Annie and Snowball and the Wintry Freeze
by Cynthia Rylant,
illustrated by Sucie Stevenson.
Annie and her cousin Henry both love winter. Henry loves the things he can do in the snow. Annie loves wearing her special winter clothes. Henry’s big dog Mudge and Annie’s pet bunny also have different reasons for enjoying winter. Then the day comes when school is closed because of ice. Now all four can really have fun.
In the midst of summer heat, cool off with this gentle winter story.
It is filled with activities that ordinary kids like about snow, those experiences kids tell their teachers after a snow day, right down to the hot apple cider. At first glance, the characters seem stereotypical except girls really do like their pink polka-dot galoshes and boys really do like their hockey sticks and ice skates. There are plenty of ways they play in the snow together. There is no real story problem and very few complications.
The reading level is lower second grade so the majority of second graders could list story details. This book would be ideal for a Venn diagram reading activity in which students list reasons the different characters like winter and see where their reasons are the same and where they are different. This would also be a good book for students to make their own recorded book since the text is easy enough for them to read aloud.
Like this series? Read more Annie and Snowball stories.
Reading series gives second graders a comfortable place to spend time with familiar characters.
Annie and Snowball and the Magical House
TITLE: Annie and Snowball and the Wintry Freeze- AUTHOR: Cynthia Rylant
- ILLUSTRATOR: Sucie Stevenson
- PUBLISHER: 2010, Simon Spotlight, 40 pages, realistic fiction
- REVIEWER: Risa Brown
- ISBN: 978-1-4169-7205-1
