The Snowy Day

The Snowy Day. ISBN 0-14-050182-7. Ezra Jack Keats. 1962. Caldecott Medal. Ages 3-8. Urban African American.

The Snow Day, by Ezra Jack Keats, tells the story of a little boy, Peter, and his adventures on one particular snow-filled day. Nothing particularly out of the ordinary happens, but the world of a snowy day seems very exciting in this story. Peter lives in the city with his mother. The setting is apparent with the illustrations including a street light, buildings in the background, and the mention of a pathway being formed by the snow piled high along the street. Peter enjoys the many simple wonders of playing in the snow, like making foot prints, snowballs, and snow angels. He returns home, to his apartment building, at the end of the day to tell his mother all about what he has done, and even continues to contemplate his great day while taking a bath. Luckily, at the end of the book, Peter is met with another snowy day to tackle.

The illustrations in this book help tell the story by showing each activity that Peter is taking part in. The bright colors of Peter's snow suit, the sky, and the city background help to exaggerate the white color of the snow. This adds to the snow's overall appeal to Peter and the reader.

As a teacher, I would use this book to talk about the winter season and all of the fun activities that we do when the snow falls. Young children absolutely love playing in the snow and do most of the things that Peter does in this story, so they will have an easy time relating to this story.