Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Purdie Salas's incantatory rhyming verse conveys meteorological basics in a science-led account of a snowstorm's emergence. After a "polar freeze" from the north mingles with a "humid breeze" from the south, couplets marvel at the consequences: "Cold and damp/ work/ hand in hand/ to grow a/ speck/ to something/ GRAND!" Ensuing lines draw on the titular refrain to articulate the wondrous qualities of overnight flurries that develop when "stars and columns fill the sky/ with dreams to/ flurry, float, and fly." Employing watercolor, gouache, colored pencil, and digital techniques, Fedele washes soothing landscapes in luminous layers of blue as humans, portrayed with various skin tones, and critters anticipate and then rejoice in the weather via "snowballs, snow forts, sledding hills." The creators successfully balance art, information, and poetry for a result that captures the fleeting magic of snowflake-filled skies as well as their power to generate community activity. Back matter discusses a snowfall's ingredients and more. Ages 4--7. (Nov.)
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Review by Horn Book Review
Salas (Zap! Clap! Boom!: The Story of a Thunderstorm, rev. 1/21) turns her lyrical meteorological observations toward an impending snowstorm, as two children (and some forest animals) scan the sky above their rural home. From anticipation ("Clouds lie heavy, gray, and low. / From down below, / just one wish: / SNOW!") and waiting ("On the ground, / the sledders sigh") to first flakes and subsequent squall, the text combines brief and accessible scientific detail with wonder and an alliterative refrain: "flurry, float, and fly." Digitally edited watercolor, gouache, and colored-pencil art captures the heaviness of the air before a storm, with vast swirls of clouds and from varying perspectives, and then zooms in on individual flakes before the snow begins to fall in earnest. The sky's ever-changing hue is true to life, culminating in a soft morning light that beckons the family outdoors to greet their neighbors and enjoy a day trudging up -- and then zooming down -- a sledding hill. An appended "Science of Snow" section provides diagrams; sources; and books, videos, and websites "for further exploration." Elissa GershowitzNovember/December 2025 p.55 (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
Compelling verse brings complicated science to elegant life. Much as she did in her thunderstorm-centricZap! Clap! BOOM! (2023), Salas hones her informational rhymes once more. This time her eyes are on snowstorms, which, as she notes, are so much more than "rain that freezes." While down below two kids and their dog wait for a snowy day, "high above the winter land, / the jet stream flows--a narrow band. / Whose roaring, gusting winds divide / and pull in air from either side." Water vapor adheres to dust, and snowflakes slowly form. With exquisite clarity, Salas' gentle verse speaks to the poetic beauty of a first snow while gently leading readers through the very real science ("Ten miles up the jet stream flows"). A final, triumphant view of the children and their parent, joined by a group of others, as they all sled and build a snowman conveys the sheer fun of snow. Similarly, Fedele's artwork, rendered in watercolor, gouache, and colored pencil and edited digitally, excels both in its depiction of a joyful wintry romp and in its accurate renderings of the different types of flakes. Backmatter provides more context to the science of snow, making this an ideal companion to titles such as Jacqueline Briggs Martin and Mary Azarian'sSnowflake Bentley (1998). Most characters are pale-skinned. Deft wordplay and lovely art blend for a tale of a most magical snowy day. (bibliography, additional resources)(Informational picture book. 4-9) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
