About the Holiday

You’ve heard the saying “Too Many Books, Too Little Time,” right? Well, this truism has spawned not only one, but two Read a New Book Month celebrations! Both December and September have been designated as times to make special plans to search out and read new books. These can be books that are newly published or books that are new to you. And if you find yourself putting a few old favorites in the pile, that’s okay too! It’s also a great time to think about adding books to those gift lists!

Snow Globe Wishes

Written by Erin Dealey | Illustrated by Claire Shorrock

A fierce winter blizzard brings snow and ice and knocks out electricity all over town. Without lights or computers, people leave work and school and head home on frozen white ribbons of roadways. At home, in front of a roaring fire and with candlelight, a family eats take-out from one of the few restaurants that was still open.

Image Claire Shorrock, 2019, text copyright Erin Dealey 2019. Courtesy of Sleeping Bear Press.

The brother and sister create a fort with blankets and chairs, and everyone (including the cat and dog) skootches in to hear Dad read a story by lantern light. While her mom, dad, and brother sleep under the blanket tent, the little girl gazes into her snow globe that holds a tiny town dotted with evergreens and makes a wish as “snowplows rumble lullabies.”

The family wakes up to a winter wonderland and “a whisper from the snow. / Do you hear its soft Hello?” They bundle up and race outside where other families are sledding, making snow angels, and patting the white fluff into snowballs, snowmen, and even snowcats.

Image Claire Shorrock, 2019, text copyright Erin Dealey 2019. Courtesy of Sleeping Bear Press.

In the air there is also an invitation for all: “Who’ll be the first to grab a hand / that grabs a hand / and then another— / neighbors, strangers, sisters, brothers?” Then one-by-one the townspeople come together around the decorated evergreen. Young and old form a circle, holding hands and smiling. In that moment there is “peace on earth. / Right now. / Right here. / Peace for all / throughout the year!”

Image Claire Shorrock, 2019, text copyright Erin Dealey 2019. Courtesy of Sleeping Bear Press.

Erin Dealey’s lovely ode to wishes for community and peace took me back to the winter of 2012 when a  nor’easter knocked out electricity in parts of my town for a week and families and businesses that did have power offered those who did not the comforts of home and other help. Every year, across the country and the world, communities deal with similar experiences, making Dealey’s story one that will resonate with readers. Her gentle verses capture the excitement kids feel during snow days and other surprise events and invite readers into a family’s cozy home for an evening of fun and togetherness. Children can easily imagine this peace extending to homes throughout the story’s town, to their own city, and to the world beyond. Dealey’s use of a snow globe to represent the world is inspired, and the beautiful metaphor continues as neighbors join hands and create a circle around the town’s decorated tree. Her call for all people to cease their busy lives for a moment and answer the snow’s beckoning is sure to inspire children and adults to take a snow globe day of their own.

Image Claire Shorrock, 2019, text copyright Erin Dealey 2019. Courtesy of Sleeping Bear Press.

Working perfectly in tandem with Dealey’s vision, Claire Shorrock depicts the snow-covered town and the family’s home in calming hues of yellows, grays, and blues punctuated with earthy oranges. The family’s heartwarming love for each other glows in the candlelight, fire, and lantern that light the family’s picnic dinner and story time. As the little girl happily gazes into her snow globe while her family sleeps, the globe is surrounded by a magical glow of stars that mirror the starlight in the sky visible in the window. Shorrock depicts the circular motif throughout her illustrations from the paving stones on the town square and the fat, fluffy snowflakes swirling in the air to the cat curled up on the chair and the family’s home décor to the snowballs, snowmen, and even a snow globe the townspeople make on the morning after the storm. The image of the neighbors holding hands around the tree is uplifting and hopeful. On the final page this spontaneous camaraderie appears inside the snow globe, leading readers to wish that such togetherness can be preserved for all.

An enchanting read aloud for winter story times (or any time of the year), Snow Globe Wishes would be a favorite on home, classroom, and public library bookshelves to inspire individual acts of kindness and promote universal peace.

Ages 5 – 7

Sleeping Bear Press, 2019 | ISBN 978-1534110311

Discover more about Erin Dealey and her books on her website.

To learn more about Claire Shorrock, her books, and her art, visit her website.

Read a New Book Month Activity

Snow Globe Wishes Activity Page

Draw your own wishes for yourself, your town, or the world inside this beautiful snow globe provided by Sleeping Bear Press. You can find the sheet to download on the Sleeping Bear Website here:

Snow Glove Wishes Activity Page

You can find Snow Globe Wishes at these booksellers

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Books-a-Million | IndieBound | Sleeping Bear Press

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