Through the snow we go... (The Snow Lambs - Debi Gliori)

Member Name: juicy_lucy

Product:	The Snow Lambs - Debi Gliori
Date:	20/03/06 (429 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Lovely bedtime story

Disadvantages: None

THE SNOW LAMBS

This is one book which I have read time after time during Literacy Hour to children in Key Stage 1 and also Lower Key Stage 2 and also to my own daughter. It is a thought provoking book which usually provokes wonderful discussions. It is an excellent book to read snuggled up on a cold winter's evening, and there will be sure to be long discussions about the heroics of Bess the sheep dog.

THE STORY
This focuses on Sam and Bess (the sheepdog), and their relationship with each other.
One snowy night, Sam and his dad are bringing the sheep back home before the storm starts, and although Sam thinks his dad has counted one of the sheep twice, dad carries on, and brings the sheep to a safer place. Sam is worried, however, about Bess, but after shouting briefly for Bess, dad goes inside, bolts the door, and comments that Bess is "useless" and says that being outside all night might "teach her a lesson". When I read this to children this is the first time they tend to go on side with Bess. Their natural moral justice makes them feel quite strongly that what dad does is very very wrong, and my daughter always wants him to go back outside because there is a sheep and a dog missing (however, she knows the storyline!).
Sam goes on to have his supper, have a bath and has his hair washed. All of the time, he is thinking about Bess. He hopes Bess won't be blown away in the storm, and thinks that Bess will need a good hot bath when she finally gets in. When he goes to bed, he is hoping that Bess won't have to dig her way through the storm to get home, and when he gets his pyjamas stuck over his head so that he can't see anything, he is hopeful that Bess will be able to see her way home. Dad reads him a monster story and Sam is scared, and all the time thinks of Bess, because he thinks she may be afraid.
When it is finally time for bed, Sam refuses to go because he wants to wait for Bess, and suddenly, all of the lights go out and they have a power cut. Dad tells Sam not to worry about Bess, but that HE had better find his way to bed. It is this contrast between Sam all cosy in the house and Bess outside in the cold, which children comment on; they worry for Bess as Sam does.
Once in bed, Sam is unable to sleep; he thinks he hears a noise. Wjat is it? It sounds like a sheep bleating. He tiptoes downstairs, opens the door, and through the whirling snowflakes, he sees Bess. He is delighted, and dad has to concede that Bess is a better shepherd than he is because she has managed to bring his best ewe home again.
That night, in the warmth, and when the wind has dropped to a whisper, the kitchen is filled with new born bleating, and there are two new born lambs- snow lambs!
Ahhh! It really is a lovely story and children have some interesting debates about the contrast between the warmth inside and the cold outside

THE ILLUSTRATIONS

The illustrations perfectly match the suspenseful storyline. There are split image screens throughout the book, each one showing Sam at home in the warmth, and Bess and the trusting ewe outside in the cold. When Sam is in the bath, Bess and the ewe are splashing through icy water, while Sam is having his hair dried in an orangey warm looking interior, Bess is fighting through a grey landscape. They match the thoughts Sam is having about Bess and children do talk about the landscape and the owls looking on as the brave dog fights through the elements. The illustrations are almost like cartoons and really do convey cold/warmth and the emotions of the two sets of characters.

WHO WOULD ENJOY IT?
It is firstly a lovely bed time story book as I mentioned before, but it can be used to illustrate other ideas. I have used it to show how authors use illustrations to convey emotions and it's great to read to children to illustrate heroes. Just who is the hero in this story? We tend to think Bess and Sam! The vocabulary is also a lovely starting point. Talk about "whirling snowflakes" and the howling wind. How else could we describe the weather?

PUBLISHER
Scholastic Children's Books

ISBN
0 590 19548

OTHER BOOKS BY THE SAME AUTHOR
Give Him My Heart
No Matter What
Mr Bear's New Baby
Lion At Bedtime
When I'm Big
The Snowchild
My Little Brother

Definitely a book I would recommend.

Thanks for reading.

Daniela xx

Summary: Great betime story