Cold Snap

Spinelli, Eileen. 2012. COLD SNAP. Ill. by Majorie Priceman. New York: Knopf. ISBN 978-0-375-85700-3 [Suggested Grade Levels K-3]

REVIEW

COLD SNAP takes the reader on a journey to the town of Toby Mills that begins with an ordinary snowy winter day. Children were having fun outside making snow angels and having snowball fights. As the week goes on, the temperature plummets. Residents try to keep themselves, the children, and their pets warm. The ladies at the diner knitted mittens as big as flapjacks. The mayor wore his bathrobe over his suit and his toasty pink bunny slippers to stay warm. By the end of the week, people from out of town were calling Toby Mills “the new North Pole.” The mayor’s wife had a brilliant plan to bring the community together to warm them and their spirits up. Everyone gathered on T-Bone Hill to warm themselves by a huge bonfire where they drank hot cider, ate doughnuts, and danced to the song of the kazoo. Everyone had such a good time, they forgot about being cold.

Priceman’s beautiful illustrations give the book a nostalgic feel. Bright colors peek through the snowy scenes giving warmth through the coldness. The sparkly cover will entice children to pick it up and Eileen Spinelli’s text will reel them in.

CONNECTIONS

Share this book on a snow day. Use the recipe in the book to make sugar-on-snow candy.

Read this book in front of a fire in the fireplace while sipping apple cider.

Make a time-line of the days of the week and the events that happened in the story.

RELATED BOOKS

Other books about dealing with the cold weather:
Baker, Keith. NO TWO ALIKE. ISBN 9781442417427
Berger, Carin. A PERFECT DAY. ISBN 9780062015808
Rylant, Cynthia. SNOW. ISBN 9780152053031

 

By Jane Jergensen