SNOW DAY DANCE

When snow begins to fall during the school day, a teacher suggests wearing pajamas backward and doing a little dance in the evening, but no one dares to utter “snow day” for fear of a jinx. The mini vacation is met with much excitement the next morning, as the children enter a winter wonderland. Hubbell has captured all the magic of a new snowfall: The way the flakes muffle sounds, except for the squeaks your steps make; the tiny artwork that is each snowflake; the way the world has lost its color. Imagery abounds: “Cars hide under snowy quilts.” A fence has been transformed into railings made of snakes and posts that wear hats. Making a snowman, examining snowflakes with a magnifying glass and sledding occupy the children. And their teacher? They see her in the woods—doing the snow day dance. Hubbell’s paintings perfectly evoke a snowy vista, and the images of individual snowflakes are amazingly detailed. A closing section elucidates how snow forms, explains the different shapes crystals can take and introduces readers to some snowy vocabulary. A wonderful way to share the secret of engineering a snow day with a class of children. (Picture book. 5-8)