Written by Kate Messner, Illustrated by Chris Silas Neal
Over the snow, the world is hushed and white. But under the snow exists a secret kingdom of squirrels and snow hares, bears and bullfrogs, and many other animals that live through the winter safe and warm, awake and busy, under the snow. Discover the wonder and activity that lies beneath winter’s snowy landscape in this magical book.
Praise for Over and Under the Snow:
A New York Times Notable Children’s Book for 2011
Quiet, gentle and incomparably lovely, this book reveals a wintertime world under the surface.
A Winter 2011-2012 Kids IndieNext Pick
From Publisher’s Weekly ( Starred Review)
Straddling the informative and the evocative, this lovely study of the ways animals spend the winter in a “secret kingdom under the snow” combines Messner’s (Sea Monster’s First Day) graceful prose (“Over the snow, the fire crackles, and sparks shoot up to the stars. I lick sticky marshmallow from my lips and lean back with heavy eyes”) with debut illustrator Neal’s quiet, woodcut-like portraits of the snowy forest.
From The Horn Book ( Starred Review)
An adult and child cross-country ski through a winter forest wonderland, beautifully rendered through Messner’s spare, poetic words and Neal’s block-print-looking mixed-media illustrations.
From Booklist
A good choice for winter reading, this quiet but eye-opening picture book could heighten a child’s awareness of the natural world.
From Kirkus…
The lyrical descriptions of the text and the gray/brown/ice-blue palette of the illustrations leave readers with a retro feel that harkens back to the earlier days of children’s books and bygone times when life seemed simpler. Utterly charming, and informative, to boot; readers brought up on a diet of rhymes, bright colors, and adorable fluffy animals will find its simple beauty a balm.
7 Trackbacks
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