Melissa Stewart
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Under the Snow

Under the Snow

illus by Con­stance R. Bergum

Peachtree, 2009

for ages 4–8

ISBN 978–1‑56145–493‑8 (HC)

Under the Snow

ISBN 978–1‑68263–125‑6 (PB)

Pur­chase this book at your local inde­pen­dent book­seller or Amazon.com.

How do ani­mals liv­ing in fields and forests, ponds and wet­lands sur­vive in the heart of win­ter? Lyri­cal lan­guage and soft, love­ly water­col­ors intro­duce read­ers to a hid­den world under the snow.

Honors and Awards

  • Alaba­ma Camel­lia Book Award Nominee
  • Bank Street Col­lege Best Children’s Book of the Year, Out­stand­ing Mer­it Title
  • Cal­i­for­nia Eure­ka! Book Award, Sil­ver Honor
  • Char­lotte Zolo­tow Award, High­ly Commended
  • Chil­dren’s Coop­er­a­tive Book Cen­ter Choice
  • Hele­na Edu­ca­tion Foun­da­tion Fab­u­lous First Pick
  • Junior Library Guild selection
  • Kansas State Read­ing Cir­cle Pri­ma­ry Read­ing List, Top Pick
  • Maine Chick­adee Award nominee
  • Mass­a­chu­setts Book Award Finalist
  • Nation­al Sci­ence Teach­ers Association—Children’s Book Coun­cil Out­stand­ing Sci­ence Trade Book
  • Nation­al Sci­ence Teach­ers Asso­ci­a­tion Rec­om­mend­ed Title
  • New Hamp­shire Lady­bug Pic­ture Book Award Nominee
  • New York State Char­lotte Award Sug­gest­ed Read­ing List
  • North Dako­ta Flick­er Tale Children’s Book Award Nominee
  • Pacif­ic North­west Book­sellers Asso­ci­a­tion Book Award Nom­i­nee Reviews
  • Soci­ety of School Librar­i­ans Intl, Best Book, Science
  • South Car­oli­na Book Award Nominee
  • South Dako­ta Prairie Bud Chil­dren’s Book Award Nominee
  • Sur­rey, British Colum­bia Schools’ Book of the Year Nominee
  • Texas 2 x 2 Read­ing List
  • Young Hoosier Book Award Nominee

Reviews

“[In this] lyri­cal por­trait of the “hid­den world” beneath the snow … words and art com­bine to give read­ers glimpses under­neath the snow — and in some cas­es under the ground — divulging secrets of sur­vival for many species as they get ready for spring. Many of the facts will wow chil­dren … and pique inter­est to read more. A great com­pan­ion book for Joyce Sidman’s Song of the Water­boat­man and Oth­er Pond Poems (2005), this beau­ti­ful pic­ture book will com­ple­ment the sci­ence cur­ricu­lum and also makes for a great read aloud.” (Book­list)

“Stew­art takes read­ers on an infor­ma­tive jour­ney, describ­ing how snakes, voles, spot­ted sala­man­ders, carp, beavers, and red-spot­ted newts, among oth­er ani­mals, “spend their days” dur­ing the win­ter months. Fas­ci­nat­ing facts make the spare text intrigu­ing and fun. Beau­ti­ful paint­ings in mut­ed water­col­ors con­vey the crea­tures in their habi­tats and the qui­et of the sea­son. This pleas­ing addi­tion is a great read-aloud for units on win­ter and ani­mal habi­tats.” (School Library Jour­nal)

“win­ter exis­tence of ani­mals and fish, includ­ing lady­bugs, snakes, voles and carp. While chil­dren get ready to go sled­ding and skat­ing and make snow­balls, ani­mals, rep­tiles and insects pre­pare to wait out the win­ter in their own ways. Soft­ly glow­ing water­col­or illus­tra­tions add tex­ture and depth to this sooth­ing and edu­ca­tion­al book suit­able for ages 4 and up.” (Chil­dren’s Book­watch)

“Ever won­der what hap­pens to bugs, frogs and wild ani­mals in win­ter? ‘[U]nder the snow lies a hid­den world,’ states this lyri­cal work of non­fic­tion by Melis­sa Stew­art. Water­col­ors by Con­stance Bergum con­trast the live­li­ness of these hid­den crea­tures with the chill land­scape above them. The tight­ly curled wool­ly bear cater­pil­lar and the bare­ly breath­ing pond frog seem to pulse with qui­et ener­gy. Read­ers can also find the lady­bugs nes­tled in a stone wall, a vole mak­ing snow tun­nels and a chip­munk snooz­ing in its bur­row. After shar­ing this beau­ti­ful book, step out­side with your child and togeth­er imag­ine the win­ter crea­tures around you.” (Wash­ing­ton Post)

“This is an ide­al tool for inte­grat­ing inquiry and good lit­er­a­ture.” (Nation­al Sci­ence Teach­ers Association)

Behind the Book

“Many authors have writ­ten books about hiber­na­tion. But I want­ed chil­dren to know that many ani­mals stay active all win­ter long — even under the snow. I’d done lots of research and I’d been try­ing to write the man­u­script for a long time. But it just wasn’t com­ing togeth­er for me.

“On a frigid win­ter night in 2004, I dragged myself out of the house to hear author-illus­tra­tor Tim­o­thy Basil Ering speak at an event spon­sored by the Foun­da­tion for Children’s Books. Tim was so engag­ing, so charis­mat­ic, his ener­gy was so con­ta­gious that I was inspired to take anoth­er stab at my man­u­script as soon as I got home. I fin­ished the new draft around 1:00 a.m., took it to my cri­tique group meet­ing the next night, made some changes based on their sug­ges­tions, and mailed it to my edi­tor the next day. Six months lat­er, she called to say the book had been accept­ed for pub­li­ca­tion. Thank you, Tim!”

Festival of Trees
Christ­mas tree with orna­ments inspired by Under the Snow dis­played at the Fes­ti­val of Trees at the Con­cord Muse­um, Con­cord, MA

Series at a Glance

You’ll also enjoy …

When Rain Falls

Beneath the Sun
Under the Snow
When Rain Falls
spacer
Under the Snow

by Melis­sa Stewart

illus by Con­stance R. Bergum

Peachtree, 2009

for ages 4–8

ISBN 978–1‑56145–493‑8 (HC)

Under the Snow

ISBN 978–1‑68263–125‑6 (PB)

Pur­chase this book at your local inde­pen­dent book­seller or Amazon.com.

Book Extensions

COMPARING ANIMAL SIZES

CREATE A PICTURE STORY

CURRICULUM GUIDE

READ ALOUD GUIDE

READERS THEATER

SNOW MATH

VIDEO: WHERE DO IDEAS COME FROM?