The First Snow

by David Christiana

As a child, Mother Nature only enjoyed warm weather and so it was up to Winter to change her mind by quietly wrapping her in a blanket of crystals while she slept so that she could experience and appreciate the beauty of snow when she awoke. Reprint.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens

32 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 1996

Reviews

[Toni · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stunning illustrations. The story is confusing and makes little sense. The pictures here really are the book's saving grace, hence my 4 stars.

[♥♣Mary♦♠ If She So Pleases · Rating 4 out of 5]

The written story is confusing and makes little sense and even the illustrations are confusing, but they are beautiful.

[McKenna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Genre: Fiction
Age: K - 8
Illustrations: I loved the pictures in this book they were so beautiful.
Gist: This story is about a little girl that hates winter, and when summer goes to leaves she begs it to stay but summer won't. Winter here so much about how the girl does not want him that he ends up staying away for a whole year. But summer knows that each season must get its turn, so winter comes back again. The girl hides from winter, and winter look everywhere for the girl but he can not find her. The girl gets so cold that she can't move and that is went winter finds her and wraps her up in his special blanket that he had made for the little girl. Then the girl end up loving all the seasons.
Curriculum Connection: You can talk about all the different seasons and what is great about each, then ask the kids what their favorite season is.
Warning: The girl is a little mean to winter in this book.

[Colleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a story about a girl who tries to scare away Winter and how Winter perseveres, becoming fond of the girl and covering her with a blanket of snow, the first snow. The illustrations are beautiful watercolors that nicely contrast the cold blues and purples of winter with the warm golds and greens of summer.

[Sasha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Though visually appealing, the storyline was just not my cuppa. I don't picture Mother Nature as a brat and I don't picture winter as a giant kidney-bean-shaped fluffernut. I loved the intention, though, and would read more by this author.

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story was lacking, but the pictures were beautiful.

[Brittany O'Barr · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful illustrations! Could be a little more to the story but still enjoyable

[Annie MacPherson · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Interesting illustrations.

[Brian James · Rating 5 out of 5]

A long time ago, Mother Nature was just a little girl who loved summer. She loved it so much that she never wanted winter to come. "I hate Winter," she would say. "And that friend of his, The Wind, is a monster." She decides to try to scare off Winter, but every season must have it's turn and eventually Winter comes.

Essentially, The First Snow is a new imaginative myth. It takes an element of our world that we take for granted and views it in a unique way. It's also a very creative way of presenting a story of compromise and making new friends. Through sparse dialogue and brilliant illustrations, the two child characters come to life and feel incredibly real in their stubbornness, confusion, and ultimately their compassion. An absolutely beautiful book perfect for early elementary school children.

[Dawn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is beautiful! It has imagery that seemed to make everyone in my class sit and listen carefully. We have been reading poetry and talking about how words can mean different things. This story was a great follow up to the poetry because the imagery in this story is stunning. We feel like winter has gone away for a season because ours has been such a warm one.

[Jillian Reed · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a cute and delightful story about mother nature being a little girl and hating winter. He wants summer to stay forever and scares winter away. Winter keeps trying to become friends with mother nature and finally does with a little help from being determined and kind.

[Duke2026 · Rating 5 out of 5]

what I think about this book is Whenshe says I hate winter she would say and A little person said Actually I look forward to a bit of rest whispered the tree Love rodrigo

[Crystal · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my all time favorite winter storybook! I love the illustrations and the story is so sweet.

[Erin Banet · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love this winter story. I always read it when it snows for the first time that year. Great illustrations!

[Sarah Threlkeld · Rating 4 out of 5]

Utterly delightful story about how the seasons came about. The illustrations are gorgeous. Good read for intermediate grades.

[Elizabeth R · Rating 5 out of 5]

glorious illustrations make up for a just good story.