Who Will Make the Snow?
Who Will Make the Snow?
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Publisher's Hardcover ©2023--
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Random House
Annotation: INCLUDED IN THE NEW YORK TIMES LIST OF BEST CHILDREN'S BOOKS OF 2023 The two newest moles in the forest learn to dig the... more
 
Reviews: 2
Catalog Number: #373236
Format: Publisher's Hardcover
Common Core/STEAM: STEAM STEAM
Publisher: Random House
Copyright Date: 2023
Edition Date: 2023 Release Date: 12/12/23
Pages: 79 pages
ISBN: 1-9538617-4-1
ISBN 13: 978-1-9538617-4-0
Dewey: E
Dimensions: 22 x 25 cm.
Language: English
Reviews:
Kirkus Reviews

In this tale originally published in Ukraine, mole twins born on the first day of spring discover a generally welcoming world outside their burrow as the seasons pass.Beech Forest is, by and large, a friendly place. Animal residents gather at the Under the Oak Café to peruse the gossipy Daily Mole, which Papa Mole compiles and types up, while Mama Mole makes quince jam and leads her large family, including little Purl and Crawly, out in autumn to sketch the changing trees while she plays her double bass. It's not all ginger tea and nut cookies, though, particularly when an older sib's illness prompts Crawly to ask, "Mama, what happens to moles when they die?" Her comforting if fanciful answer (they live among the clouds and make snow) leads later to a broader understanding that death happens to everyone, and a final observation to his (slightly) older sister that "the world's a little tough, but it's interesting this way…." In the colored pencil, gouache, and ink illustrations, moles and most of the other animals are furry black blobs with indistinct features, sporting random articles of human dress and posing either in comfortably furnished domestic settings or idyllic glades beneath shadowy trees. A stormy autumn flood provides some mild danger, but overall this short chapter book makes for cozy, peaceable reading for all its origins in a country currently at war.Sweet but not saccharine, with occasional long thoughts buried in the fuzzy warmth. (Animal fantasy. 7-9)

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

This cozily domestic chapter book by married team the Prokhaskos opens on the first day of spring, when twins Crawly and Purl are born to an already sizable mole family. Papa Mole writes for forest newspaper The Daily Mole; Mama Mole plays the double bass, “studied various languages, grew orchids, jumped on a trampoline”; and Crawly and Purl’s siblings provide companionship. Low-key forest adventures follow in seven chapters, accompanied by lively discussion. Papa Mole finds a strange egg, and two birds swoop in to save the chick that hatches; Purl learns to swim and saves a small mole in the river; and the family takes in a leveret born out of season. The title refers to a philosophical debate: Mama says that after moles die, “heavenly moles make the snow,” a group of owlets, meanwhile, believe that their ancestors make it. While a character called Mute Marten sells “exotic” African fruits, chatty, seasonally focused text translated by Dralyuk and Croft describes a world in which conflict stays largely mole-sized and manageable, while softly colored, scribbly line drawings provide glimpses of mole home life, including neat lines of drying underwear and a simmering cauldron of quince jam. Ages 7–11. (Nov.)

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Kirkus Reviews
Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)
Reading Level: 2.8
Interest Level: 2-5

INCLUDED IN THE NEW YORK TIMES LIST OF BEST CHILDREN'S BOOKS OF 2023


The two newest moles in the forest learn to dig themselves out of their comfort zones and experience the boundless, unpredictable world around them—a Social Emotional Learning adventure


Twin moles, Purr and Craw, are born on the first day of spring. The newest members of their woodland world, they’re curious about everything. What is swimming? Why does mother speak French as she makes pancakes? What does father scrawl in his notebook? Do animals live in the sea? Why do grownups eat smelly cheese? How do we get better when we're sick? What happens when we die? As they start to grow up, every day is filled with another adventure as they explore the peculiar characters that surround them in the forest. Home is always waiting for them, filled with the clacking of father’s typewriter, the sound of mother playing her upright bass, and the smells of quince jam and medicinal moss brews. During their adventures outside the home, they learn that the world is sometimes scarier, stranger and more dangerous than it seemed from the pocket of their father’s coat. Each new encounter leaves Purr and Craw a little braver and wiser and with a few extra friends. Beautifully illustrated with scenes of mischief and discovery by Marjana Prohasko, Who Will Make the Snow? reminds us that the world is always larger and more wonderful than we can see from our own corner of the woods.


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