Favorite Winter Books 3: Snowflake Bentley

This weekend I decided that today would be our last winter book, even though I have a few more to share. It was warm and sunny this weekend (for around here at least) and I took down the winter books from the top of the shelves and replaced them with spring ones. But, today a chill has settled in and it feels right to share one of our favorites from this winter. Grandma sent "Snowflake Bentley" by Jacqueline Briggs Martin right after Rowan was born and it has been a favorite ever since.

I first encountered the man Snowflake Bentley, when by chance, my family ran into a museum about him in his small hometown in Vermont when we were on vacation. I didn't discover the book until recently. It won the Caldecott medal in 1999.

The woodcuts by Mary Azrian in this book are fabulous and I love the story. I love that Bentley's parents spent all their savings to buy him a microscopic camera so that he could follow his passion and share snowflakes with the world. I love that he became the world expert on snow crystals, not because he achieved a PhD or studied others' research, but because he spent all of his free time working on something he loved. I love sharing this with Jonah, because I see his love of researching and hope he will find his passions like Snowflake Bentley. Did I mention that he is asking for a microscope so he can see snow crystals too? I love it!