In Honor of Picture Book Month.... The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats

     Founded by author Dianne de Las Casas, Picture Book Month is an annual event held every November as an international literacy initiative that celebrates this well-loved genre.  And, who doesn't love picture books--- filled with imaginative, vivid illustrations, their simple stories have long served as the entry way for young children's minds and imaginations to grow through the power of reading.

    One of the most prolific children's picture book writers and illustrators of our time, Ezra Jack Keats received the prestigious Caldecott Medal in 1963 for what is now considered to be one of the most important stories of the 20th Century, The Snowy Day. Known for paving the way for multi-culturally diverse settings to be featured in children's literature, Keats was also one of the early pioneers to use collage in his illustrations.  To say that the urban setting found throughout The Snowy Day brings a sense of comfort to my heart would be an huge understatement.

     As a child born during the early 1970s, a good deal of my early childhood was spent at my grandparents home, located on Adee Avenue in the Williamsbridge section of The Bronx, New York.

My grandparents home (the middle building) circa 1976.

Their three story red brick home was located across the street from the Parkside housing project, and within walking distance to the Rosewood playground (one of my favorite places to go to besides Hoft's Ice Cream Shop down on Burke Avenue).
     I can remember marveling, just as Peter did in Keats' story, at how practically overnight, everything outside of our respective homes looked so different.  So breathtaking was the power of snow, as it could bring a sense of quiet in a place where silence was an absolute rarity and at times, could sadly be, an ominous sound.  And, like Peter, I took simple pleasure during those cold winter days (when, awake and raring to go boots first into the frozen tundra only feet away, I warmed my tiny hands on the white radiator beneath the windows of my mother's old bedroom), playing in the tremendous snow mountains right outside our front door steps created by the New York City Department of Sanitation trucks.  The shared joy that Peter and I felt knowing that once our day's adventures in the snow were finished, we would waken the next morning to discover that we would be able to make more snow angels, build another small snowman on the front porch, and try, unsuccessfully once again, to bring the snowman into the house so he could meet my dog. It never turned out well for the snowman, sadly, as the dog licked the melted pieces of snow right up!
     The Snowy Day is a timeless classic that endures to this day, and whenever I long to remember those lovely memories that the magic of those first snowfalls brought of my youth, I'm so grateful to be able to reach for this tranquil, heartwarming tale in my bookshelves, and I'm instantly transported back to those gentle times.

The Snowy Day
Written and Illustrated by Ezra Jack Keats
Publisher:  Viking Juvenile (50th Anniversary Edition)
ISBN: 9780670012701
For ages 5 thru 8
Retails for $7.99 (Hardcover)