American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults
Future Reflections Summer 2021 REVIEW
by Cathy Camper
Reviewed by Deborah Kent Stein
TEN WAYS TO HEAR SNOW
by Cathy Camper
Illustrated by Kenard Pak
Kokila/Penguin, 2020
32 pages, ages 4-8
ISBN: 9780399186332
Available from NLS as DB102866
"When Lina woke up, everything was quiet," begins this charming picture book for young readers. "No cars honked, no buses chugged, no garbage trucks gulped trash across the street." Lina knows at once that snow has fallen.
By invoking the unusual quiet of the city neighborhood, the author focuses the reader's attention on the sounds that are missing and sets the stage for the story that lies ahead. This is a book about discovering and delighting in the special sounds of a snowy day in the city.
On this snowy morning Lina bundles up in her winter clothes, says goodbye to her mother, and sets off down the street to visit her grandmother. Together they will make warak enab, or stuffed grape leaves, for a special family party. On her way Lina thinks about her grandmother, who is losing her sight. As she pulls her scarf around her face Lina can hardly see, and she wonders if this is how the world appears to her grandmother.
"The world sounded softer, but the noises she heard were clearer," Lina observes. She hears the "Scrrra-a-ape, scrip!" of Mrs. Watson's shovel, digging out the sidewalk. She hears the "Snyuck! Snyuck! Snick!" as her boots crunch snow into tiny waffles. Then she hears the soft "Ploomf!" as a blue jay knocks a clump of snow off a branch.
Lina begins to count the sounds she hears. She hears the "Swish-swish!" of people sweeping snow off their cars, and the "Scritch, scratch, scritch, scratch!" of skis. She notices the "Pat, pat, pat" of mittened hands making a snowman and the "Thwomp!" as someone throws a snowball at her. By the time she reaches her grandmother's place, Lina has counted eight ways to hear snow. At her grandmother's place she counts two more.
Together Lina and her grandmother stuff and roll the grape leaves, which look like little leaf cocoons. As they work together, they talk about the sounds of snow that Lina has observed and counted. Lina realizes that her grandmother was fully aware that it was a snowy morning because of the sounds she heard.
This small book has earned some impressive recognition. It was selected as one of the best children's books of 2020 by National Public Radio. It is listed as one of Powell's Best Children's Books of 2020, and it is a National Indie Bestseller. The attention is well deserved. Lina's blind grandmother is shown as capable and funny, a companion and role model for her young granddaughter. The portrayal of a Lebanese American family adds to the book's appeal. Small children will delight in imitating the “Scrrr-a-pe!” and “Scritch!” and “Ploomf!” as the book is read aloud. Most of all Ten Ways to Hear Snow is a book that will encourage young children to notice the sounds they hear and to discover how much they can learn about the world simply by listening.