Dream Snow

by Eric Carle

It's December 24th, and the old farmer settles down for a winter's nap, wondering how Christmas can come when there is no snow! It is in his dream that he imagines a snowstorm coming and covering him and his animals—named One, Two, Three, Four and Five—in a snowy blanket. But when the farmer awakens, he finds that it has really snowed outside, and now he remembers something! Putting on his red suit, he goes outside, puts some gifts under the tree for his animals, and presses a button near a Christmas tree, creating a most surprising musical treat for children everywhere.

"Few in number are the parents who have made it through their toddler's years on just one copy of Carle's The Very Hungry Caterpillar. Dream Snow has similar ingredients: a simple story, lively collage-like illustrations and a fun gimmick for little hands . . ." —Time

"This is a simple, well-told story about a simple farmer. . . . Viewers. . . will want to get their hands on it." —The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

"Carle fans and toddlers learning the basics will . . . enjoy the gentle text and creative design features." —Booklist

"The pictures are in Carle's trademark richly colored and textured collages that capture the snowy magic of Christmas." —Kirkus Reviews

Genres: Christmas, Picture Books, Childrens, Holiday, Fiction, Animals, Storytime

32 pages, Hardcover

First published September 25, 2000

About the author

Eric Carle was a children's book author and illustrator, most famous for his book The Very Hungry Caterpillar, which has been translated into over 30 languages. Since The Very Hungry Caterpillar was published in 1969, Eric Carle illustrated more than seventy books, many best sellers, most of which he also wrote, and more than 71 million copies of his books have sold around the world.

Reviews

[jv poore · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was given to Boy for his first Christmas. Re-read it for the first time in a long time. Pretty cute.

[Jon Nakapalau · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful tale of giving - children will warm to the simple lesson taught and enjoy the interactivity offered by the book. A wonderful 'let's read this book and leave cookies for Santa' book for children - think it is so important to have 'tradition' books like this - really nice to go back with books like this as the years go by.

[Calista · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is set at the Christmas time, but it doesn’t really seem like a Christmas book besides the last page showing some presents. It’s mostly about snow. On Christmas Eve, a farmer realizes that there is no snow. He falls asleep and dreams of blankets of snow covering him and his animals. When he wakes, there is snow.

For each page there is a clear plastic page with white dots and a blanket of snow that goes over the man or animal. It is cute for one book. It is very easy to tell this is Eric Carle’s artwork with wonderful bright colors.

The kids thought it was a bit simple. The nephew wants it to snow now. The niece gave it 2 stars and the nephew gave it 3 stars. It snowed last night and so I got a snow day today so we read this book today.

[Miguel · Rating 4 out of 5]

(...)
Recomendado para crianças a partir dos 3 anos, Sonho de Neve estimula os pré-leitores a contar e nomear animais, através de repetições. Outro aspecto a salientar deste livro, que é apanágio na maioria das obras de Eric Carle, é possuir uma vertente interactiva. Neste título, algumas páginas têm janelas para destacar, espreitar e descobrir imagens escondidas.
(...)
http://silenciosquefalam.blogspot.pt/...

[Kathryn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Children will probably enjoy the interactive nature of this book. Lift the snow-blanket (flaps) to discover what farm animals this farmer actually has. Also, there's a fun musical surprise at the end. However, this book really didn't do to much for me and doesn't live up to some of Carle's other glorious books, in my perspective.

[Carrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

There's sound at the end. :)

[Alicia · Rating 4 out of 5]

The preschoolers in my class really enjoyed this book. They liked guessing which animals were under the snow. They thought the animal names were hilarious (one, two, three, etc.) and of course, a tree named tree was just too funny for them. The button at the end just made their day, and they had to press it several times.

[Mariah Roze · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story plot to this wasn't anything special, but the illustrations and creativeness in this book was amazing! Highly recommend it!

[Stephanie Weatherly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this Christmas story by Eric Carle. My kids love that it utilizes numbers and they can read along with me. They also really enjoy the flaps to open on each page.

[Britt Guild · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love to read this book as winter begins and snow covers everything like a white blanket as the book describes. It is a fun interactive book as each page has a plastic overlay that covers up the animal or farmer with white falling snow. Each animal is named a number, so it's a great book for counting and naming animals. It is also a book about kindness and bringing the holidays to everyone in a special way.

This is a unique book that allows students to interact with the book as they turn each page and predict what will happen as the story continues. I could use this book for directed reading and listening. I can ask students many questions throughout the story and even give students the opportunity to retell the story. I can assess how students understand numbers as each animal is named a number. I can determine if they understand number sequence while they retell the story. This book could also be used in choral reading as there are many repeated sentences throughout the story. This book is appropriate at the kindergarten to first grade level.

[Professor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another Carle riff on creating a book that kids can interact with; this one has transparencies of snow that get overlaid over a farmer and his 5 animals (names 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5) and a button at the end that plays a little tune. MicroMort really enjoyed it and it has the usual cozy, warm feel of a Carle book.

[Brooke Seidel]

Title: Dream Snow
Author: Eric Carle
Genre: Non-fiction Concept book
Theme(s): Christmas, winter, dreaming, counting, farms
Opening line/sentence: On a small farm there lived a farmer. He only had a few animals.
Brief Book Summary: There is a farmer that lives on a farm with his animals named One, Two, Three, Four and Five. He takes a nap and dreams of snow pilling up on him and his five animals. When he wakes up he sees snow everywhere and realizes that he is not dreaming! But he soon realizes that he forgot one thing. He puts on his red outfit and puts five gifts under the tree for all of the animals in honor of Christmas.
Professional Recommendation/Review #1: Kirkus Reviews
The venerable and prolific Carle (Hello, Red Fox, 1998, etc.) offers a quiet Christmas story with a little music at the end. A farmer lives alone on a small farm with so few animals that he calls them One, Two, Three, Four, and Five. Oh, he also has a tree named Tree. One night near Christmas he falls asleep in his favorite chair after his peppermint tea, and dreams that he is covered in a white blanket. On successive pages, One the horse, Two the Cow, Three the sheep, and so on are each covered in a snowflake blanket, accomplished by an acetate page of flakes and an amorphous shape that when turned reveals the animal. When the farmer awakes and finds it has snowed for real, he dresses himself warmly, decorates Tree, and strews gifts for all five animals under it. When he shouts "Merry Christmas to all!" he pushes a button that children can push, producing a lovely Yuletide tinkle. The pictures are in Carle's trademark richly colored and textured collages that capture the snowy magic of Christmas. Adults may be charmed to see that Carle dedicates the book to Barry Moser, who modeled for the farmer, although from the photo on the back cover Carle and Moser could pass for brothers with their shiny pates and neat white beards. Cotton candy. (Picture book. 4-7)
Professional Recommendation/Review #2: "This is a simple, well-told story about a simple farmer. . . . Viewers. . . will want to get their hands on it." —The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
Response to Two Professional Reviews: Both reviews seem to think very highly of this book. They seem to think it is visually appealing and has great Christmas spirit for children. The reviews seem to think children will enjoy this book greatly and find great pleasure while reading it. The story is creative and fun for kids while also helping kids with counting.
Evaluation of Literary Elements: There is a great conflict that occurs in this novel. When the farmer wakes up from his dream he realizes that it actually is snowing and he almost forgot to give his five animals presents for the holiday! The farmer does a great job at overcoming his conflict and getting dressed quickly while also giving the animals their presents. The conflict is resolved perfectly.
Consideration of Instructional Application: In my own classroom I could have students draw five different winter items. This could be snowflakes, Hanukkah candles, Christmas trees etc. Then after the children are done drawing five of their winter objects they must label them by numbers. This will help the students count what they are drawing while also getting into the winter spirit!

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like this book because it had dream snow and there's flap. I loved it.Oh, I almost forgot, I almost forgot! HA HA!!!" And then he waked up 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5.

[Josiah · Rating 1 out of 5]

Children's Christmas literature needed a contribution from Eric Carle, and this quiet tale of a farmer tending to his five animals on Christmas is just what I would have expected from him. The art is colorful and exotic, exciting and innovative even after so many years of Eric Carle originals, and the story has the feel of a second nativity, combining the eternal majesty of the Biblical manger scene with a celebration of Santa Claus's exemplary generosity as he tours the world to bring us gifts every year. The narrative engenders affectionate feelings I can't quite explain, but they're definitely there.

When a farmer drifts off to sleep in his favorite chair following a hard day's work on the farm, he dreams of snowfall covering his land, his animals, and himself, then awakens in the waning hours of night to find that the year's first snow arrived while he slept. It will be a white Christmas after all. Wasting no time, he bundles himself in warm red clothing and grabs the sackful of gifts for his livestock, looking for all the world like Santa Claus stopping by for a visit, and goes to see his animals and spend the first hours of the holiday with them. Is there any doubt the farmer cares deeply for his barnyard critters, who to him are like family?

There isn't much to Dream Snow, and the story's pieces don't all fit together in a way that makes obvious narrative sense. That's why I don't rate it higher than one and a half stars. But I did enjoy the book, and Eric Carle's fans are bound to love it. Whether you're young or old, try giving Dream Snow a read if you're looking for a simple, effective lift for your holiday spirits.

[Sandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s Christmas but where is the snow? As the farmer sat down in his chair at the end of a tiring day, he dreamt of snow. Inside of his dream, the snow covers him and all of his farm animals with a white blanket. It was a peaceful dream and when the farmer woke up, he was surprised to see that snow had actually fallen outside. Quickly putting on the proper clothing, he runs outside grabbing a box and a sack for which he had already prepared. He seems to be in a hurry. The animals, safe in the barn, watch as the farmer races past them, he’s shouting and the animals question what the farmer is about to do. Excitement fills the air as the farmer pulls items out of the sack and the box. For, this is not just another day, it is much more.

I didn’t realize this was a lift-the-flap book until I started reading it. As the farmer is sleeping, the pages where he dreams about his animals, these pages are lift-the-flap pages. If children can remember what number he names his animals, these pages would be a great memorization tool or it’s a great way to see what animals are under each flap. I liked this book, it was a cute story and I liked the illustrations, as they weren’t overwhelming with colors and activity. The story has some great words in it and there was definitely love between the pages.
I want to thank YABC for a copy of this novel for I received this book as a part of YABooksCentral.com 12 Days of Christmas. This is my own opinion of this children’s book.

[Elissa Still · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dream Snow features a simple farmer and his five animals- all named one, two, three, four, and five, who wonder how Christmas is coming without snow on the ground. One night the farmer dreams of a huge blizzard that covers his fields, and when he awakes the next morning his dream has come true. But the snow coming isn’t the only Christmas surprise the famer has up his sleeves for his animals. The reading level for this book is kindergarten through 2nd grade.

Comments/observations: This is a fun turn on the usual Carle books that are all about good messages children should learn at a young age. This book is interesting because from the cover the reader may not be able to guess what the book is about, and the book builds up suspense as the last page of the book has one of Carle’s interactive elements waiting to surprise the reader. This book focuses on farm animals, Christmas, and snow.

Using this book in the classroom: Before reading this book aloud to the students I would ask for suggestions and predictions on what the book may be about and why they came to that conclusion.

Carle, E. (2000). Dream snow. New York, NY: Philomel Books.

[Holly Pratt · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of my favorite picture books of all time. It is about a farmer who owns a small farm with five animals. Every day when he is done tending to his farm he goes back to his house to prepare and eat his favorite meal. One night he falls asleep and dreamed that he and all of his animals got covered with a blanket of snow. When he awoke from his dream he saw that it had snowed while he was sleeping, so the farmer put on his warm clothes, grabbed a box, and rushed outside. He decorated the small tree near his barn for a very special time of year! One of the things I most enjoyed about this book was that not all of the pages were paper. Some of the pages are plastic with strategically placed white paint to look like snow to cover the characters on the following page. These pages add a fun aspect to the book, which appeals to children and adults. Eric Carle has a very unique style of illustrations. This style of art could be a great inspiration for an art lesson in a classroom. You could have your students make their own tissue paper and make their own characters out of this tissue paper.

[Alexis Espinosa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dream Snow is a book about an old farmer with five animals who has a dream that it snowed and covered all of his only animals.

Comments/observations: The reading level of this book in kindergarten to second grade and the themes include winter, farms, and Christmas. My emotional readers response is that it is a good story and when I was reading it I wasn't sure how the book was going to end which was new when it comes to children's books. Eric Carle also did a good job illustrating this book with bright and engaging colors that grab the readers attention.

After reading a series of books by Eric Carle I would finish with this book and hide the authors name on the front of the book and then show the class cover of the book and then they would have to guess who the author/illustrator is. I would also have them guess what the book is going to be about based on the cover since the farmer looks like Santa clause. This creates suspense and anticipation to read the book which I want to encourage.

Carle, E. (2000). Dream snow. New York, NY: Philomel Books

[Laura Hines · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have this book at home and really enjoyed learning about the author,Eric Carle, through a project. This book provides such magnificent illustrations and even include a light up image towards the end. Eric Carle does a great job of creating a holiday story that is captivating for young children. The plot of this children's book is that an old man who lives on a farm falls asleep on the night before Christmas. During his nap he dreams of snow trickling down and covering his farm. When he wakes up to a beautiful white powder covering his land just like his dream. This book would be so easy to integrate into a classroom for young children. One way I would use it would be to read the book out loud to my students during the holiday season. I would probably incorporate a hands on activity, such as, having the students cut out snowflakes to decorate the classroom or bring home. As a teacher I would probably provide hot cocoa for my students to drink during the class session to add excitement.

[Cassie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have always been a fan of Eric Carle, So when I saw this I had to get to get for my Goddaughters. This book is so great for young kids, it teaches them about hard work and to be kind to animals, but it also teaches counting and a few basic farm animals. I love it. I will probably reread this book every Christmas.

[Virginia · Rating 3 out of 5]

My children love this book solely because of the sound button you can push at the end. Other than that, they do like to look at the pictures. But seriously. They just push the button over and over again.

[Suzie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Eric Carle book with a push button of music at the end. Not sure it gets better than this for a three and a six year old! The story line was a bit lacking, but the beautiful illustrations won me over.

[Amanda L · Rating 2 out of 5]

Again, he's getting by on his illustrative vision alone. The story is downright lazy.

[Carina · Rating 2 out of 5]

We love Eric Carle at our house, but this one was a let down. While the book is beautiful looking, the story itself is odd and doesn't make much sense.

[Fritz Loehrke · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cute story with nice repetitive counting and one, two, three, four, five big flaps like on an advent calendar to open to view the animals.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lovely book for small children.

[Monica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful art. Lovely story. Peppermint tea and honeyed bread. Falling asleep dreaming of snow. Waking to snow. Presents for animals. Great book!

[Laura (Book Scrounger) · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun Christmas book for preschoolers, and #15 on my "25 Days of Christmas Books" blog series: https://www.theproblemsite.com/book-s...

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a cute children’s picture book with a holiday theme about a farmer who falls asleep, and all of a sudden, his world is covered with snow when he wakes up.

[Veronika Pizano · Rating 3 out of 5]

Oproti iným Carleho knihám sa mi táto zdá najslabšia, akoby napísaná práve preto, že dovtedy žiadnu vianočnú knihu nenapísal.