About the Holiday
At exactly 5:02 a.m. today winter arrives in the Northern Hemisphere. This also means that today offers those living there the least amount of sunshine—only 9 hours, 15 minutes, and 6 seconds. While the earth’s tilt in relation to the sun at this time of year brings cold and snowy weather to the World’s northern half, the Southern Hemisphere is basking in longer days and warm temperatures. This year also brings a spectacular celestial event – the “great conjunction” of Jupiter and Saturn. Not since March 4, 1226 will Jupiter and Saturn have appeared so close in the nighttime sky. Tonight, the two planets will appear to be separated by only the thickness of a dime held at arm’s length, creating a bright show for stargazers. For those of us just beginning to enjoy another winter’s chill, the onset of snow brings special beauty, outdoor adventure, and the fun explored in today’s book!
Thanks go to Two Lions and Blue Slip Media for sending me a copy of The Snow Dancer for review consideration. All opinions on the book are my own. I’m happy to be teaming with them in a giveaway of the book. See details below.
The Snow Dancer
Written by Addie Boswell | Illustrated by Mercè López
All night long while Sophia slept the snow drifted down, “frosting the rooftops, fluffing the sidewalks, laying fuzzy hats on the fire hydrants.” Sophia woke to that most wonderful of things—a snow day. She put on her coat, boots, and gloves and opened the door. The world was silent.
Sophia stepped out her door and slipped down the “hidden steps” with some graceful moves. “She hopscotched down the invisible sidewalk” and “skated across the frozen street” all the way to the park and the gleaming white, untouched soccer field. Sophia leaped in. “She twirled, made tracks and patterns and created a snow ballet across the silent white stage.
Image copyright Mercè López, 2020, text copyright Addie Boswell, 2020 Courtesy of Two Lions.
But then the neighborhood children descended in a wild running, tumbling, shouting mass. One little girl with delicate wings attached to her coat thought Sophia was a snow fairy. Amid all of the kids, the little girl found Sophia and asked if she was indeed a snow fairy. “‘I’m not a fairy,’” Sophia told her. “‘I’m just a dancer.’” The little girl was intrigued and Sophia showed her what a Snow Dancer could do.
Sophia took her by the hand and they swirled and slid and leaped over, around, and in between the other kids until… Sophia was hit by a snowball. Everything stopped. Sophia and her new friend shared a “secret Snow Dancer smile” then it was on—a huge, crazy snowball fight. At last, exhausted, the children flopped into the snow and listened as the snow plows got working, traffic resumed, and their parents came looking for them to come home. After saying goodbye to her friend, Sophia headed home, retracing her ballet. At home, Sophia sipped a steaming mug of cocoa. It was a perfect snow day.
Image copyright Mercè López, 2020, text copyright Addie Boswell, 2020 Courtesy of Two Lions.
Lyrical and infused with evocative verbs and fun-to-read-aloud slish slussss, crinch crunch, sploosh whoomph onomatopoeia, Addie Boswell’s story of a surprise snow day will delight children with its joyful spontaneity—both Sophia’s impromptu ballet enacted from her doorstep to the park and across the pristine soccer field and the other children’s freewheeling play that leads to a spirited snowball fight. Add in the littlest girl’s fanciful belief in fairies, and the story becomes an imaginative ode to unexpected friendships, sharing, and companionship as well.
Mercè López’s gorgeous illustrations capture the grace and freedom of Sophia’s ballet steps set against the pure white snow with the hazy, blue-shrouded city as her backdrop. Sleekly elegant as she stretches tall or twirls on tiptoe with her arms and hands reaching outward or towards the sky, Sophia makes a bright and willowy contrast to the other kids who stampede down the hill, bundled into puffy coats (one of which makes its wearer look like a cactus). When their wide grins and sly looks turn wary after Sophia is hit by the snowball, López’s page offers a momentary suspenseful break in the action before the snowball fight—in all it’s glorious mayhem—breaks out. In her final image of Sophia tucked into an oversized chair with a large mug of cocoa, López creates that homey, cozy feeling we all look forward to after a day in the snow.
Exhilarating, original storytelling and spectacular imagery make The Snow Dancer a book kids and adults will love sharing on snow days and whenever the wish for a snow day strikes. The book is highly recommended for home, school, and public library collections.
Ages 3 – 8
Two Lions, 2020 | ISBN 978-1542093170
Discover more about Addie Boswell and her books on her website.
To learn more about Mercè López, her books, and her art, visit her website.
Winter Solstice Activity
Here’s to Warm Ears! Maze
You can’t play in the snow without wearing something to keep your ears warm! While you’re dreaming of a snow day, enjoy this this printable earmuffs-shaped maze!
Here’s to Warm Ears! Maze | Here’s to Warm Ears! Solution
You can find The Snow Dancer at these booksellers
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Books-a-Million
To support your local independent bookstore, order from
Picture Book Review
celebratepicturebooks.com 