The Snow Dancer

by Addie Boswell, Mercè López (Illustrator)

Overview

Young dancer Sofia wakes up to a quiet, white world—it’s a snow day! She makes her way outside to the neighborhood park, where a field awaits her, white and shining and open. It isn’t long before the rest of the neighborhood wakes its sleepy head—and the other kids make their way to the park, scattering all of Sofia’s beautiful silence. But with the help of a new young friend, Sofia is ready to show everyone what a snow dancer can do on a perfect day like this. With lyrical language and gorgeous art, this book sparkles with all the joy and beauty of a snow day.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781542093170
Publisher:	Amazon Publishing
Publication date:	12/01/2020
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	1,105,885
Product dimensions:	8.70(w) x 11.00(h) x 0.60(d)
Lexile:	AD510L (what's this?)
Age Range:	4 - 7 Years

About the Author

Addie Boswell is an artist and writer living in Portland, Oregon. She specializes in murals and picture books that focus on family, community, and the creative power of children. Her recent titles include Go, Bikes, Go! and Go, Boats, Go!, both illustrated by Alexander Mostov, and Five on the Bed, which she both wrote and illustrated. Her debut book, The Rain Stomper, illustrated by Eric Velasquez, was the winner of the Oregon Spirit Award. Learn more about the author at www.addieboswell.com.

Mercè López is an artist from Barcelona, Spain. She holds a degree in illustration from Llotja Art School in Barcelona. Her recent title Lion of the Sky: Haiku for All Seasons by Laura Purdie Salas received multiple starred reviews and was named a Center for Children’s Books Gryphon Honor Book, an NCTE Notable Poetry Book, a Kirkus Best Picture Book, and a Parents Magazine Best Kids’ Book, among other accolades. Learn more about the artist at www.mercelopez.com.

Editorial Reviews

11/09/2020

Bright, expressive illustrations created in acrylic, graphite, and digital media highlight a willowy young dancer’s snow-day experience. Dark-haired Sofia wakes to a tranquil winter wonderland—snowflakes spent the night “frosting the rooftops, fluffing the sidewalks, laying fuzzy hats on the fire hydrants.” Outfitted in a goldenrod coat and a magenta scarf, she sets out to the local park, dancing across the unmarked soccer field’s “giant stage.” But when frenzied children scatter “all of Sofia’s beautiful silence,” she must recover if she wants to continue enjoying the snow day—and with the help of a small brown-skinned child clad in a magenta ensemble and fairy wings, she just might manage it. Vivid imagery, onomatopoeia, and supple blue-gradient typography enliven Sofia’s journey as she learns to share her snow day. A dynamic tale of cooperation, adaptation, and friendship. Ages 4–7. (Dec.)

Publishers Weekly

Bright, expressive illustrations created in acrylic, graphite, and digital media highlight a willowy young dancer’s snow-day experience…Vivid imagery, onomatopoeia, and supple blue-gradient typography enliven Sofia’s journey as she learns to share her snow day. A dynamic tale of cooperation, adaptation, and friendship.” —Publishers Weekly

“Frosty blues and whites usher in the snow that blankets this effervescent tale of snow-day bliss…The text and illustrations work together wonderfully to convey the sights and sounds of a snowy day, as well as the magic and excitement inherent to these unplanned days off of school. A spirited paean to the snow day that will appeal to children and their parents.” —Booklist

From the Publisher

2020-09-15
A nighttime snowfall leads to a joyful snow-day dance.

Stepping out into the hushed silence of a snow day, Sofia pulls on a mustard-yellow coat and smooshes a matching cap over her straight, black hair. The undisturbed snow becomes her blank canvas for an exuberant snow-day ballet full of sound and life as she “crinch crunches” and “slish slusssssssssssshes” on the empty soccer field. But her solitary dance comes to an abrupt end when the field is overtaken by a horde of neighborhood children. Amid the chaos, one tiny, brown-skinned child in pigtails and fairy wings sees Sofia’s crestfallen expression, which leads to willowy Sofia’s teaching the little one to be a snow dancer too. Together, the new friends execute an impromptu pas de deux that transitions into an energetic group snowball fight until it’s time to go home. The lyrical narrative plays with auditory dynamics from the soft beginning through the jubilant, shout-filled climax to the cozy, quiet ending. The painterly illustrations use strong shapes and swooping linework that echoes Sofia’s balletic dancing. Many pages depict multiple Sofias, creating an animationlike effect that evokes movement. Sofia’s yellow-clad figure standing out against the snowy white pages and the sounds she makes in the new snow create a dance-filled nod to Ezra Jack Keats’ classic The Snowy Day (1962). (This book was reviewed digitally with 11-by-17-inch double-page spreads viewed at 21.4% of actual size.)

An exuberant read-aloud extolling the glory of dance and snow days. (Picture book. 3-8)

Kirkus Reviews