Pistes d'exploration

Discuss the way the author described snow using the senses. Was it effective? Why or why not?

Write a descriptive piece about something, emphasizing the senses, but don’t reveal the name of it. Share it with your friends to see if they can guess what you wrote about.

Write a letter to the author asking about her poetry and how she feels about snow. Consider including a drawing and description of yourself playing in the snow.

Discuss snow and related activities. On or just after the first snowy day of the school year, make a class word web about snow.

Compare activities that can be done in both snow and sand.

Explain/write about rainbows, northern lights or shooting stars to someone who has never seen them.

Once Upon a Northern Night

Mots-clés

Picture book , figurative language , letters , onomatopoeias , snow , stories in verse , winter , wordplay

Commentaire descriptif

Written in the form of a letter to a Ghanaian pen pal named Araba, this long poem—described by author Sheree Fitch as “lipslippery”—is a lyrical response to the question “What is snow?” and an eloquent celebration of ourselves and each other, of our sameness and our differences. An excellent read-aloud choice, it relies on poetic elements including imagery (air that is “peppermint clean”), onomatopoeia (snow that goes “cccrrunnchchch”), and alliteration (snow as “windwhipped waves of white”). The playful placement of text amid evocative pastel illustrations further depicts the myriad guises of our cold, white snow and the wintery recreation we enjoy. An author’s endnote explains the genesis of this book, which began with her Grade Two teacher’s assertion that “no two snowflakes are alike.” It also includes a short list of simple classroom activities that celebrate the senses.