Starred Review ALA Booklist (Fri Oct 01 00:00:00 CDT 1999)

Starred Review A book with all the fun and magic that winter offers. The flakes fall all night, and the next morning all is white and everyone wants to play. "Oh!" the text reads, and this gentle exhalation captures in one syllable the wonder of newly fallen snow, especially to the fresh eyes of the intended audience. In neatly squared illustrations set against pure white backgrounds are pictures of bundled-up children and animals who want to wiggle their toes in the snow--the squirrel, the bunny, the cat, the dog, the birds. Dronzek's acrylic art sweetly matches the unembellished text, but there are hints of humor, as well: the tail of a previously pictured animal takes up a corner of the new illustration. A final two-page spread shows the children building a snow rabbit as the animals cavort around them. As soft as snow, this book's simple, playful premise will make readers sigh, "Oh!"

Horn Book (Sat Apr 01 00:00:00 CST 2000)

In a book with a lot of toddler appeal, everyone from the "quick gray squirrel" to the "fat bouncy children" plays in the snow on a winter day. "The rabbit wants to play. / Hop, hop, hop, / shy little rabbit." Complementing the simplicity of the repetitive, occasionally rhyming text, the acrylic artwork leads up to a double-page spread showing everyone enjoying the day together.

Kirkus Reviews

PLB 0-688-17054-4 Henkes offers a bare-bones arrangement of words to convey snowfall, the creatures that enjoy it, and the passing of the day. "The snow falls and falls all night. In the morning everything is white. And everyone wants to play. Oh!" Animals and children are introduced with the tinkered refrain: "The cat wants to play. Sneak, sneak, sneak, brave young cat. The dog wants to play. Run, run, run, clever old dog." The reasons for the words "brave" and "clever" are never shown in any tangible way. The snowscape is depicted in a dreamy and lovely wash of color by Dronzek, who gives the animals faces, but uses hats and hoods to hide the features of the children. After everyone joins in a peaceable kingdom of building, the shadows lengthen, the snow turns an evening blue, and playtime is over. For all their simplicity, the words and acts have an opacity that encumbers flow and meaning; the haiku-like spareness is employed without effect. (Picture book. 2-6)

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

In this tender treatment by Henkes (Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse) and Dronzek, Henkes's wife, a painter making her children's book debut, """"Oh!"""" becomes a universal expression of friskiness elicited by the first blanket of snow. When morning arrives and """"everything is white,"""" the squirrel wants to """"skitter, skitter, skitter,"""" the rabbit wants to frolic (the illustration shows it has chased the squirrel from the previous page up a tree). Two children, hoods up and backs to the viewer, jump into snowdrifts and dashing red cardinals swoop in and out of the snowflakes. """"OH!"""" writes Henkes after accounting for all the landscape's gleeful inhabitants, and Dronzek heightens the moment by switching from neatly framed compositions to a full-bleed, double-page spread of all the characters at play. But all snowy days must come to an end: """"The sky turns dark. The snow turns blue,"""" and everyone heads for his or her respective home, with promises of more snow-play tomorrow. Extending himself to a younger audience than in his previous works, Henkes keeps his prose succinct and unadorned, seasoning it with repetition and an easy cadence: """"The cat wants to play. Sneak, sneak, sneak, brave young cat."""" Dronzek's acrylic renderings swiftly evoke how snow both sharpens and softens the world. The whitened landscape throws every other color in her palette into sharp relief, while her pastel-like textures look positively downy. Ages 2-up. (Oct.)

School Library Journal

PreS-"The snow falls and falls all night./In the morning everything is white./And everyone wants to play./Oh!" It's a simple beginning for an innocent day of subdued glee. Double-page spreads feature a spare, repetitive text that's reminiscent of Margaret Wise Brown's work and faces framed illustrations of familiar animals and a duet of children on bright white backgrounds. For example, "The dog wants to play./Run, run, run,/clever old dog" accompanies a frisky red dog at play, and a bunny poised for jumping follows "The rabbit wants to play./Hop, hop, hop,/shy little rabbit." Animals and children come together and the whole group is seen enjoying the snow-filled winter day on a hilly expanse. Finally, evening draws near. "Rush on home./Good-bye, snow./See you again tomorrow./Oh!" Imbued with a soft, fuzzy quality, the full-color acrylic illustrations evoke the haziness of falling snow, and the illustrator's choice of blue and white as dominant colors is gently soothing. A winter book that's sure to please.-Alicia Eames, New York City Public Schools Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.