The Big Snow

This 1949 Caldecott Award winning book--for illustrations--has stood the test of time and still finds appeal among today's children. While kids may notice that not every page has color illustrations, it does not prevent them from being drawn into the story line beginning with the wild geese flying south signaling that it's time for the other animals to prepare for winter or to leave as well.New teachers and parents may not be aware of this timeless classic which can be used with primary age students in talking about late autumn, deep winter or even Groundhog's Day! Although the animals have anthropomorphic qualities, their speech is congruent with what they would actually be "thinking" during this season. For example, Mrs. Chipmunk says, "...it's getting cold. It's time for me to retire." It's not as corny as it sounds, and any adult reading "The Big Snow" aloud to children may want to give each animal's "voice" a quality resembling its actual sound.This children's classic works on many levels, not the least of which is connecting today's children with a book loved by many previous generations.

This book won the Caldecott Medal as the best illustrated American children's book in 1949. The book's color and black-and-white water color illustrations convey a cross between realistic images of animals and anthropomorphic facial expressions and poses. Each is done in a way that evokes the beauty of nature. Think of this book as having more realistic versions of Walt Disney's Bambi images. The story serves several purposes. First, it recounts how many different animals prepare for winter. The geese fly south, which alerts the other animals to prepare as well. Most will grow heavier coats if they have fur. Some have grown fat on summer and fall food and will hibernate. Some will hibernate all winter, and others for only a few weeks. We even get the groundhog legend of groundhog's day included here. Others will stay awake all winter, and will search the woods for food. Others, like squirrels, have been storing food. The animals described also include rabbits, chipmunks, robins, cardinals, song sparrows, blue birds, wood rats, crows, wood mice, deer, skunks, raccoons, and owls. The winter habits of each species are described. Then, the big snow comes and upsets those plans. The animals that do not hiberate and rely on getting food from the ground are suddenly hungry. How will they survive?Fortunately, there are humans as well. An old man comes out to shovel his sidewalks. Soon after him, an old woman arrives to put out food for the animals on the sidewalks. The animals all congregate there. Both the old woman and the old man feed the animals throughout the winter, saving those ground-feeding animals from starvation. This book is excellent for helping a child understand how we connect to nature, and what role we can play to help animals during the winter. Anyone who has fed birds in the winter has also fed squirrels (whether they wanted to or not). You obviously should follow the example set in this book and do some feeding as well. Be sure to feed throughout the entire winter, because the animals will become dependent on you and many are territorial. Also, they will need water if there is no open source nearby so fill your birdbath with warm water daily as well. I also suggest you get a field guide to the animals that live in your area, so you can use the information here to spark curiosity in learning more about animal life. Naturally, you have to be able to identify the animals correctly as a first step, and field guides are very helpful for that purpose. If your child and you really enjoy this a lot, you might try bird watching with your child. Where the Birds Are is a good resource for finding great locations in your area.Enjoy being part of the natural cycle of the seasons!

My four year old son loves this book, and so do I. We live on a bluff and enjoy feeding the wildlife, both in the winter and summer. This book taught my son more about the animals that we feed, and encouraged him to ask questions about them. We both enjoyed the illustrations.