Into the Snow

by Yuki Kaneko, Masamitsu Saito (Illustrator)

Overview

Into the Snow is an immediate depiction of a child playing, experiencing the sensory joys of winter and independence.

Into the Snow is an exuberant story told in the child's own voice. Celebrating immediacy and exploration, along with the tender bond between mother and child, this is a story that feels good, the way all real things do.

Masamitsu Saito was born in 1958 in Japan. He studied graphic design at Tama Art University. His work can be found in magazines, on chocolate packages, and inside wonderful books.

Yuki Kaneko is an artist, naturalist, translator, and author. She grew up in Japan, and now lives in Brooklyn with her husband and daughter.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781592701889
Publisher:	Enchanted Lion
Publication date:	02/02/2016
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	8.20(w) x 9.90(h) x 0.40(d)
Age Range:	3 - 7 Years

About the Author

Masamitsu Saito: Masamitsu Saito was born in 1958 in a seaside town along Kujyukuri Beach in Chiba, so he grew up to the sound of waves. He studied graphic design at Tama Art University. His work can be found in magazines, on chocolate packages, and the like.
Yuki Kaneko: Yuki Kaneko is an artist, naturalist, translator and author. She grew up in Japan and came to the US as an adult. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband and daughter.

Editorial Reviews

★ 10/19/2015
Pure joy: it’s what one apple-cheeked toddler experiences as he dives headlong into the snowy day outside, and it’s what readers will feel as they follow along. It’s easy to think of this book as a wintry companion to 2012’s Beach Feet, illustrated by Saito and translated from the Japanese by Kaneko. The minimal text conveys the boy’s reactions in extemporaneous bursts (“Flittering and fluttering... the snowflakes fall silently to the ground”), allowing Saito’s terrifically emotive paintings the spotlight. Thick, thumbprintlike daubs of paint suggest a real flurry in action, and the boy’s bright green coat, orange hat, rosy cheeks, and yellow sled pop from the white landscape. Those colors come together in a jumbled disarray as the boy flies downhill on his sled, his wild motion captured in dynamic angles and forceful strokes of paint; one can almost hear him catching his breath as he collapses in a happy heap in the snow. Hot chocolate, “melting and sweet,” with Mommy, a reminder of winter’s indoor pleasures, caps off a transfixing vision of a child’s investigation of, and delight in, his world. Ages 3–7. (Jan.)

Publishers Weekly

"Working with oil pastels, gouache, acrylics, and colored pencil, Saito creates tableaux characterized by thick, soft lines, comfortably rounded shapes, and warm colors—there's hardly a hint of black or gray, and soft blobs of pink suggest cherry blossoms, further sweetening the mood. This child is not Peter on an urban odyssey; the adventure appears to take place entirely within the confines of the child's backyard. Though Mommy is nearby, she gives the child, who has recognizably East Asian features, space for delicious independence. Thrillingly cozy." — Starred Review, Kirkus Reviews

"This is an empowering read for small children who will want their own explorations on a joyous snowy day. [...] this book evokes the feel of a snow day perfectly." –– Waking Brain Cells

"Pure joy: it’s what one apple-cheeked toddler experiences as he dives headlong into the snowy day outside, and it’s what readers will feel as they follow along." Publishers Weekly

"A story that feels good, the way all real things do." FictionDB

From the Publisher

03/01/2016
PreS-Gr 1—A tousle-haired child is delighted to look out the window and find that it is snowing. After bundling up per Mommy's orders, he heads outdoors. First-person perspective lends immediacy to the text: "The snow is light and fluffy. It's soft and cold. Look! I've found an icicle. It is shiny and clear like glass." The mixed-media illustrations make good use of the textural properties of oil pastels, depicting a soft, snowy world that is still vibrant with bright color. When the child finds an icicle, the small bit of ice hanging from a snowy branch reflects the bright colors worn by the child, connecting the vividness of the experience to the muted quiet typically conveyed in winter scenes. The main action of the story concerns the anticipation, terror, and joy of a trip down the sledding hill and culminates with Mommy arriving at just the right moment to bring the child home for a cozy cup of cocoa. Pair this title with Ezra Jack Keats's classic The Snowy Day for another sensory-rich account of exploring on a winter day. VERDICT The story is slight, but the experience is fresh and lively, making this an excellent choice for most libraries.—Anna Haase Krueger, Ramsey County Library, MN

School Library Journal

★ 2015-12-22
A child narrates a day spent playing in the snow in this collaboration between a Japanese-American author and Japanese illustrator. From the very first sentence—"It's snowing!"—Kaneko nails the unbridled excitement of a preschooler who wakes up to snowfall. Saito captures the child from the rear, his smudgy illustration offering readers a view dominated by one spectacular case of bed head, hair spiking every which way in a visual reinforcement of the child's glee. Per Mommy's instruction ("bundle up and have fun"), the child plunges into the snow with a yellow plastic sled. Each declarative sentence encapsulates the child's simple, unfeigned wonder: "The snow is light and fluffy"; "Look! I've found an icicle." The child weathers an unexpected spin on the sled but proclaims, "I'm all right." The wind picks up; the child goes back inside for a cup of hot chocolate with Mommy. Working with oil pastels, gouache, acrylics, and colored pencil, Saito creates tableaux characterized by thick, soft lines, comfortably rounded shapes, and warm colors—there's hardly a hint of black or gray, and soft blobs of pink suggest cherry blossoms, further sweetening the mood. This child is not Peter on an urban odyssey; the adventure appears to take place entirely within the confines of the child's backyard. Though Mommy is nearby, she gives the child, who has recognizably East Asian features, space for delicious independence. Thrillingly cozy. (Picture book. 2-5)

Kirkus Reviews