The Castle Behind Thorns
Merrie Haskell
ISBN: 9780062008190
A lush and leisurely re-working of Sleeping Beauty set in Brittany in 1518, with saints and magic and themes of family betrayal, friendship, trust, and forgiveness.
Read December 28, 2014
Lovely to read through, but it will be a very specific middle-grade reader to appreciate the vocabulary, dense thematic structure, and really superbly slow narrative pace. It's fun for me as an adult, as a fast reader, and as someone who appreciates fairy-tale re-workings and historical fiction, but I think that it might easily fail to grab attention.
Sand (great name for a smith) wakes up in a fireplace, and realizes he's in the Sundered Castle, which has been hidden behind thorns since his father was a child. The castle is still hidden behind thorns, but now they are keeping him prisoner as well.
I'll try to remain vague to avoid spoiling everything.
I loved the slow build of exploration and discovery.
I loved the focus on mending and repairing, especially how it relates to the other characters.
I loved the unapologetic hatred towards war and violence.
I loved the way that forgiveness was presented - not as a religious or civic duty, but as an act of self-preservation and personal mental/emotional health.
I loved the mending magic, the saints, and the Greek afterlife complete with Lethe, shades, and pomegranate seeds.
I loved Sand's enormous complicated blacksmithing solution.
I loved that the resolution was prosaic and mundane and that the "punishment" for the guilty was self-inflicted (although that was a little too perfectly settled, and I really feel for that priest and those poor knights).
The author has another fairy-tale re-working (12 Dancing Princesses) that I have almost picked up several times and just never felt like it grabbed me: The Princess Curse. Now that I've read this one and have high opinions of the language and writing style, I might give that one a try even if the storyline itself doesn't seem as personally interesting.
Wednesday, December 31, 2014
New Picture Book: A Dance Like Starlight, Kristy Dempsey & Floyd Cooper
A Dance Like Starlight: One Ballerina's Dream
Kristy Dempsey, illustrated by Floyd Cooper (A Beach Tail)
ISBN: 9780399252846
Lyrical text and dreamlike sepia-textured scenes show the inspiration of Janet Collins in 1951.
This is a perfect pairing for Firebird, and I foresee an influx of beautiful black ballerinas in years to come, inspired by these two lovely books. (I'm already doing a storytime with these two and Amazing Grace - it's just too perfect not to.)
A young girl stands in the wings and imagines dancing along with the ballet corps, while her seamstress mother creates the fantastic ballet costumes for the dancers. A sympathetic dancing master, and a mother determined to inspire her child bring them to the Met for the debut of Janet Collins dancing - four years before Marian Anderson's debut.
Again, the storyline is beautiful, and the racial issues, while apparent and clear, aren't judgmental or vindictive. The entire work is hopeful and joyful, and I hope that it inspires others to reach for their dreams and to take courage from those who have gone before.
Kristy Dempsey, illustrated by Floyd Cooper (A Beach Tail)
ISBN: 9780399252846
Lyrical text and dreamlike sepia-textured scenes show the inspiration of Janet Collins in 1951.
This is a perfect pairing for Firebird, and I foresee an influx of beautiful black ballerinas in years to come, inspired by these two lovely books. (I'm already doing a storytime with these two and Amazing Grace - it's just too perfect not to.)
A young girl stands in the wings and imagines dancing along with the ballet corps, while her seamstress mother creates the fantastic ballet costumes for the dancers. A sympathetic dancing master, and a mother determined to inspire her child bring them to the Met for the debut of Janet Collins dancing - four years before Marian Anderson's debut.
Again, the storyline is beautiful, and the racial issues, while apparent and clear, aren't judgmental or vindictive. The entire work is hopeful and joyful, and I hope that it inspires others to reach for their dreams and to take courage from those who have gone before.
Tuesday, December 30, 2014
Three Parts Dead, Max Gladstone
Three Parts Dead
Max Gladstone
ISBN: 9780765333100
Sf/fantasy/urban fantasy/alternate world fantasy.
Craft Sequence titles: Three Parts Dead, Two Serpents Rise, Full Fathom Five, and (upcoming book's working title: Last First Snow)
This is a world where Gods exist, and live in (mostly) symbiotic spiritual cohabitations with humans: humans provide worship (soul energy) to the Gods, and the Gods use (some of) that energy to protect and prosper their people. The Gods also use the energy to protect and prosper themselves, and once they are strong and savvy enough (through worship and assiduous soul energy use) they also create complex power-sharing and alliance deals with other Gods.
A few generations ago, science finally caught up to religion, and Crafters were realized - essentially scientists realized that this soul energy could be measured, realized, and harnessed, and quite a lot of scientists became essentially mages who reaped soul energy from anywhere they could find it (usually destructively) as they tested the limits (pretty much non-existent) and abilities (pretty much endless) of their new power-source. The Gods realized they were in danger from these atheistic power-hungry humans, and Craft-less humans realized that these upstarts were either going to 1) compete with their Gods for available soul energy (weakening the Gods by cutting into their power-monopoly), and/or 2) destroy the countryside in their mad scientific pursuit of knowledge (and, let's be honest here, more power).
So the Craft and the Gods fought a huge and bitter war, leaving many Gods dead, most normal people scarred by the flagrant abuse of powers on both sides, and the Craft hiding in the skies from the potentially pitchfork-wielding mobs.
Now, the Hidden Schools and the countries ruled by the elder statesmen of the Craftspeople do their best to stay hidden, to find and nurture young Crafters, and, secondarily, to provide services and scientific advances for the enclaves of the religious, and to the people in the countrysides.
Got all that?
Into this world, a traumatic and potentially catastrophic event: One of the few remaining Gods, Kos Everburning of the city of Alt Coulumb, is dead. Gods are really not meant to die, and this specific death is being blamed on a power imbalance (the party line is that either Kos or his Church didn't adequately monitor the soul energy contracts he was involved in, and an unexpected call for aid precipitates his fall). Our heroines are essentially soul-lawyers and Craft-investigators, and they have their suspicions.
I love this world, and the interesting balances of power and responsibility, and the differences in knowledge and worldview provided by different characters who are either religious or not, or who are conversant in Craft or not, are really clever ways to present information about the world that may or may not be so much fact as opinion.
On the downside, the way this world deals with nearly unlimited potential power-scales and abilities made it a perfect recommendation for my husband, which is a real shame because he devoured this one in two days and started on Two Serpents Rise before I could get my hands on it!
Max Gladstone
ISBN: 9780765333100
Sf/fantasy/urban fantasy/alternate world fantasy.
Craft Sequence titles: Three Parts Dead, Two Serpents Rise, Full Fathom Five, and (upcoming book's working title: Last First Snow)
This is a world where Gods exist, and live in (mostly) symbiotic spiritual cohabitations with humans: humans provide worship (soul energy) to the Gods, and the Gods use (some of) that energy to protect and prosper their people. The Gods also use the energy to protect and prosper themselves, and once they are strong and savvy enough (through worship and assiduous soul energy use) they also create complex power-sharing and alliance deals with other Gods.
A few generations ago, science finally caught up to religion, and Crafters were realized - essentially scientists realized that this soul energy could be measured, realized, and harnessed, and quite a lot of scientists became essentially mages who reaped soul energy from anywhere they could find it (usually destructively) as they tested the limits (pretty much non-existent) and abilities (pretty much endless) of their new power-source. The Gods realized they were in danger from these atheistic power-hungry humans, and Craft-less humans realized that these upstarts were either going to 1) compete with their Gods for available soul energy (weakening the Gods by cutting into their power-monopoly), and/or 2) destroy the countryside in their mad scientific pursuit of knowledge (and, let's be honest here, more power).
So the Craft and the Gods fought a huge and bitter war, leaving many Gods dead, most normal people scarred by the flagrant abuse of powers on both sides, and the Craft hiding in the skies from the potentially pitchfork-wielding mobs.
Now, the Hidden Schools and the countries ruled by the elder statesmen of the Craftspeople do their best to stay hidden, to find and nurture young Crafters, and, secondarily, to provide services and scientific advances for the enclaves of the religious, and to the people in the countrysides.
Got all that?
Into this world, a traumatic and potentially catastrophic event: One of the few remaining Gods, Kos Everburning of the city of Alt Coulumb, is dead. Gods are really not meant to die, and this specific death is being blamed on a power imbalance (the party line is that either Kos or his Church didn't adequately monitor the soul energy contracts he was involved in, and an unexpected call for aid precipitates his fall). Our heroines are essentially soul-lawyers and Craft-investigators, and they have their suspicions.
I love this world, and the interesting balances of power and responsibility, and the differences in knowledge and worldview provided by different characters who are either religious or not, or who are conversant in Craft or not, are really clever ways to present information about the world that may or may not be so much fact as opinion.
On the downside, the way this world deals with nearly unlimited potential power-scales and abilities made it a perfect recommendation for my husband, which is a real shame because he devoured this one in two days and started on Two Serpents Rise before I could get my hands on it!
Tuesday Storytime: African American Dancing Dreams
Chalk another one down for my absurdly specific storytime themes!
It's not my fault, really. I ordered Firebird, and then A Dance Like Starlight came through as a new addition the same week, and I've loved Amazing Grace since forever (blame Reading Rainbow).
We started with Amazing Grace, because that one really is at the length-limit for my age-group, then I put Firebird in the middle, and A Dance Like Starlight at the end. The entire storytime was a little on the long side, but they all went together so well that I felt it was worth it. I did end up "abridging" Amazing Grace and Dance Like Starlight a little bit on the fly.
Amazing Grace
Mary Hoffman, illustrated by Caroline Binch
ISBN: 0803710402
Classic Reading Rainbow book about sexism, racism, and the power of acceptance.
Grace is an imaginative, dramatic girl who loves to act out stories. When her teachers decides to do a class performance of Peter Pan, Grace wants to be Peter - but her classmates disagree - she can't be Peter because she's a girl, and she can't be Peter because she's black. Her mother and grandmother disagree, and take her out to see a beautiful black ballerina performing in Romeo and Juliet. Grace learns her lines, auditions with her whole soul, and the whole class ends up agreeing that she will be a perfect Peter Pan. The final image of her in her costume is one of my favorite illustrations in a picture book.
Firebird
Misty Copeland, illustrated by Christopher Myers
ISBN: 9780399166150
Reviewed here,
I liked how it was so conceptually different from Amazing Grace, and the way the art and colors are so vivid and wild and surreal, but at the same time, very clear and understandable.
A Dance Like Starlight
Kristy Dempsey, illustrated by Floyd Cooper (A Beach Tail)
ISBN: 9780399252846
Reviewed here.
The sepia tones in this story felt much more drab compared to Firebird and Amazing Grace, but I don't think it detracted from the story. The text doesn't seem very long on the page, but when reading, it goes a lot more slowly, and it isn't very intuitive and flowing (at least it wasn't for me). I ended up eliding or abridging sections, especially because it was the last book and the wiggle-worms were out in full force.
It's not my fault, really. I ordered Firebird, and then A Dance Like Starlight came through as a new addition the same week, and I've loved Amazing Grace since forever (blame Reading Rainbow).
We started with Amazing Grace, because that one really is at the length-limit for my age-group, then I put Firebird in the middle, and A Dance Like Starlight at the end. The entire storytime was a little on the long side, but they all went together so well that I felt it was worth it. I did end up "abridging" Amazing Grace and Dance Like Starlight a little bit on the fly.
Amazing Grace
Mary Hoffman, illustrated by Caroline Binch
ISBN: 0803710402
Classic Reading Rainbow book about sexism, racism, and the power of acceptance.
Grace is an imaginative, dramatic girl who loves to act out stories. When her teachers decides to do a class performance of Peter Pan, Grace wants to be Peter - but her classmates disagree - she can't be Peter because she's a girl, and she can't be Peter because she's black. Her mother and grandmother disagree, and take her out to see a beautiful black ballerina performing in Romeo and Juliet. Grace learns her lines, auditions with her whole soul, and the whole class ends up agreeing that she will be a perfect Peter Pan. The final image of her in her costume is one of my favorite illustrations in a picture book.
Firebird
Misty Copeland, illustrated by Christopher Myers
ISBN: 9780399166150
Reviewed here,
I liked how it was so conceptually different from Amazing Grace, and the way the art and colors are so vivid and wild and surreal, but at the same time, very clear and understandable.
A Dance Like Starlight
Kristy Dempsey, illustrated by Floyd Cooper (A Beach Tail)
ISBN: 9780399252846
Reviewed here.
The sepia tones in this story felt much more drab compared to Firebird and Amazing Grace, but I don't think it detracted from the story. The text doesn't seem very long on the page, but when reading, it goes a lot more slowly, and it isn't very intuitive and flowing (at least it wasn't for me). I ended up eliding or abridging sections, especially because it was the last book and the wiggle-worms were out in full force.
Monday, December 29, 2014
Romance: The Captive, Grace Burrowes
The Captive
Grace Burrowes
ISBN: 9781402278785
PTSD and other scars of captivity and abuse are lightly, but coherently, glossed over as wounded warriors find comfort and family with each other.
This isn't going to be a review, more of a ramble, so if you don't like being thoroughly spoiled, feel free to enjoy the short version: it was enjoyable, written with proper language/relationships, and has an interesting emotional through-line connecting all of the major characters.
Now for the longer, rambly, spoilery bits. You've been warned!
First-off, the author really ought to be careful including symptoms of PTSD in her stories without understanding how pervasive and debilitating it can be. On the one hand, I don't like reading about tortured psyches and broken bodies, so I appreciated the light touch. On the other hand, by glossing over the very real debilitating symptoms so lightly, the author runs a real risk of angering readers who are familiar with these real-world traumas.
Second, how delighted I am that the author actually uses proper (mostly) forms of address and names and usages. So many "regency" or "historical" novels (romance and otherwise) use their setting and time-period about as well as a grade-school production of Shakespeare - a bit of window-dressing on the set, a few "quaint" mannerisms (that don't make sense in context and are actually from a totally different place and time), and a few misplaced attempts at formal speech ("thou" and "thee" misinterpreted as formal, or stilted phrasing substituting for actual dialogue). While authors like Mary Robinette Kobal perhaps go a bit far in the opposite direction (she has an actual research dictionary and refuses to let her characters speak a single word that can't be sourced from the proper time and place) it is at least refreshing to read something in an admittedly fluffy genre that has enough pride to actually present the time-period's language and mores somewhat accurately.
Thirdly (it's a Monday, lists are necessary) I get into the strangely sophisticated emotional resonances between the characters. The "Captive" of the title is most properly the hero: Christian Severn, Duke of Mercia. He was captured and tortured by the French (we're set here during the time of Napoleon) and upon the war's completion, was released and made his way back home. He is also the one suffering most obviously from what we see now as PTSD. However, the other two main characters are also captives who are suffering from their wounds. The heroine of the story is Gillian, Countess of Greendale (Christian's cousin-by-marriage), who has finally outlived her merciless abuser of a husband, and is suffering from her own wounds, which polite society and the requirements of politics mandates she keep secret. It would be enough for the story to have these two characters bond and recover based on their similar fragile states and slow recovery (in story terms, this is nearly a perfect relationship - in real-life, such emotional wounds nearly require an undamaged and preternaturally patient and empathetic loved-one to act as a support). However, these two aren't the only people involved. Christian has a daughter, the only other surviving member of his family, and she is silent through the entire book, supposedly due to the trauma of her father's absence and the deaths of her mother and brother. The real reason for her silence is revealed late in the story, showing that she too has been held captive.
I don't expect my fluffy reads to have much to them. Somewhat coherent plots are nice, somewhat established characterizations are even better. Emotional resonance is so far down that list that I don't even think about it - I just don't expect these books to have any real philosophical or emotional depth. Perhaps that is prejudiced of me, but I don't feel that it's a lack, just something the genre doesn't tend to select for. This book tho, it was interesting. I wouldn't say that it impacted me emotionally. but the writer-mind that lives in the back of my head was clapping with delight at each discovery that reveals the characters have more in common with each other and the main theme.
Now, all that said, don't expect the villain or the plot to be any great mystery - it is quite clear, and rather straightforwardly laid out along the traditional pattern, Likewise, the romance develops absurdly quickly, and several plot threads (or perhaps red herrings) are carefully laid out and then carelessly cast aside. Despite this, I enjoyed the reading immensely, and it's nearly all because of the intricate interior relationships and understandings that the main cast had for each other.
For those interested, this is apparently related to three other titles:
The Soldier
The Heir
The Virtuoso
Grace Burrowes
ISBN: 9781402278785
PTSD and other scars of captivity and abuse are lightly, but coherently, glossed over as wounded warriors find comfort and family with each other.
This isn't going to be a review, more of a ramble, so if you don't like being thoroughly spoiled, feel free to enjoy the short version: it was enjoyable, written with proper language/relationships, and has an interesting emotional through-line connecting all of the major characters.
Now for the longer, rambly, spoilery bits. You've been warned!
First-off, the author really ought to be careful including symptoms of PTSD in her stories without understanding how pervasive and debilitating it can be. On the one hand, I don't like reading about tortured psyches and broken bodies, so I appreciated the light touch. On the other hand, by glossing over the very real debilitating symptoms so lightly, the author runs a real risk of angering readers who are familiar with these real-world traumas.
Second, how delighted I am that the author actually uses proper (mostly) forms of address and names and usages. So many "regency" or "historical" novels (romance and otherwise) use their setting and time-period about as well as a grade-school production of Shakespeare - a bit of window-dressing on the set, a few "quaint" mannerisms (that don't make sense in context and are actually from a totally different place and time), and a few misplaced attempts at formal speech ("thou" and "thee" misinterpreted as formal, or stilted phrasing substituting for actual dialogue). While authors like Mary Robinette Kobal perhaps go a bit far in the opposite direction (she has an actual research dictionary and refuses to let her characters speak a single word that can't be sourced from the proper time and place) it is at least refreshing to read something in an admittedly fluffy genre that has enough pride to actually present the time-period's language and mores somewhat accurately.
Thirdly (it's a Monday, lists are necessary) I get into the strangely sophisticated emotional resonances between the characters. The "Captive" of the title is most properly the hero: Christian Severn, Duke of Mercia. He was captured and tortured by the French (we're set here during the time of Napoleon) and upon the war's completion, was released and made his way back home. He is also the one suffering most obviously from what we see now as PTSD. However, the other two main characters are also captives who are suffering from their wounds. The heroine of the story is Gillian, Countess of Greendale (Christian's cousin-by-marriage), who has finally outlived her merciless abuser of a husband, and is suffering from her own wounds, which polite society and the requirements of politics mandates she keep secret. It would be enough for the story to have these two characters bond and recover based on their similar fragile states and slow recovery (in story terms, this is nearly a perfect relationship - in real-life, such emotional wounds nearly require an undamaged and preternaturally patient and empathetic loved-one to act as a support). However, these two aren't the only people involved. Christian has a daughter, the only other surviving member of his family, and she is silent through the entire book, supposedly due to the trauma of her father's absence and the deaths of her mother and brother. The real reason for her silence is revealed late in the story, showing that she too has been held captive.
I don't expect my fluffy reads to have much to them. Somewhat coherent plots are nice, somewhat established characterizations are even better. Emotional resonance is so far down that list that I don't even think about it - I just don't expect these books to have any real philosophical or emotional depth. Perhaps that is prejudiced of me, but I don't feel that it's a lack, just something the genre doesn't tend to select for. This book tho, it was interesting. I wouldn't say that it impacted me emotionally. but the writer-mind that lives in the back of my head was clapping with delight at each discovery that reveals the characters have more in common with each other and the main theme.
Now, all that said, don't expect the villain or the plot to be any great mystery - it is quite clear, and rather straightforwardly laid out along the traditional pattern, Likewise, the romance develops absurdly quickly, and several plot threads (or perhaps red herrings) are carefully laid out and then carelessly cast aside. Despite this, I enjoyed the reading immensely, and it's nearly all because of the intricate interior relationships and understandings that the main cast had for each other.
For those interested, this is apparently related to three other titles:
The Soldier
The Heir
The Virtuoso
New Picture Book: Firebird, Misty Copeland & Christopher Myers
Firebird
Misty Copeland, illustrated by Christopher Myers
ISBN: 9780399166150
Chunky, vivid, textural collage highlights an aspirational story of dance and dreams.
Misty Copeland is a ballerina, an African-American ballerina, a GREAT ballerina. She came late to dance, and had many moments of doubt and hardship along the way (A Life in Motion). In this picture book, she contrasts the vulnerability and fear of a young dancer with the pride and accomplishment of a career ballerina. Misty dances through the pages as a professional, most notably in her role as the Firebird, but the focus is on a younger dancer, who is discouraged by the lack of role-models who look like her, who know her background, who feel her isolation. By focusing on the student, Misty can offer herself as an example, a role-model, and a potential mentor without coming across as preachy or holier-than-thou.
Lots of celebrities and activists try to create picture books, but they often go horribly wrong. While this isn't a masterpiece, it's a solid and inspiring read, and I'm glad to add it to our collection. I look forward to using it in a storytime about mentors, dancing, or inspiration.
Misty Copeland, illustrated by Christopher Myers
ISBN: 9780399166150
Chunky, vivid, textural collage highlights an aspirational story of dance and dreams.
Misty Copeland is a ballerina, an African-American ballerina, a GREAT ballerina. She came late to dance, and had many moments of doubt and hardship along the way (A Life in Motion). In this picture book, she contrasts the vulnerability and fear of a young dancer with the pride and accomplishment of a career ballerina. Misty dances through the pages as a professional, most notably in her role as the Firebird, but the focus is on a younger dancer, who is discouraged by the lack of role-models who look like her, who know her background, who feel her isolation. By focusing on the student, Misty can offer herself as an example, a role-model, and a potential mentor without coming across as preachy or holier-than-thou.
Lots of celebrities and activists try to create picture books, but they often go horribly wrong. While this isn't a masterpiece, it's a solid and inspiring read, and I'm glad to add it to our collection. I look forward to using it in a storytime about mentors, dancing, or inspiration.
Tuesday, December 23, 2014
Tuesday Storytime: Let it Snow! (and commentary on religious/holiday storytimes)
So I used Blizzard a bit sooner than I had originally planned.
Christmas-time storytimes are a little difficult, to be totally honest. I live in the Bible Belt of the USA, and Christmas is a cultural institution. In many ways, it is a secular holiday - Santa Claus, Elf on the Shelf, and "presents under the tree" for all sorts of families. However, around here, it is also a very VERY Christian holiday. For many people, Jesus is the reason for the season, so focusing on Santa won't cut it.
On the other hand, I have a feeling that there are a lot of people around here who are silent about their affiliations; Jewish, Muslim, atheist... and to have a public institution (a library, no less) featuring a specific religious holiday is unfair to the population as a whole - unless I also have the wherewithal to provide storytimes on Ramadan, Hanukkah, Solstice, and humanism (to be clear, I think most of my storytimes are humanistic) in order to balance the scales - and I can't do those because I don't have the necessary materials to do so.
Many libraries deal with the problem by simply not having storytimes around the winter holiday break - reasons given are that lots of staffers are on vacation, it's a dead time of year with patrons being out of town or hosting relatives - but I am here consistently, and I like to have the option available for people who need something to remain consistent and scheduled through the seasonal frenzy.
So what do I do? So far, I've ignored it completely. I tend to do a "winter" theme - this year it's snow-storms. I do feel a little sad that I can't read "The Night Before Christmas" to a group of adorable children, or that I can't show any of the beautifully-illustrated Nativity books to my families. But I just can't bring myself to do it. As a private person, I'll read those stories and love them, regardless of my personal beliefs, because I can appreciate the beauty in them as something separate. If a patron requests Christmas books, I'll find them the best ones I can, and enjoy the recommendation process. But with storytime, I have a whole group as a captive and un-knowing audience - they don't know what I'm going to read beforehand, and they really can't leave in the middle of things. Because I can't know my patrons' relationships with religion, because they're stuck with my readings, I feel I need to stay scrupulously secular.
Thankfully, there are reams of excellent books to choose from, including the three I read today!
Started with Blizzard, reviewed yesterday.
Cat and Mouse in the Snow
Tomek Bogacki
ISBN: 0374311927
Series title, textural painted "furry" sibling cats and sibling mice play in the snow.
I use this pretty consistently every winter, because it's short and sweet and has lots of movement and flow in the narration. The illustrations are grey and brown and white and could be dreary, but always manage to have enough energy and dynamic focus to keep from being bland. A cat and mouse head out to play one morning in their meadow, but find a snow-covered landscape. They search for the green meadow, but fall down a snow-mound and are covered in snow, whereupon their siblings (mice and cats) emerge and are frightened by the two "monsters" until they also fall down the snow-mound, are equally covered in snow, and proceed to play together all evening. Sweet, no drama, no bad behavior from anyone.
Big Snow
Jonathan Bean (Building Our House)
ISBN: 9780374306960
A boy pesters his mom about an incoming snowstorm through the day. Sketchy, color-blocky.
I love the opening and closing spreads of the neighborhood, comparing them before the snow (please note the sad sled being pulled in dead grass) and after the snow makes everything soft and indistinct.
I also love the mom, who is unfailingly kind to her distracted child even when his "help" with the chores simply makes her own work harder.
I also love that the story managed to get some freaky snowstorm-inside-the-house imaginary scenes in there as a dream sequence - very Jumanji-like, but having it framed as a dream means the story itself remains very true to life.
Good pacing, good character movement and posture, and a fun story as much about anticipation as it is about snowy days.
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