Spirit of the Snowpeople

by Diane Keyes, Helen Stevens (Illustrator)

Overview

Somewhere in the north, where the winters are long, the adults decide to brighten their children's days by creating snow figures. While the children sleep, their elders create snowpeople. Eventually, the lake is surrounded with them. Word gets around, and people come to see the marvelous figures. But snow doesn't last forever, and when the snowpeople melt, the villagers must find another way to keep the spirit of the snowpeople alive in their hearts.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780892727100
Publisher:	Down East Books
Publication date:	07/02/2008
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	8.20(w) x 10.20(h) x 0.60(d)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

Editorial Reviews

K-Gr 2

"Not so long ago, when the world was a gentler place and people were more easily pleased, there lived some plain folk whose small village hugged the shores of a north woods lake." From this rather didactic beginning, the author relates how these simple villagers tended their gardens in the spring, summer, and fall, but sometimes the long, cold winter made them gloomy and restless. One day, the children awaken to find all the adults building snowpeople. Working together, they surround their lake with snow statues in a variety of sizes and poses. Word of the attraction spreads and Snowpeople Lake soon becomes a tourist attraction. The villagers invite the visitors to stay and share their camaraderie, and everyone is happy. But when the weather turns warmer, some visitors are upset to have traveled so far to find that the statues are melting. One grandmother responds with an overly long and earnest speech explaining that the true spirit of the snowpeople is related to the seasons of life. The villagers and those who understand continue on with their chores and return to celebrate the snowpeople the following winter. Although the messages of community cooperation and respecting nature are admirable, this moralistic story sinks under its own weight. The folksy pictures show the snow figures in several impossible poses (a ballerina standing on pointe) and add little to the pedestrian text.-Martha Simpson, Stratford Library Association, CT

School Library Journal

Celebrating the rhythms of the land, the villagers plant in the spring, tend in the summer and harvest in the fall. But winter's idleness is hard, especially for the children. The adults create a "village" of their own-people crafted from snow and a few props. The children quickly join in, until the entire lake is surrounded by snowpeople of all shapes, sizes and types. They ice skate and sled, sing, dance and even fish. Word spreads, and visitors come to see the magical creations. When the approaching spring's warmth melts the snow, the visitors grumble. But, as the villagers explain, the spirit of the snowpeople is in the cycle of life-the melting snow feeds the rivers and fills the clouds which then water the crops. Stevens's magical illustrations capture the joys of a simpler time, and will have readers itching for the snow to fly so they can sculpt their own snowpeople. A beautiful tale on its own, with a deeper message of the connectedness of the seasons. (Picture book. 5-10)

Kirkus Reviews