Review by Booklist Review
Picture books that focus on counting have become staples in children's literature, but this arrangement is a delightful, rarer find that jumps from simple counting to exponential growth. Its opening double-page spread sports a blustery backyard scene, but it's the simple phrase "Two flakes play" that notes the two oversize snowflakes. A related text box expresses the exponent of two (in this case, to the first power) through words and multiplication. The next spread offers another simple phrase, "Four flakes sashay," completing a rhyming couplet and representing two to the second power with four large snowflakes. The pattern continues with rhyming couplets and ever-increasing snowflakes all the way up to two to the fourteenth power, or 16,384 snowflakes. Yes, the correct number of snowflakes is featured in each scene! In an illustrator's note, Clarkson tells how she layered snowflakes to achieve the exact numbers. The result is a lovely whiteout that allows two friends to play in the snow at the end. An explanation of exponents closes this fun and foundational math concept book.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Horn Book Review
A simple rhyming verse remarks on a pattern among some snowflakes: "Two flakes play / Four flakes sashay / Eight flakes twirl / Sixteen flakes swirl." Sidebars on each spread explain the pattern, e.g.: "24 = 2 to the fourth power / 2 x 2 x 2 x 2 = 16." Painted paper collages of a fenced-in wintry backyard featuring birch trees, a swing set, and various birds and animals are overlaid with the exact number of snowflakes mentioned in the text -- which quickly rises to a dizzying multitude (the text stops at 214 = 16,384). The beautifully textured illustrations create visual interest, while the snowflakes, a combination of smudge-style dots and the delicately articulated, folded papercut versions familiar from grade-school arts and crafts, offer a counting opportunity for budding numerophiles. The story progression works on more than one level: not only does the math demonstrate the power of exponential growth (a postscript explains "What Is an Exponent?" and gives the example of a one-celled fertilized egg that divides repeatedly until it turns into a baby and then an adult with trillions of cells), but the increasing number of flakes also mimics the feeling of a storm that begins slowly and soon becomes a dazzling onslaught of snow. The book ends on a more human scale: "One snow day. Two friends play. 21 = 2 to the first power / 2 = 2." Anita L. BurkamSeptember/October 2023 p.100 (c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Snow descends mathematically. We intuitively understand that when snow falls, huge numbers of snowflakes combine to form a white cover. This book demonstrates that there's also a mathematical way to regard snowfall: Consider snowflakes falling in pairs, then multiply them exponentially. The book starts with two snowflakes, which increase in number over the course of the story. At the bottom of each page, a caption shows the base number 2 with an exponent--for instance, on the page labeled "Eight flakes twirl," the caption reads "2³ = 2 to the third power / 2 x 2 x 2 = 8." It all culminates with 2 to the 14th power, or 16,384 snowflakes. The correct number of snowflakes is depicted on each page, and when the numbers are manageable, readers may actually count them in the artwork. The text is delivered in simple, lively verse. Younger kids likely won't get the math, not having learned multiplication yet, but they'll appreciate fun vocabulary like swoosh and sashay. Older kids who've studied multiplication will understand more and appreciate learning how to multiply the same number repeatedly. The lush, textured illustrations, created from cut pieces of painted-paper collage, then assembled digitally, capture nature at its wintry best. Two children--one light-skinned, one brown-skinned--are depicted playing in the snow. (This book was reviewed digitally.) Cool! Snow really has the power to wow--and teaches math, too. (what is an exponent?, illustrator's note) (Informational picture book. 5-9) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
