Over and Under the Snow
Chronicles Books/Raincoast Books
age 5-8
Kate Messner, illustrated by Christopher Silas Neil
44 pages
Synopsis from Raincoast Books:
Over the snow, the world is hushed and white. But under the snow exists a secret kingdom of squirrels and snow hares, bears and bullfrogs, and many other animals that live through the winter safe and warm, awake and busy, under the snow. Discover the wonder and activity that lies beneath winter’s snowy landscape in this magical book.
When the snow arrives, it can sometimes feel as if all of nature has gone into hibernation. Over and Under the Snow does a great job illustrating the life that still goes on above and below the snow on the ground. The story follows a girl and her dad out cross country skiing in the woods, picking out the signs that life is still bustling around them: imprints in the snow, snow covered mounds in the ground. The story and illustrations take you from above the ground to under ground.
The muted illustrations of gray, blue, black and brown give off the icy cold feeling of winter while looking beautifully peaceful. Both my son and I discovered new things reading Over and Under the Snow. (Did you know Queen bees hybernate under ground for winter?) The back of the book also has some great resource information, include a little more details on the animals covered in the story, as well as related books and online resources.
You can add Over and Under the Snow to your personal library by visiting your local book store or visiting Raincoast Books. Visit our Kid’s Books section for other great book recommendations. What are you reading with your kids?
I have to thank Crystal at Raincoast Books for my review copy.