Pistes d'exploration

Discuss the characteristics of rhyming words. List those in the book. What do they have in common? 

Choose animals not listed in the story and make up counting rhymes about them (e.g. like eleven toasty rats in warm furry hats). Add illustrations.

Create a T-chart and sort the synonyms for warm and cold found throughout the book. 

Count the objects on the pages. 

Identify the words in the story that are associated with winter or the cold. 

Create a new book cover to illustrate the idiomatic expression snug as a bug.

The Snowy Day

Mots-clés

Picture book , animals , ascending and descending order , counting , everyday life , similes , stories in rhyme , weather

Commentaire descriptif

Simile, counting and rhyme are the focus of this story about George and his mother’s trip to the park one cold day. All the way up to ten, the language conveys the range of ways in which George will stay cozy: “As warm as FIVE gnus in green furry shoes, or SIX sizzling goats in red overcoats.” The illustrations use vibrant colour and soft-edged forms to create cheerful scenes. George whizzes down the purple slide and his coat flies off. Mother stands, bundled in striped scarf and star-pattern rain boots: “Oh no.” The theme shifts from warm to cold imagery, and the countdown from ten begins. Beginning readers will appreciate the large print and the pictures’ exact representations of the words. Strong rhythms and clear images make it great for reading to a group. “You’ll be like ten sneezy kittens without any mittens” shows round-bellied kittens in the snow, with only hats and scarves to keep them warm. Six snails in gales, three mice on ice—finally George is convinced to don his coat. The final image shows him tucked in bed, “snug as a bug!”