"The Snowflake Sisters" Book Review

1.      Bibliography

Lewis, J. Patrick. 2003. THE SNOWFLAKE SISTERS. Ill. By Lisa Desimini. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0689850298

2.      Plot Summary

J. Patrick Lewis presents a beautiful poem picture book in verse about two snowflake sisters, who are not identical by the way, and their journey of being a snowflake in winter.  The two sisters grab a hold of Santa’s sleigh and watch him deliver gifts.  Six days later, they drift to New York and see “the lady in the sky” (Statue of Liberty), and to Time Square during New Year’s Eve.  The snowflake sisters make their way to Central Park where they sit on a snowman’s shoulder until spring arrives and melts them and the snowman.  Their adventure ends with Winter calling out “I’ll bring you back again next year!” 

3.      Critical Analysis

Lewis’ rhythm and rhyme flow easily throughout every page of this poem picture book.  Children will enjoy the meter of reading the words and the rhyming pattern that moves the poem easily forward.  The adventure of the two snowflake sisters is more about the cycle of snow and winter more so than a poem about holidays.  The snowflakes experience time as they wait “six days” and are present for another holiday.  The sequential order of holidays and seasons teach children order of events in a creative approach.  Just as a child might be sad the snowflake sisters are melting away, they will be joyful to be reminded the snow will return again in the appropriate season.

Lisa Desimini presents creative college style pictures as a way to connect the poem to illustrations.  After studying each picture, you find yourself noticing she uses basic art supplies you can find at any store or even lying around your home, to create a world of adventure for these two sister snowflakes.  The New York scenes the snowflakes encounter, are created with cut-up advertisements, maps, articles, and more-all at which are from New York.  The text and illustrations work beautifully together to form a unique and creative experience for the reader. 

4.      Review Excerpt(s)

Booklist - “This clever blend of word and art will delight even poetry curmudgeons.”

Kirkus Reviews -  “Whimsical verse marries curious art…sly details abound.”

School Library Journal – “Dazzling…No one is better at clever wordplay than Lewis.”

5.      Connections

*Celebrate J. Patrick Lewis’ birthday on May 5^th with students.  Create birthday cards and words of affirmation about what they enjoyed about “The Snowflake Sisters”.

*Choose a season and a symbol of the season.  (Ex. autumn: leaf, or spring: seeds)  Students will write a poem about the cycle of the season and create an illustration using Lisa Desimini’s approach with collage artwork.

*Pull other poetry collections by J. Patrick Lewis.  Allow students to discuss the different poems and elements used in each.