Happy Friday, Everyone!
I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!
If you’re like most of the folks around here, you got up from the Thanksgiving table, decked your halls with boughs of holly, put up your Christmas tree, and strung your holiday lights! Maybe you even put one of those gigantic Santa-on-a-motorcycle blow-up air balloon thingys in your yard! After all, Hanukkah begins two weeks from today, and Christmas is four weeks from today!
I am not nearly that organized! If I get a tree up by December 18 I’ll count myself totally on top of things. (And, if I’m honest, I’m a little worried about Violet vs. Christmas Tree… so waiting a little might not be a bad thing… 😊) But all the holiday preparations around me did get me thinking about snow. We barely had any last year, and although I have no need for treacherous roads and the like, a little frosting for the holiday season is so festive!❄️
So I thought this was the perfect book to share today!
Title: Waiting For Snow
Written By: Marsha Diane Arnold
Illustrated By: Renata Liwska
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, November 1, 2016, fiction
Suitable For Ages: publisher says 4-7… I think 3-6/7
Themes/Topics: patience, seasons (winter), snow, friendship
Opening: “Hedgehog found Badger staring at the sky.
“What are you doing, Badger?”
“Waiting for snow. It’s winter and I haven’t seen one snowflake.”“
Brief Synopsis: Poor Badger is desperate for snow, but no matter what he does the weather won’t cooperate. Hedgehog assures him that everything comes in its own time, but oh! it’s so hard to wait!!!
Links To Resources: waiting is hard, and kids have to do a lot of it! Have your kids/students make a list of things they have to wait for, or draw a picture of something they’re waiting for; 10 Ways To Play With Kids While You’re Waiting; 12 Games To Play While You Wait
Why I Like This Book: If you’ve ever had a kid… or been a kid… or, well, you’re anyone living life on this earth 😊 you’ve had to wait for things and you know how hard it is! (er, ahem, writers… agency and/or publishing contracts…! Am I right? 😊 ) This sweet, funny, and beautiful book is about a little badger who is waiting for snow. He and his friends try everything they can think of to hurry it along but, as is so often the case when you really want something to happen, nothing works. What he learns in the meantime is the value of good friends. What he learns in the end is that everything happens in its own time. I think we can all take a lesson from Badger’s experience 😊 The soft, fuzzy art is the perfect complement to the text – endearing, engaging, sweet!
I hope you enjoy it as much as I do 😊
For the complete list of books with resources, please visit Perfect Picture Books.
PPBF folks, please add your titles and post-specific links (and any other info you feel like filling out 🙂 ) to the form below so we can all come see what fabulous picture books you’ve chosen to share this week!
Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!!! 😊
Susanna Leonard Hill 
Waiting is SO hard and it definitely doesn’t get easier with time or age! This is a wonderful book and really love Renata Liwska’s illustration style. Hope you had a quiet & relaxing Thanksgiving.
I love her illustrations, too, Maria – so appealing! It was a quiet Thanksgiving – much downsized as I think it was for everyone – but very nice. Hope your’s was too!
Oh blerg. I get you, Badger. Waiting is SOOOO difficult. Sometimes when I’m waiting for a treat I get crazy and jump up and steal it. Too bad that doesn’t work for snow….
Love and licks,
Cupcake
I think it’s even harder to wait for treats than it is to wait for snow, Cupcake! 😊
Thank you, Susanna!
What a beautifully illustrated story with a great storyline!
I’m sure adults will love reading this to their children because, as you said, this message reaches all ages.
Cheers.
It’s a wonderful book! I hope you get to read it!
What a fun story with beautiful illustrations. Waiting is so hard, and children have had a lot of practice this past year. The upcoming holidays will be a nice distraction. Very timely book.
I think this book is as appropriate for me as it is for kids, Pat. I thought you were supposed to become more patient with age, but I think I’m getting less patient! 😊
Waiting for anything is hard! Just ask the people in this industry. This is such a sweet and sweetly illustrated story, a perfect pairing. Thanks for the rec, Susanna!
I’m glad you like it, Jilanne. I love the illustrations in this book!
Waiting. Yup. I’m putting in a kitchenette in the new space…and I’m looking at delivery times for fridge and stove…depending on which appliances I choose, I’ll be waiting…till the end of March for some of them.
And when editors get our manuscripts…more waiting.
I think this is a great book for all of us, Susanna…not just for the kids.
I totally agree, Vivian! And as I said to Pat above, instead of getting more patient with age as I grown in wisdom (snort!) I think I’m getting less patient! 😊
We haven’t had to wait long for snow in Colorado (have had 5 storms since September!), but I grew up hoping in NY! Looks lovely! And I hope Violet doesn’t think the tree in the house deserves the same treatment as trees outside! Happened to me once with a dog we sat for!
My daughter suggested I put a squirrel in the tree for Violet! Haha! That would have tree, ornaments, and Violet tangled in lights on the floor inside 3 seconds! 😊
Waiting sure can be hard!!!! 🙂
This book is what I’m doing right now. Waiting for snow. It’s not even in the forecast. Sunny skies. Blech. Waiting for snow! Thanks for sharing.
Waiting is so difficult – and while I can’t say that I’m particularly excited about snowy roads and icy dog walks, I am waiting for this rain to end. Happy belated Thanksgiving!