Book Report: The Snowy Day

17. Ezra Jack Keats, The Snowy Day (1962) (6/28/2020)

"One winter morning Peter woke up and looked out the window. Snow had fallen during the night. It covered everything as far as he could see." So begins this simple, and simply lovely, picture book, one that I'm amazed I've never read—indeed, hadn't even heard of until very recently, when I saw it mentioned in an article about diversity in children's books. It is, it turns out, the most checked-out book at the New York Public Library.

Two or three things make this book so special. First and foremost, it features an African American protagonist—and it was the first such book to win the coveted Caldecott Medal. (Here is Keats's acceptance speech.) Second, the story is utterly accessible, whether or not you even know what snow is (or being black is): it's simply about joy and anticipation and delight, things we should all celebrate. Third, the collage illustrations are exquisite. Here's another article on the making of the story and art.

Keats circa 1980

The author/illustrator, Keats, was the son of Polish immigrants, born in 1916. Following a career as a commercial illustrator, he illustrated 85+ children's books, and wrote and illustrated more than 20 of his own. The Snowy Day was his second book, and he wrote six more that featured Peter. The idea came in part from his noticing the dearth of children's books with African American heroes. More specifically, Peter is modeled on a child undergoing a blood test, whom Keats saw and cut out of a 1940 issue of Life magazine:

Maria Popova, of BrainPickings, devoted a page to Keats and The Snowy Day, in part to introduce a book about Keats and his award-winning book, A Poem for Peter. See? Beloved. Peter even became a postage stamp in 2017. I'm so glad I finally made his acquaintance.

I will end with a few of the beautiful illustrations from The Snowy Day:

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Covid-19 numbers for Monterey County: 1,548 total cases as of today, up 104 in the last few days and up 151 since last I posted on the 24th; hospitalizations now stand at 121, up 9 since Wednesday; and sadly, there has been a 13th death.

Stay well.