The Best Snowy Picture Books!

IT"S SNOWING Y'ALL!!!

OK, so it's just a little powdered sugar dusting on the top of the San Gabriel Mountains, and it'll be melted by noon, but isn't it pretty? This was our view out our bedroom window on this fine January morning. To celebrate our very first snow, I thought I'd do a post on my very favorite snowy picture books!

My very favorite snowy picture book of all time (and probably yours too) is A Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats. (also one of the coolest author names of all time too, don't you think?) This one won the Caldecott in 1963. Ezra Jack Keats wrote many amazing books. He was the son of two Polish immigrants and was determined to put an African American child as the protaganist in his first book, so as to truly reflect the neighborhoods where he grew up in New York City. He also wrote books Puerto-Rican protagonists and fought to have some printed in Spanish. Peter (shown here on the cover) went on to appear in six more picture books by Ezra.

 This has got to be one of the sweetest illustrations ever created. My boys barely even know what snow is but when we break this book out somehow they know it requires deep-in-the-covers positioning before we crack the cover.

Ezra was yet another author/illustrator who was allowed to scribble and draw wherever he darn pleased. (I'm not trying to make you feel guilty, I swear, I'm talking to me!) I'm trying to stay open-minded about what can keep the creative spirit alive! See here for more guilt, I mean inspiration!

You rock Ezra!

Now for my NEW favorite snowy picture book and when I say new I mean hot off the presses. Santa brought it last week and we are loving it!

The Stickman by the dynamic duo of Axel Sheffler, illustrator extraordinaire and Julia Donaldson, author/rhyme queen. She always pulls off her rhymes with out corniness or clunk and the Stickman - well, let's just say anthropomorphism never looked so good! You are going to love this guy! And his wife, the Sticklady, has a bark dress to die for- tres chic! I tried to get a photo but I couldn't find one. Get a copy for that alone!

The poor Stickman, first the dog is after him, then the bird wants to make him part of her nest, then to a sand castle to be a mast, oh the poor poor Stickman! But never fear, Santa will help the Stickman! Also, one of our favorite treats, there is a hidden Gruffalo somewhere in the book, see if you can find it. (The Gruffalo, and Room on the Broom are two more favorites by this duo that we adore too.)

Hooray for Snowy Books! Let it snow! Let it snow! Let it snow!

Do Let the Pigeon Scribble on The Walls

Because it's Dec 31, and I didn't post anything related to the holidays, I thought I would include a fun little snippet of holiday fun and then plan to go whole hog next year!

Mo Willems (author of Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!) and his family do something different in lieu of ol' wrapping paper. And make sure to see this - for starters Mo has a giant paper table cloth roll in case he needs to scribble during dinner, but keep scrolling down to see that his family also can push a chair back and go to town on Mo's chalk-board covered dining-room walls! Can you imagine growing up in that house? How fun!

I remember reading once that Diego Rivera's parents let him scribble murals around the walls of his bedroom. Perhaps he wouldn't have painted his larger than life murals all of Mexico had his parents not given him that free reign?

Ridiculously Amazing! I love you Diego!

Do you have a little artist in your home who could use a little more space to discover their talent? What could you do make that happen? A dear friend of mine painted her sons' walk-in closet with chalkboard paint, maybe he will be one of the great American muralists of the future! 

If you live locally, Mo Willems will be at Vroman's bookstore in Pasadena, on Sunday, Feb. 21 at 2 p.m. You can buy new book for him to sign, or he will even sign one that you bring from home! Meeting an actual illustrator/author is a great way to open a child's mind up to the reality that a human has created a book they love so much, and that their own future is limitless, wild and theirs for the taking too!