Snow

Seasons with Granddad

by Sam Usher

Join a boy and his grandfather as they enjoy a snow day in the park!

Every child loves a snow day—no school and snowball fights galore! But Sam has to wait for Granddad, even though all the other kids have already gone to the park . . . and all the dogs . . . and all the zoo animals! Only when the two finally arrive does Granddad see why Sam was in such a hurry—and they have the best time playing with everyone in the snow.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Family, Animals, Storytime, Humor, Fiction

40 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2014

About the author

Sam Usher’s first book, Can You See Sassoon?, was long-listed for the Kate Greenaway Medal. He is also the author and illustrator of Snow, Rain, and Sun, the companion books to Storm, the first of which was long-listed for the Kate Greenaway Medal. He lives in England.

Reviews

[Steffi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Der Enkelsohn hat es eilig in die Schneelandschaft raus zu kommen, aber Opa lässt sich Zeit. Am Ende haben sie aber nichts verpasst. Die Illustrationen gefallen mir gut, besonders die Doppelseiten, auf denen ganz wenig los ist und damit den Blick auf die einzelne Figur lenken.

Aber warum sind in Kinderbüchern meist Opas mit Enkelsöhnen und Omas mit Enkeltöchtern unterwegs?

[Hilary · Rating 3 out of 5]

The cover is nice, it has a texture for the snow and the word snow is smooth. A young boy wakes to find deep snow, he is frustrated how long it takes his grandad to get ready to go out in it. He see the crisp snow gradually get trampled by others. When they eventually get out, there are some animals you wouldn't expect to find in the park. Some of the illustrations looked good, Quentin Blake style, but some looked a bit dated. I don't know why but so many books show a child going out in the snow wearing a hat and scarf but no coat, just a thin looking top!

[Luisa Knight · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ooh, ooh! Pick this one - you think it's just a normal little story about a boy and playing in the snow, but it's not. There's another element that will surprise the socks right off your feet. Your kids will gobble it up!

Ages: 3 - 7

Cleanliness: nothing to note.

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[Patricia N. McLaughlin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Spot-on description of a boy's impatience, but the story is derailed by the snowball fight with the zoo animals. Clever illustrations.

[Ioana · Rating 5 out of 5]

un mare hit cu fetița mea! ❤

https://ciobanuldeazi.home.blog/2023/...

[Raven Black · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute story about getting out there and into some good snow! A grandchild and granddad tale.

[Jaimie Morris · Rating 3 out of 5]

A lovely child-grandparent relationship is expressed throughout this book. With the untouched snow outside, all the little boy wanted to do is to go to the park, but there is an obstacle. While the boy gets ready, desperate to be the first child out in the snow, Granddad is reading in bed. He finally rises, but another child got there before him—and then a whole mob of them.

Usher uses large expanses of white space that increasingly show the traffic in the snow. His quirky ink and watercolour drawings are full of dancing and jumping children and animals. A double-page spread shows a calm elephant in a stocking hat, a girl and a frisky monkey perched on his tusks, is particularly amusing. Granddad looks wary, but he soon flings snowballs with the rest.

[Diane · Rating 5 out of 5]

The cover and illustrations are amazing, almost multi dimensional. Narrated by a young boy who wakes up to a rainy day and can't wait to go outside and play. His granddad thinks they should stay indoors until the rain stops, but the boy is persistent, waiting for the opportunity for new adventures outdoors. Overall, a beautifully illustrated and engaging rainy day adventure that is sure to please little ones in the 2-6 age range. This book is #2 of a seasonal series that began with "Snow". (5/5 stars)

[Ella · Rating 2 out of 5]

Young children may find this book quite funny and be able to relate to the impatience and imagination of the little boy in the book. The book also represents a different family type of child and grandad rather than the traditional nuclear family often represented, which is good. However, the story is a bit strange and doesn’t have a very strong message.

[Vicki · Rating 3 out of 5]

Simple text, large illustrations and a so so story.

[Olga Thompson · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite children’s series. Childhood is all about going outside and using your imagination. Any season, any weather.

[Jacob Ogilby · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really cool little story, lovely illustrations and Sam Usher does a really good job of encapsulating the imagination of a young child. All this along side the relationship with his grandfather who is playing along with his imagination.

[Tifa · Rating 4 out of 5]

The art style and story are very cute. This author shall be added to a list of authors for my baby suiting days. The story makes it exciting for kids to listen to or read on their own.

[Gabby · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book as it reminded me of my own childhood and going to play in the snow. I thought the illustration told a great story.

[Willow · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute!

[DBF · Rating 5 out of 5]

skvělé ilustrace, vtipný příběh.

[Lynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Catching up with this first book after reading and loving Rain. Some things are worth waiting for ;-)

I especially loved the illustrations of the snow play.

[Mehsi · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a combined review for Snow and Rain. Why? Because both books follow the same formula. It is *insert raining or snowing*, kid wants to go outside, grandpa is grumpy and takes ages, finally they go outside and then stuff happens.
Still I didn't mind the repetitiveness, since the illustrations were gorgeous, and I just wanted to see what would happen when they finally would go outside. When they would finally go out in the rain or in the snow. What would they encounter and find?

I also tagged this one as magical (octarine) due to the things that happens in these books. I am not sure if I liked the magical stuff, it just felt out of place a bit. You had this wonderful day with rain or snow, you would see what happens outside, and then when they do go outside there is that happening. It made me wonder if the kid was just dreaming this all instead of really going outside.

The grandpa also wasn't really the greatest. I hated how long he would take, or how he would hold back the kid. Especially in the Snow book I was frustrated. Why take HOURS to do stuff, when you could just change your clothes and dive outside. Come on, it is snowing, A LOT, and you would just rather take ages to do stuff instead of immediately going out. I felt terribly sorry for the little kid, he just wanted to go outside and he had to wait ages.

But I did love the art, the illustrations are just absolutely gorgeous and will have you wishing you could go to that little (or big) town. I also loved the little details or fun little things that were put in the book. And those covers, just absolutely gorgeous (especially the hardcover of Rain, the little drops of rain you can see, are actually touchable bumps on the books, which is just so much fun).

I also loved to see the town change. In both of the books the town changes quite a bit due to the amount of rain and snow.

I wasn't planning on reading both books so close to each other, I actually wanted to save the Snow book for when it was winter (and either it was snowing, though HA to that, or it was cold enough), but the past few days have been quite cold, and some parts of my country (not mine though) had a bit of snow.

Would I recommend these two books? Yes. And I will also be eagerly waiting to see what the next book will be about, since I read somewhere there were going to be 4 books in total.

Review first posted at https://twirlingbookprincess.com/

[Michael Fitzgerald · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had high hopes for this book as it unfolded. But then it got weird and fell flat.

[KC · Rating 3 out of 5]

Grandparent and grandson take a walk in the snow

[Viviane Elbee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovely picture book for fans of snow and zoo animals, snowball fights and fun times with grandpa.

[Danette · Rating 4 out of 5]

1/6/20 Read with Julia

[Abby Gross · Rating 4 out of 5]

Snow follows a young boy who wakes up and wants to play in the snow, but his Grandad is taking forever to get ready. Impatiently waiting, the young boy sees the huge expanse of white snow slowly cover with footprints as his friends (and others!) start to play outside without him. Eventually, the young boy and his Grandad go to the park where they get into a massive snowball fight with friends and zoo animals!

I enjoyed this story. The illustrations are pretty, especially the striking white pages that depict the huge sheets of snow on the ground. It depicts an interesting family dynamic (a child and grandad), that is very realistic for some students and could make them feel more included. The story shows that patience can pay off, as the young boy still had plenty of fun even if he was not the first one out in the snow like he wanted to be.

I would use this book as a read-a-loud during the winter season to talk about winter activities or to just have a fun read with the class. Maybe a writing or drawing assignment follows where they have to take a normal winter activity (ex: snowball fight, iceskating, etc) and make it silly in some way (ex: zoo animals in the snowball fight, etc).

[Calista · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is about a snow day. We just had a snow day here in Baltimore yesterday. It wasn't a lot, but it was pretty. This is the first year in 10 years since I've lived in Baltimore that we have had an actual winter.

I love this kid. He is so excited to go outside in the winter. He wants to be the first one out to make the first tracks in the snow. Right on. I love that too. There is something about being the first in the snow that's awesome. He has to wait on his grandpa to get ready and the old man is slow. So, he isn't the first one out. There is a surprise at the park.

The artwork is great. The house is the same for all four seasons. I like the continuity. This is ink and watercolor. I love all the snow and the tracks in it. It feels very winter.

Kids that love going out in the snow will enjoy this book.

[Anna · Rating 2 out of 5]

I totally thought this book would be about a boy finding a penguin outside in the snow as per the illustration on the cover. It's nothing like I expected the story to be. The penguin isn't mentioned in the story, but it is in a couple of the illustrations. I'm honestly really interested in this penguin and want to know. The illustrations are alright and go fine with the story. I do like the initial message of the story though that some things are worth waiting for.

SPOILER AHEAD:

We see the penguin near the boy during the snowball fight and then under the table at the boy's house. I'd like to know more about this penguin! How did it get there? Why is there? Do they know the penguin is with them? Will the penguin live with them now? I NEED ANSWERS.

[Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book isn't one of my favorite children's books, but it was a wonderful book. The illustrations are very, very nice. They capture what is going on with the story, but don't have extra cluttering illustrations.

But the thing I liked most about the story was the fact that this little boy who wanted to go play in the fresh snow cajoles his grandfather - not a mother or a father - to take him. I really like books that reflect modern family relationships. The story does not give any mention to a mother or father, but the story does not need that. Grandpa is ready to have fun with the boy. The story is all the better for it.

[Joanna And · Rating 5 out of 5]

Little LB loves the embossed cover... she slides her fingers across the penguin’s footprints and talks about how it feels. She is only 2 years old, so books that say a lot with fewer words and detailed illustrations capture her attention. She is in love with the page that says “before anyone else” and shows a big yard full of undisturbed white snow, which appeals to me too as a native Buffalonian. A lot of the story is told through the illustrations, which is perfect for developing the imagination! This book has been requested in my house 3-4 times a day at least for the past week since our most recent snowstorm, and I am still not sick of sharing it with her!

[Bethany · Rating 5 out of 5]

A boy and his grandfather get ready (slowly, oh so slowly) for a day in the freshly fallen snow. The boy wants to leave immediately. The grandfather would like to be clean, dressed, and ready for the adventure. By the time they leave the house, everyone and the zoo has already made it to the park for a snowball fight. But the extra people mean extra fun.

Like Rain, by the same author, this book's quiet tone and gentle nudges toward patience's reward are a perfect balance for the boy's desperate longing for the fun times to be had outside.

[Lori · Rating 4 out of 5]

ES Librarian review: I don't know why, it's such a simple book with such a weird ending, but I loved it and think I'll use it in a lesson next winter. It tells a story of a kid who can't wait for his grandpa to get ready to take him out in the snow, and by the time they get outside a bunch of random animals from the zoo appear? That part annoyed me a little bit for some reason, but I know my kids will think it's silly and funny, and for that reason I'm giving it 4 stars.

[Colona Public Library · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love this series about the Weather. Every book involves the same grandfather and grandson. The grandson is excited for the season change and is always waiting for his grandfather to get outside. In this book it is snow. The grandson gets up earlier and wants to play in the snow before any other person or animal leaves tracks. The grandfather is not as fast as his grandson. Eventually, they make it outside and get to play in the snow at the park.