Publishers Weekly
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.)
From the Publisher
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
Kirkus Reviews
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)
