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The Little General and the Giant Snowflake
In this compelling tale for children and adults alike, the poet Matthea Harvey collaborates with artist Elizabeth Zechel to create a powerful, resonant allegory for these times of violent military solutions to global problems. In this compelling tale, there is a little general who heads an army called the Realists. Every day he and his troops practice battle formations while the Dreamers, the opposing army, play strange, peaceful games. The little general's soldiers include Sergeant Samantha, who is very tall and wishes the general would pay more attention to her, and Lieutenant Lyle, an imaginative fellow who always seems to get into trouble. One day the little general sees a giant snowflake hovering in his garden and realizes he is suffering from a disease of the imagination. He is ashamed and pretends not to see it, but eventually he discovers that everyone in his army has a similar problem. What magical message is the snowflake trying to bring to the general, and to the world? In a time of violent military solutions to global problems, this illustrated allegory by a leading poet has a particular, powerful resonance.
- GenresFictionYoung Adult
64 pages, Hardcover
First published August 28, 2007
1 person is currently reading
43 people want to read
About the author
Matthea Harvey
25 books93 followersMatthea Harvey is the author of three books of poetry--Modern Life, Sad Little Breathing Machine and Pity the Bathtub Its Forced Embrace of the Human Form, and one children's book, The Little General and the Giant Snowflake. She teaches at Sarah Lawrence and lives in Brooklyn.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
October 21, 2021
"Welcome to a world where the Realists and the Dreamers have formed opposing armies and snowflakes appear to those who don't use their imagination..."
reading the back of this, i was afraid that it would be like one of david mamet's kids books - totally inappropriately sophisticated and boring to kids, baffling to adults.
but i had to have it because i have loved her poetry, and it was for sale at the open air one dollar book fair, which is the best and most dangerous of ideas.
but it is still a little complicated. the moral or theme or what have you is about the power of and necessity for...imagination. isn't this preaching to the choir? aren't all kids made of imagination? does tin house even publish children's books? is this just another way of blurring the line between child and adult by making us feel okay with our infantilized entertainments?
furthermore, this book says it is okay to pretend you have a pet toucan, and to make other people acknowledge it even though it is invisible, which is either charming or terrifying, depending on my mood.
but it is a sweet little book, regardless of the intended audience. i love the illustrations, and although it is not as lovely as her poetry, i enjoyed reading more of her words.
incidentally, dfw loved her poems, which is where i discovered her in the first place, on the syllabus he gave his students. so, fans of, go read...
also: here is an interview: http://tinhousebooks.com/blog/?p=423/
come to my blog!
reading the back of this, i was afraid that it would be like one of david mamet's kids books - totally inappropriately sophisticated and boring to kids, baffling to adults.
but i had to have it because i have loved her poetry, and it was for sale at the open air one dollar book fair, which is the best and most dangerous of ideas.
but it is still a little complicated. the moral or theme or what have you is about the power of and necessity for...imagination. isn't this preaching to the choir? aren't all kids made of imagination? does tin house even publish children's books? is this just another way of blurring the line between child and adult by making us feel okay with our infantilized entertainments?
furthermore, this book says it is okay to pretend you have a pet toucan, and to make other people acknowledge it even though it is invisible, which is either charming or terrifying, depending on my mood.
but it is a sweet little book, regardless of the intended audience. i love the illustrations, and although it is not as lovely as her poetry, i enjoyed reading more of her words.
incidentally, dfw loved her poems, which is where i discovered her in the first place, on the syllabus he gave his students. so, fans of, go read...
also: here is an interview: http://tinhousebooks.com/blog/?p=423/
come to my blog! 
August 9, 2010
I don't think this is really a children's book.
Originally the book was published by Softskull, and then re-issued by Tin House (or is it the other way around?), neither publisher known for publishing books for kids. I think this is a book for adults, disguised as a kids book, and maybe it can be read to kids but I don't know if kids would like it all that much. Maybe they would though.
The book is about two groups, those with and those without imagination. Or so the reader is told. The reader is lied to though. The non-imagination side actually has quite a bit of imagination. Their leader had enough creativity to think up over three hundred different positions his troops could stand in. He has the imagination (well delusion) needed to believe himself not to be a three foot tall little person. His sergeant has the imagination necessary to imagine what a life would be like where she could openly love the general. The general has the imagination to think up punishments like catch every rabbit and then wash and dry each one. The whole army of the non-imagination side also has the imagination the prepare for a war with the hippies over yonder who think they have a monopoly on the land of imagination because of their silly antics.
Granted the non-imagination people are a tad bit militaristic with their imaginations, and sometimes a little to orderly, but there is imagination at work.
On the imagination side are, as I noted above, a bunch of fucking hippies to are apparently tripping face and think things that aren't really present are. This isn't imagination, it's partly imagination, but it's also drug abuse or mental instability.
What this book seems to be saying is that there is a nightmarish land where one is either trapped in a Military Industrial Complex or part of some dirty hippie commune (California?) and that at the end when these two groups meet up it will spell disaster for all the rest of us sane individuals who think that maybe baby boomer dopey hippies turning into bomb-the-shit of them hawks (Hi former President Clinton!!) while all tricked out on an infantile End of History, we're the Rock n' Roll generation, no one will ever know better than us tinged apocalyptic fantasies (I mean please shut the fuck up already you sixties degenerates, you were wrong about y2k, you've ushered in the whole Rapture / Born Again bullshit with your post-60's Jesus Freak thing, and it's your aging hippie asses that are pushing the hell out of this whole 2012 thing, guess what baby boomers, you're not the end of the world (well unless you destroy it, you've still got time!), your messianic complexes were cute, now give it up, ok?). The rest of us who don't think we are the most important thing to ever be created, don't worship the military or believe that the only other form of existence is to have your head shoved up your ass and giggle over imaginary beings, and dedicate your life to pretending they exist.
That last paragraph is a mess, and well it's going to stay a mess.
I like the idea in this book that one needs to not lose sight of their imagination, but it also seems to only see one limited and, well, kind of scary form of imagination.
The book is fun though if you aren't high strung and reading into the book for things that aren't intentionally there. And the drawings of the lemmings are very very cute.
Originally the book was published by Softskull, and then re-issued by Tin House (or is it the other way around?), neither publisher known for publishing books for kids. I think this is a book for adults, disguised as a kids book, and maybe it can be read to kids but I don't know if kids would like it all that much. Maybe they would though.
The book is about two groups, those with and those without imagination. Or so the reader is told. The reader is lied to though. The non-imagination side actually has quite a bit of imagination. Their leader had enough creativity to think up over three hundred different positions his troops could stand in. He has the imagination (well delusion) needed to believe himself not to be a three foot tall little person. His sergeant has the imagination necessary to imagine what a life would be like where she could openly love the general. The general has the imagination to think up punishments like catch every rabbit and then wash and dry each one. The whole army of the non-imagination side also has the imagination the prepare for a war with the hippies over yonder who think they have a monopoly on the land of imagination because of their silly antics.
Granted the non-imagination people are a tad bit militaristic with their imaginations, and sometimes a little to orderly, but there is imagination at work.
On the imagination side are, as I noted above, a bunch of fucking hippies to are apparently tripping face and think things that aren't really present are. This isn't imagination, it's partly imagination, but it's also drug abuse or mental instability.
What this book seems to be saying is that there is a nightmarish land where one is either trapped in a Military Industrial Complex or part of some dirty hippie commune (California?) and that at the end when these two groups meet up it will spell disaster for all the rest of us sane individuals who think that maybe baby boomer dopey hippies turning into bomb-the-shit of them hawks (Hi former President Clinton!!) while all tricked out on an infantile End of History, we're the Rock n' Roll generation, no one will ever know better than us tinged apocalyptic fantasies (I mean please shut the fuck up already you sixties degenerates, you were wrong about y2k, you've ushered in the whole Rapture / Born Again bullshit with your post-60's Jesus Freak thing, and it's your aging hippie asses that are pushing the hell out of this whole 2012 thing, guess what baby boomers, you're not the end of the world (well unless you destroy it, you've still got time!), your messianic complexes were cute, now give it up, ok?). The rest of us who don't think we are the most important thing to ever be created, don't worship the military or believe that the only other form of existence is to have your head shoved up your ass and giggle over imaginary beings, and dedicate your life to pretending they exist.
That last paragraph is a mess, and well it's going to stay a mess.
I like the idea in this book that one needs to not lose sight of their imagination, but it also seems to only see one limited and, well, kind of scary form of imagination.
The book is fun though if you aren't high strung and reading into the book for things that aren't intentionally there. And the drawings of the lemmings are very very cute.
December 23, 2021
OMG, this book made me SMILE!!! Loved it. So cute.
Have no idea how I heard about it, but it's been on my To Read shelf for over 10 years. Had no idea it was a children's book either. (But realized it when I looked at it before reading!) Decided to read it quick today to help with my year-end reading goal. So glad I did.
I'm sure there are a lot of "hidden meanings" or things one could derive from this (e.g. the lemmings), but I just enjoyed it for what it is.
*Fave passage:
"I'm not sure I'll fit in your house,".....
"I imagine you will," :)
Have no idea how I heard about it, but it's been on my To Read shelf for over 10 years. Had no idea it was a children's book either. (But realized it when I looked at it before reading!) Decided to read it quick today to help with my year-end reading goal. So glad I did.
I'm sure there are a lot of "hidden meanings" or things one could derive from this (e.g. the lemmings), but I just enjoyed it for what it is.
*Fave passage:
"I'm not sure I'll fit in your house,".....
"I imagine you will," :)
December 6, 2009
The Little General and the Giant Snowflake
It’s the Realist vs the Dreamers…at least in the Little General’s mind it is.
He’s only three feet tall, but he commands his troops, demanding they constantly practice and do formations….
…“Formation #259!” he shouts… the little general squared his shoulders. 221, 300, 102, he barked…”
The troops are eager to please and quickly fall into formation; all but one, Lieutenant Lyle, whose happy-go-lucky attitude and constant repeating finally gets on the little generals nerves.
However, when a giant snowflake suddenly appears floating above the little general’s flower garden, then again hovering over his head, will he see the err of his ways? Lieutenant Lyle’s whimsical-wisdom may be just what the general needs.
The Little General and the Giant Snowflake by Matthea Harvey is suitable for all ages. This charming illustrated allegory is sure to be a favourite amongst all the books this season.
Check it out at http://tinhousebooks.com/catalog/cata...
Or on Amazon.com
Want to win a FREE copy of this sweet little book? All you have to do is leave a comment in this Blog spot at http://bumplesfamilyfirst.blogspot.com from, Dec 06 – Dec 12 to be eligible to win.
NOTE: Be sure to leave me some contact info in case your name is drawn
Good Luck.
It’s the Realist vs the Dreamers…at least in the Little General’s mind it is.
He’s only three feet tall, but he commands his troops, demanding they constantly practice and do formations….
…“Formation #259!” he shouts… the little general squared his shoulders. 221, 300, 102, he barked…”
The troops are eager to please and quickly fall into formation; all but one, Lieutenant Lyle, whose happy-go-lucky attitude and constant repeating finally gets on the little generals nerves.
However, when a giant snowflake suddenly appears floating above the little general’s flower garden, then again hovering over his head, will he see the err of his ways? Lieutenant Lyle’s whimsical-wisdom may be just what the general needs.
The Little General and the Giant Snowflake by Matthea Harvey is suitable for all ages. This charming illustrated allegory is sure to be a favourite amongst all the books this season.
Check it out at http://tinhousebooks.com/catalog/cata...
Or on Amazon.com
Want to win a FREE copy of this sweet little book? All you have to do is leave a comment in this Blog spot at http://bumplesfamilyfirst.blogspot.com from, Dec 06 – Dec 12 to be eligible to win.
NOTE: Be sure to leave me some contact info in case your name is drawn
Good Luck.
May 27, 2010
I feel badly I didn't like this better, since someone thoughtfully left it in my car and all. It just didn't really pan out, or for that matter even take off: heavy-handed fascistic metaphor etc. But whoever you are, sweethearted anonymous book donor, thank you! I love you anyway.
November 7, 2009
This is a cute book about it being ok to use your imagination. I can't wait for my niece and nephew to get old enough so I can read it to them. The illustrations are great!
September 16, 2011
High 3. Quite charming, unsurprisingly.
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April 4, 2012The lady who wrote this used to live in my building and I fed her cat named Wednesday! :)
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews