book to him at least 10 times before the plane had even left the ground. I had recently accepted a job that would move our family from snowy Boston to sunny Arizona, and was already feeling nostalgic about the snow storms we would miss.

This book is the most beautiful combination of poetic verse and subtle teaching, all seen through the frame of a little boy who can't wait to enjoy the pleasure of the snowy world outside. The format of the book takes us through a range of animals and their reaction to the coming snow - geese fly south, fish swim deep, horses await the farmer with feed.

Matje's illustrations are absolutely charming. Each animal appears in its habitat, and animals that share the same environment (beaver and fish, pig and horse) are on opposite pages. My favorite visual tool in this book is the choice to have one page that is just an illustration - no words - and a very spare and simple illustration at that. In the text it falls just before the cadence of the repetitive verse changes rhythm, and it causes a meditative pause. The no-text page is mostly taken up with a wide expanse of snow, although it also includes the little boy peeking out from behind a tree, and for those who look closely, subtle footprints pressed into the white snow.

Another clever aspect of the illustrations is that on some pages we only see part of an animal, with the rest of the animal revealed only on the book's cover illustration. In fact, sometimes when the main character is seen, it is only his red hat that appears in the picture. I also like the way that, in places, the animal sounds are not in the same font as the rest of the text, but are drawn much larger to become a part of the page's overall graphic design. It means that my son can point out those words - the "Honk, honk, honk" of the geese or the "Oink, oink, oink" of the pig because of the way they stand out.

I mentioned that this book is educational - it actually works in scientific information about how animals adapt or hibernate in winter and what kinds of homes and dens they live in. But it's never heavy handed, which is a lovely way to learn.

Even after reading it dozens of times, many of them that first day on the plane, I still love this book, its calming text, and soothing illustrations. And because of its repetition, my son happily chimes in, especially at the end when the little boy cheers for snow - "Hip, hip, hooray!"