Read On!

Mrs. Farquharson’s musings about books for children and young adults

A Wintry Mix

January20

A snow crystal is a letter from the sky.”

The Story of SnowUkichiro Nakaya, Japanese scientist (1900-1962)

Nakaya’s quote shouldn’t be missed on the back endpaper of The Story of Snow. Authors Mark Cassino and Jon Nelson have written a book that will inspire young scientists and artists. Just as the authors coordinated their talents, The Story of Snow: The Science of Winter’s Wonder has a fine balance of text and pictures. Cassino’s photographs of snow crystals are clearly explained by Nelson’s text.

Snowflake BentleyThe Story of Snow is a perfect companion book to Snowflake Bentley by Jacqueline Briggs Martin, the 1999 Caldecott Award Winner. Wilson A. Bentley was the first to photograph snowflakes to study their beauty and construction. Imagine the conversations that Bentley would have with Mark Cassino and Jon Nelson. While the technology has improved, they all would share the wonder of a snowflake.

Bentley’s words from 1925 describe the contents of The Story of Snow, a book written years later:

“Under the microscope, I found that snowflakes were miracles of beauty; and it seemed a shame that this beauty should not be seen and appreciated by others. Every crystal was a masterpiece of design and no one design was ever repeated. When a snowflake melted, that design was forever lost. Just that much beauty was gone, without leaving any record behind.”

(Taken from the website, http://snowflakebentley.com)

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