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CM . . .
. Volume VIII Number 8 . . . . December 14, 2001
This lyrical
book unfolds the answer to the question, "What is snow?" This question
is asked of a young girl by her pen pal from Ghana who has never experienced
snow in any of the multitude of forms a Canadian knows well. The author,
then, in what she terms "lipslipperiness," explains all of the ways that
the snow can act on the senses.
Sheree Fitch uses flights of language
and imagery to describe a Canadian winter. She finishes the book by
finding an imaginative way for a person who has never seen snow to share
in a common activity from across the globe. The idea for this book came
from an exchange program to Belize where a small boy posed this very
question to the author who found herself trying to explain snow to someone
that had never experienced it. Fitch then uses the explanations about
snow to illustrate the similarities between cultures: just as no two
snowflakes are alike, nor are any two people, even when they enjoy the
same sunshine. The strong sense of place evoked by this book is reminiscent
of David Bouchard's If You're Not from the Prairie, except that
this book makes the experience of snow universal.
Janet Wilson's work has won the Elizabeth
Mrazik-Cleaver award as well as having been twice named an honour book
for the Amelia Frances Howard-Gibbon Award. She is familiar with and
conveys particularly Canadian scenes with aplomb. The double-page spreads
in this volume, as well as comparing the Christmas days in Ghana and
Canada, use glowing pastel illustrations in which the snow shines, freezes
and melts. Highly Recommended. Betsy Fraser is the Youth Services Librarian with Calgary Public Library.
To comment on this
title or this review, send mail to cm@umanitoba.ca.
Copyright © the Manitoba Library Association. Reproduction for personal
use is permitted only if this copyright notice is maintained. Any other
reproduction is prohibited without permission.
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