SNOW DAY

by Moira Fain ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 1996

Fain's first book for children, demure and even stilted in text and art, attempts to teach a lesson about self-expression. Clever Maggie Murphy usually keeps a close watch on her stern teacher, Sister Agatha Ann, but one day she is caught drawing--a drawing that has spilled onto her desktop. For defacing school property, Maggie has special homework: She has to write a poem overnight and present it the next day in school. Maggie struggles that night and fails; the next day there is no reprieve--a school holiday because of heavy snowfall--because Sister Agatha Ann is sledding at School Hill. Maggie's teacher not only helps her win a sled race, but proves to Maggie that pictures can be drawn in words. She improvises a poem on the spot, an exercise that helps her student successfully complete her assignment. A car, the children's clothing, and Sister Agatha Ann's full-length habit help place the story, revealed as 1961 on the last page, but the plot seems convoluted for the simple resolution, and despite a text that implies that the siblings are various ages, Maggie's brothers and sisters look the same age as she is.

Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1996

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Walker

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996

Categories: CHILDREN'S