gracef's Full Review: Ezra Jack Keats - The Snowy Day
When I heard that the esteemed forkids was celebrating her 400th review with a Children’s Book Write-Off, I was immediately interested. I really enjoy sharing the joy of children’s books. I have written several reviews in that category and plan to write several more. This, I thought, would be easy. However, when I saw that her charge was to review a book that was a childhood favorite, I had to think a bit. Finally, I came up with the answer, and went out in search of a book that I hadn’t read in almost 30 years, a book that became such an integral part of my life that I didn't often think of it by name.
When I was in Kindergarten back in 1969, our class walked the 3 or 4 blocks to the library once every week. It wasn’t much of a place. Actually, it was little more than a cottage. But we always enjoyed going, because the librarian would have story time for us when we got there. On one our first trips, the librarian pulled out The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats. From that day, my life was changed forever.
The Snowy Day is a simple story of a little boy named Peter who experiences the joy and wonder of a snowy day in the city. The illustrations, a combination of watercolors and collages, really set the mood for the book. The result is a gentle story with no great morals that is a treat for the eyes.
So how could such a story change me?
To understand this, one must understand a couple things about my childhood. I grew up in a small town (population less than 200) in the cornfields of Ohio. In our little corner of the world, in the heart of the land of WASPs, one very rarely saw minorities. We almost never visited the city, and when we did, we certainly didn’t hang around long enough to really discover anything about it or the people who lived there. "Those" people were different, I was told. And I believed it.
So when I first saw The Snowy Day, I sat there in wide-eyed wonder. Later, when story time was over, I picked up the book and looked at it closely. As hard as it may be to believe, I don’t think I had ever seen anyone with dark skin up close. But here Peter was, with his dark skin and curly hair. Obviously, he was one of "those" people that some family and friends had talked about negatively. But Peter didn’t seem much different from me. He enjoyed quiet walks through the snow like I did. He liked doing the same things that I did. Further, his family loved him, just like mine did me. It was then that I realized that all people are basically the same, regardless of skin color.
I didn’t realize it at the time, but this was exactly what the author, Ezra Jack Keats, had intended to happen. Keats was ahead of his time in many respects. Having grown up in Brooklyn, he was aware of the diversity of people, and he enjoyed drawing children from all walks of life. He had illustrated books for other authors for about 10 years, and during that time, he filled those books with images of children of every size and color. For the most part, though, these were all minor characters. When he finally got around to writing The Snowy Day, Keats had never seen a children's book that featured a black main character, and he felt that the time had come to correct this injustice. Fortunately, critics realized the significance of his effort. After the success of The Snowy Day, Keats wrote and illustrated a series of books featuring Peter at various ages. Through his work, Keats changed the hearts and minds of children who otherwise may have held the prejudices that had been passed down to them. What a man!
Since the day that I first saw The Snowy Day, Peter has been my friend. When I was younger and walked in the snow, I would make footprints like "this" (toes pointing out) and "that" (toes pointing in). I would build a snowman and try to get the smile just like that on Peter’s snowman. When my brothers refused to play with me because I was too small, I would think of Peter and how the other kids hadn’t wanted to play with him for the same reason. He was still happy, and so I knew that I could be too. From Peter, I learned how to knock snow from trees with a stick and how to make snow angels. I also learned NOT to try saving snowballs in my pocket for later. Most of all, Peter was always inside my head, reminding me of the simple joys of a fresh snow.
The Snowy Day taught me something else. Through Peter and his adventure, I found that I could have an adventure too. I learned that I didn’t have to go to the city to know what the city was like. All I had to do was look at the world through Peter’s eyes. It didn’t take me long to find other tales that allowed me to travel to other far off places to which I’d likely never go. I had enjoyed stories before, but The Snowy Day made me love books.
It’s been many years since that day when I first discovered The Snowy Day. I look at the book now and still love the bright illustrations that earned this classic the Caldecott Medal back in 1963. Time has done nothing to diminish the story. Earlier this year, my daughter came home from school. Her class had story time in the school library, and she had seen a wonderful book. Guess what they read?
Now I live in a totally different world. My family and I live in a suburb of a large city. More people live on my street than lived in my entire hometown. People of all ethnicities surround us, and it’s not uncommon to hear more than five different languages in any given day. It’s a good thing that I learned my lessons about racial equality when I was younger! Occasionally, I’ll hear people talking about "those" people (the term refers to different group of people), and I just want to smack them over the head. Hadn’t they read The Snowy Day?
I still enjoy walking in the snow. Sometimes, when the snowflakes are falling softly and the world is slowly being buried under a blanket of white, I think of Peter. A few months ago, I had the pleasure of making snow angels with my daughter, and as she swept her hands up and down, she called out "It’s just like The Snowy Day!" For some reason, I felt like I was six again.
I still love books, and I share that love with my daughter (and with anyone else who will listen). Together, my daughter and I travel to imaginary places, experience grand adventures, and learn about all sorts of different things and people. I have passed on that love of books to my daughter, and I feel wonderful when I see her curled up with a book.
And it all started with Peter and The Snowy Day.
Author's Note:
This review is one of a number of entries in the Children’s Book Write-Off being held to celebrate the forkids’ 400th review. (Four HUNDREDTH! Absolutely amazing!! This is only my 50th!)
For a complete list of participants and a list of links to the other entries in this Write-Off, refer to:
General Juvenile / Children's Fiction - Peter wakes up to find the world covered in snow-crisp, clean, and white. Excitedly, Peter ventures out to pla...More at Barnes and Noble
No book has captured the magic and sense of possibility of the first snowfall better than The Snowy Day. Universal in its appeal, the story has become...More at HotBookSale
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