First Snow: Great for Holiday and Christmas Reading or Gifting

by Emily Arnold McCully

The first snow has fallen.
The mice children go sledding
with Grandma and Grandpa.
But at the top of the hill,
who will go first?
Bitty, the smallest mouse,
is scared.
When she tries,
WHEEEEEE,
she finds that sledding is the best!
Caldecott Medalist Emily Arnold McCully captured the chills and thrills of a first sled ride when first snow was published in 1985. She has added words and created new pictures for this handsome larger edition, a companion to picnic.

Genres: Picture Books, Animals, Childrens, Juvenile, Family, Storytime, Fiction

32 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1985

About the author

Emily Arnold McCully received the Caldecott Medal for Mirette on the High Wire. The illustrator of more than 40 books for young readers, she divides her time between Chatham, New York, and New York City.

Reviews

[Laura Harrison]

A lovely seasonal book. One of my favorites. Delightful, sweet and whimsical illustrations by Emily Arnold McCully.

[Jo Oehrlein · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's the first snowfall of the year.
Grandma and Grandpa take all the little mice out in the snow (Mama & Papa smartly stay home and warm.).

First they stop at the pond to ice skate and build a giant snowman.

Then, they go sledding. Everyone comes down the hill, but Bitty, who is too scared.
When she finally gets the nerve, she has a blast and goes up and down the hill the rest of the time.

They come home to supper, exhausted.

The mice spend most of the time running around in just scarves and hats.
Not sure why it's almost disturbing to see them at the supper table with nothing on at all.

[Jana · Rating 3 out of 5]

This adorable Caldecott winning picture book captures the joy of excitement of a snowy day excursion to go sledding. The little mice are excited to load up the sleds in their grandparents’ truck and head up the hill. Once there, everyone goes down the hill except the youngest, who is scared. Young readers will enjoy taking in the scene, especially with the gorgeous illustrations.

[Kate Taylor]

From a consumers standpoint: this book is so cute! The illustrations are so sweet with the little mice. They give the book such a sweet touch.
From a teachers standpoint: this book would be awesome for a younger classroom. It would help children connect to the seasons and maybe get over their fears, as the little mouse did!

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gpa and Gma take their grandkids out for a sledding outing. Bitty is scared, but her family cheers her on down the massive hill. She proudly conquers the hill several times more before they pack up to leave. My 2.5 year old loved Bitty. :)

[Jessica · Rating 1 out of 5]

Illustrations were ok. The plot was very boring, but could be used for young readers, first snow.

[Christina Rittenberry · Rating 2 out of 5]

Cute pictures. But that's all it was no words. Pictures told the story well enough, but I missed the reading part.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great for 2-3 year olds

[Alana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sweet story of overcoming a fear.

[Phuongvu · Rating 4 out of 5]

So sweet

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wordless Picture Book

[Laurie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Booklist (December 15, 2003 (Vol. 100, No. 8))

PreS-K. When a family of mice goes sledding, little sister Biddy is a fearful of sliding down the big hill. After she has conquered it, though, she wants to go again and again. Like its companion volume Picnic (1984, 2003), this originally wordless picture book has been republished in a larger edition with a simple text. The illustrations have been repainted and significantly enlarged, enhancing their beauty and making their details more accessible to children in story hours. Those who enjoy wordless picture books can always ignore the text, but the addition of a few words ("The road is icy"or "Bitty is scared") on each double-page spread will complete the reading experience for the many parents and caregivers who like to know what to say when they turn the page and for the many children who enjoy hearing the same words with each picture every time.



Horn Book (Fall 2004)

In this companion to the wordless Picnic, the mouse family goes sledding. McCully's drawings are so clever, and the story unfolds in such a logical way, that even the smallest children can follow the action. As did the new edition of Picnic, this new larger format edition has unfortunately, and inexplicably, added words.



School Library Journal (January 1, 2004)

PreS-K-First published as a wordless picture book in 1985, First Snow is back with a brief text, enhanced illustrations, and a larger trim size. The extended mouse family from McCully's Picnic (1984, both HarperCollins) piles into an old red pickup truck and heads out for a day of winter frolicking. They ice skate, build a snowman, and go sledding. The littlest mouse, Bitty, isn't so sure she wants to go down the hill by herself, but once she gathers up her courage there's no stopping her. This new edition has brighter, deeper colors, but the artwork is essentially the same as in the original. Most of the text consists of bits of dialogue and short descriptions of the action. This addition seems unnecessary as the book still works well without words. Full of exuberance and excitement, both versions are perfect for winter storytimes and one-on-one sharing.-Wendy Woodfill, Hennepin County Library, Minnetonka, MN Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

[Allison · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was really cute. The little girl mouse wearing the pink scarf and hat the cutest. The book starts off with everyone working to dig the truck out of the story. They load all of their sleds and gear into the truck and hop on. The mice sing songs along the way. At one point they have to get out and push the truck to get it unstuck and going again. Then, they finally arrive at a giant hill with a mall pond where they can ice skate. Everyone is having fun making snow angels and throwing snowballs at each other. They get their sleds and go to the hill. Everyone makes his or her way up the hill. When they finally reach the top they all go down the hill at once, except one. The little mouse in pink was still quivering at the top of the hill. She is scared and doesn't want to come down. They tell her it will be ok. She finally goes and when she gets to the bottom of the hill she can't wait to do it again. She does it over and over and over again till it is time to leave. When they all get home, she is so tuckered out that she falls asleep at the dinner table. I thought this story was adorable and I loved the mice. The illustrations were also really awesome in their detail and expressions. Everything that happened in the book was clearly expressed and very easy to follow.

[Luisa Knight · Rating 4 out of 5]

This simple yet satisfying story understandably won The Caldecott Medal. Your littles will relish the mouse family's day playing in the snow.

Ages: 4 - 8

#winter

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[Josiah · Rating 1 out of 5]

Using no words at all, Emily Arnold McCully does a very good job of evoking the sensations of a relaxed day at the onset of winter, a day that sees a cloak of unbroken snow covering the landscape and strongly beckoning for people to play in it.

The simple illustrations that comprise First Snow lead the reader along the story's path with skill that should surprise no one familiar with Emily Arnold McCully's works. First Snow is a nice, compact picture book that will charm its share of readers, especially during the early part of the winter months. I would give it one and a half stars.

[The Book Maven · Rating 5 out of 5]

First Snow is a simple, charming picture book depicting the abundant Mouse Family as they venture out to enjoy the first snow of the season. The bittiest Bitty Mouse is experiencing this for the first time, and when it comes time for Bitty to sled down the hill, Bitty is temporarily struck with fear. But of course, with the family's encouragement, Bitty launches the sled and revels in the fun.

[Melissa Gregory · Rating 5 out of 5]

When the first snow falls the mice children go sledding with grandpa. All of them go down the hill one by one except Bitty who is scared. They encourage and encourage her and try to get her excited about it and down she goes. The fun helps her overcome her fear. And for now on she will be the first to sled down hills. I love this book. It has a great message in it. It would be a great read for Prek-1st grade.

[Alice · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't like mice and I usually don't like books with no words just pictures, but I did like this book. I like that it tells a story through pictures. The artwork is great, just for my personal taste, I HATE mice and would have loved to see bears, rabbits, chickens, ants, moose, spiders ANYTHING but mice...but that is JUST ME

[Sandra Stiles · Rating 3 out of 5]

When the first snow falls the mice children go sledding with grandpa. All of them go down teh hill except Bitty who is scared. They encourage her and down she goes. The fun helps her overcome her fear.

[Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book might be difficult for students to read because of the font style the author uses. However, this is a very cute book that is suitable for kindergarten through second grade. It shows the reader that if you try something new you might actually end up liking it.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Literacy skills:

Narrative skills-the wonderful pictures in this story will make even the youngest readers want to "read" this book. The author does not have a lot of text which makes telling your own story very easy.

[Vivian · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are very few words in this story so take every opportunity to engage the children by asking questions about what’s happening, having them act out the verbs (such as a big “whoosh” with the hand up high to down to the lap.)

[Jennifer Oaks · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think that this book is about a young child's fear about trying something for the first time. The little girl is afraid to sled down the hill. However, her family is there to support her by telling her that she can do it.

[Ataylo18 · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was not a huge fan of this book. Personally I don't really like wordless books, but I do see where they can be very useful in an elementary classroom, of any grade. What better way to get a child's imagination working.

[Michelle · Rating 2 out of 5]

I liked the pitures, but I wasn't a big fan of the story line. This book was under the "wordless" section, but it is definitely not wordless so the textbook is not correct.

[Kate Hastings · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very short book leaves opportunity to discuss busier illustrations. Bitty the mouse is scared to sled, but when she tried it-- she's the hardest one to take back home.

[Krista]

Easy story that will hold the attention of a 2yo with great illustrations for all ages. Perfect for snowy days!

[Sandybear76]

It is the first snow of the winter and Grandma and Grandpa Mouse take all the mouse kids to sled from the top of the hill. But Bitty is scared to go sown the big hill.

[Danielle Simmons · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good book for early readers and nice pictures. Kids can use their imaginations to stretch the pictures out and tell more to the story.

[Denesha Allen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a cute little book that may help a child get over being shy. I read this book to first graders and they really liked it.