Thank you Michelle Heinrich Barnes for hosting Poetry Friday. Congratulations on a new Today’s Little Ditty! This is my first time posting here, and I am grateful to be part of it.
Our first snow fell this week, the first storm of winter. When I woke, the ground was white with and inch or two. At the coffee shop later in the afternoon, out the window snowflakes were falling still, but just barely, almost invisible. They meandered. It was the lightest of snows.
Like trees or the sky, there is always a story or a poem one can write about snow. Ellen Yeomans’ new picture book in rhyming verse, illustrated by Andrea Offermann, is about snow and what it means to three children.
The cover shows them full of wonder and expectation:
The story begins:
“Some snow is First Snow
We’ve waited for so long snow.
Is it really snow snow,
or only heavy rain? “
Many different kinds of snow appear in the text and illustrations, such as: ” . . . hit the ground and melt snow.” “Sleet Snow.” “Snow day snow.” The children can’t wait for it to come and stay so they can play all winter in the snow.
The narrative arc revolves around the seasons. Eventually, in the end, it takes these children to “Spring Snow” and “Please, please, no more snow” and a glimpse of upcoming spring activities. The rhyme is perfect and a joy to read aloud.
Back at the coffee shop, the snow I saw out the window was a curious kind of snow that inspired this:
TO A SNOWFLAKE DRIFTING DOWN AFTER YESTERDAY’S STORM
You’re an afterthought,
a glistening decoration,
spiraling down,
about to sprinkle the ground.
Since you are in no rush, tell me:
Is it easy to fall?
Does it take any effort at all?
©Janice Scully 2019
Some Snow Is . . . by Ellen Yeomans, and illustrated by Andrea Offermann, celebrates winter and snow. I never tire of stories about the seasons. If you live in a climate with four distinct seasons, like I do, one has no choice but to embrace snow and try to see its beauty and diversity.
Find Ellen’s Yeomans’ book, Some Snow is . . . , here:
Hi Janice! And welcome to Poetry Friday! That picture book looks delightful and I love your own poem’s final questions, ha! “Is it easy to fall” will stay with me when we have snow again.
Thank you! I’ve concluded it is the easiest thing to fall. Have a great day.
Thanks for sharing this fun book about snow Janice–the art is lovely also! What a good question to ask a snowflake, and the rhythm of your poem has the feeling of a snowflake as it falls. As it’s gotten cold so early, I’ve been thinking about drawing more snowflakes…
Thank you for your comments. It’s been cold here in NY and there will be lots of snow. I’d like to see you’re snowflakes. Please share them!
Welcome, Janice! Thanks for recommending this book. I’m going to check it out. I love winter and snow, and you capture some of its beauty in your poem. Cool idea to focus on a single falling snowflake.
Thanks for the welcome! It will be fun getting to everyone on Poetry Friday.
How lucky for me to be hosting for your Poetry Friday debut, Janice! Welcome! I will be on the lookout for this picture book. It looks delightful. And I love your own introspective poem in response! Having grown up in NY, but then moved to warmer climates (New Mexico, Sydney, and now Florida), I do miss the snow! Not so much the shoveling, though. 😉
Thank you, Michelle. I really appreciate your hard work and support of children’s poetry.
Welcome to Poetry Friday, Janice! What a great initial post with a book review and an original poem! I’m a big fan of snow…until I’m not. I could really relate to the eventual “Please, please no more snow” that you shared from “Some Snow.”
Hooray! A new Poetry Friday friend. Welcome to the weekly celebration. I really do love that question about how easy is it to fall?
Your poems are lovely, Janice. I find most of my inspiration from nature. I hope you’ll share more about your NCTE experience in another post. I haven’t been yet, so I would love to hear all about it.