A Song for Snow

PreS-Gr 1—Judge's watercolor animal illustrations are endearing and atmospheric and her writing shimmers with music and whimsy. In her second story about the two owl siblings, Hoot and Peep sail over rooftops and holiday-lit evergreens as little Peep's big brother tries to remember what snow is like. "Does it scrrinkle scrattle like falling leaves?" asks Peep. Hoot recalls only that snow is cold, and he wraps his sister in a warm scarf. Then he lies in a treetop and waits for the first flake to fall. Peep isn't so patient—"I don't believe you. I think you just made it up"—and flies off with her little mouse friend to gather more information. What she does gather is some more wonderful sounds that children will want to echo: "Schweepity peep, chickity choot." Then the first feathery white flakes fall, mesmerizing every animal. "Snow's song is silence," Peep whispers to her brother as they watch the world turn white.