Horn Book

With Jon Nelson. This account draws readers into the scientific explanations for snowflakes' formation and variety. The book uses an inventive combination of text and illustrations--including numerous beautiful photographs of snow crystals, enlarged to highlight their intricate detail--to explain the higher-level scientific concepts with impressive clarity. Instructions for conducting one's own scientific observations of snowflakes are included.

School Library Journal (Sun Nov 01 00:00:00 CDT 2009)

PreS-Gr 3 Simple sentences in large type offer basic information about the formation and structure of snow crystals while additional explanations and detail are presented in two sets of progressively smaller fonts. Aoyagi's watercolor and ink drawings show how a snow crystal develops from a tiny speck of soil, pollen, or other substances to become a complex six-sided structure. Numerous photographs of snow crystals reveal details of common shapes such as stars, plates, and columns. The images are large enough to share in a small-group setting. Instructions on how to catch and view snow crystals encourage readers to make their own observations. Libraries in areas where snow falls will definitely want to add this title to their collections, but it would enhance lessons on weather anywhere. A logical pairing would be with Jacqueline Martin's Snowflake Bentley (Houghton, 1998), the story of the man who pioneered methods to create photographs like the ones in this book. Kathy Piehl, Minnesota State University, Mankato

Starred Review ALA Booklist (Tue Dec 01 00:00:00 CST 2009)

Starred Review Pairing particularly clear and engaging explanations with a mix of spare diagrams and close-up photos of snow crystals l presented in an evocative gray-blue color scheme is introduction to the white stuff will impart a solid understanding of how crystals and flakes grow in the clouds and how temperature and other factors on the way down further affect the marvelous diversity of their forms. Young readers expecting the customary array of lacy stars won't be disappointed t the dazzling and detailed close-ups also capture snow crystals in rarely seen shapes, from plates and columns to multilayered forms as complex as clockwork. With never a hint of hyperbole, the authors communicate such a contagious sense of wonder that few readers will be able to resist following the final pages' simple directions for constructing a handheld snowflake observation stage and rushing outside at the first sign of snow in hopes of taking a closer look at one of nature's most beautiful and ubiquitous phenomena. A perfect lead-in to Jacqueline Briggs Martin's Snowflake Bentley (1998).

Kirkus Reviews

Covering much the same scientific territory as Carolyn Fisher's The Snow Show (2008), this distinguishes itself with Cassino's astonishing photographs of snow crystals. The clear and direct narrative takes readers into the clouds to explain snow-crystal formation (each crystal needs a speck of some earthly substance to grow from) and then zooms in on the actual crystals. Describing the three major types of crystals (star-shaped, plate and columnar), the authors also provide snippets of facts, such as how the molecular structure of water creates the six-sided crystals or the different conditions under which the three varieties form. Aoyagi's clean ink-and-watercolor diagrams and backgrounds allow the spectacular photographs to take center stage and provide supplemental information. Sure to get young scientists outside in the cold, particularly as it helpfully includes crystal-catching instructions. (Informational picture book. 6-10)