The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats
Shining Star Award - Winner
Ages 0 to 6 months +
First up is The Snowy Day, written and illustrated by Ezra Jack Keats. This was our son's first book, and was especially fitting because he was born during a snowstorm. We chose this book in part because the beautiful collage illustrations are high contrast images that are ideal for really young babies to take in. The Snowy Day is about a young boy named Peter who wakes up to freshly fallen snow and goes on a solo adventure to make the most of the winter day. Keats created an immersive world with cut and torn paper, paint, and patterned fabric, and he also seemed to capture a child's innocence and sense of wonder with ease.
This quality of Keats' work becomes even more apparent in other works that feature the Peter character, and the books seem to grow up with its protagonist. Whistle for Willie seems even more in tune with a child's way of thinking than The Snowy Day (with Peter spinning around in circles for no reason other than to make himself dizzy), and Keats also appears to experiment more with the imagery (like by using scraps of sandpaper for sidewalks).
Whistle for Willie by Ezra Jack Keats
Shining Star Award - Honorable Mention
Age 10 months +
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