Snowball

From School Library Journal PreSchool-K. After waiting most of the week for snow, a little girl celebrates on Friday when it arrives. On the playground with lots of other kids, she makes snowball after snowball. The plot is simple and totally childlike, full of anticipation followed by easy satisfaction. Full-color photographs cut into collages illustrate the text. Crews generates energy and movement through the creative placement of the narrator against urban backdrops?the girl's bedroom, her classroom, city streets, or the playground. Many of the images are grainy, even unfocused. The looser collages are more successful: an opening shot of the girl who, at the thought of snow, joyfully falls sideways across the page; or the dream sequence in which the drift-filled city and a giant snowball overtake her thoughts and bedroom. This book provides a clear sense of what snow represents to young children?fun.?Martha Topol, Traverse Area District Library, Traverse City, MICopyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. From Kirkus Reviews A spirited companion to Crews's debut, One Hot Summer Day (1995), that begins with endpapers that capture a wintry New York City in 18 city snowscapes arranged in a checkerboard. The excellence of the photo-reportage hints at what is to come: a keen depiction of a child's small adventure with the snow. The weather report predicts snow on Monday, but the girl who narrates must wait until Friday for the scene she's dreaming of. That day, she makes a snowball as she and other children revel in the snow. Interiors show a child's actual room with stuffed animals and a little television; the school scenes reflects New York City's diversity. A dream sequence allows Crews's photo-collage technique to soar; she cuts out the tops of brownstones and uses them to frame the girl in the act of throwing a snowball backward. Every scene is fresh and unpredictable, and the model's face perfectly reflects the exclamations of the caption-like text. It's a short tale entirely from a child's-eye view--from a child's heart--and a celebration of snow, play, and city. (Picture book. 3-6) --