Flurry, Float, and Fly!

The first falling of gentle snow is magical and so is Laura Purdie Salas' new book, "Flurry, Float, and Fly - The Story of a Snowstorm". 

Growing up in Central New York, reminds me of the beautiful illustration on the cover of Laura's book. Lovely white snowflakes descending into billowy snow piles is an annual weather scene in Syracuse, NY that occurrs from November to Easter. As you can see from the scene to the left, Illustrator, Chiara Fedele, captures the joy of children frolicking in piles of snowy wonder, taking me back to my own early snow days. 

Author and poet Laura Purdie Salas did not live in a wintery, snowy climate when she was a child and wished for snow. Perhaps this is why she fell in love with winters in Minnesota and shares her joy in this book that opens with color changes in clouds and the wish for snow.

As you read on, the lyrical rhyming and the gorgeous winter scenes mix with meteorological wording give a magical tone to the storyline. "From the north, a polar freeze... from the south, a humid breeze. All winds advance. They mix and dance."  Can you feel the cold and imagine the winds dancing in the sky? This amazing children's book moves on to a beautiful two-page display of a variety of snowflakes with rhyme and the repetition of the title: "Stars and columns fill the sky with dreams to flurry, float, and fly."

It is no wonder that the Kirkus Reviews writes that "deft wordplay and lovely art blend for a tale of a most magical snowy day".

Mid-book a gorgeous scene and lyrical verse not only introduces words that share the serenity of snowflakes drifting downward but a sky of layered colors.

I found many tranquil scenes in the book. One in particular showcases a country house covered by fleeting snow at evening time. Ahh, how lovely!

The ending takes the reader back to the excitement of children enjoying  winter fun outdoors. Laura Purdie Salas offers much more beyond the story. On her website's book page, she shares many resources including, 4 short videos (from the publisher, 2 short writings about her process, 1 silly one to introduce a science weather concept), several downloadable activity sheets, photos of one history of snow, winter poems, and links for educators. Laura also offers a Giveaway to teachers that add student's snowflakes to her Snowflakes Padlet. You can find that here and so many more classroom activities, such us back matter on the science of snow. 

Add this book to your classroom and school library so children can engage in the magic of a snowstorm. A read aloud of the book in the reading corner following with a discussion on how the science of snow blends with poetry is an excellent starter. Be creative with the multiple activities that Laura Purdie Salas offers so they can reflect on nature and the season of winter. Create a Flurry, Float, and Fly! bulletin board to bring winter inside, although the season is not officially here. Meteorologists are already sharing news as the first snowfall moves across the states. So teachers, enjoy the first snowfall virtually or in real time with your students. Create a Flurry, Float, and Fly! bulletin board to bring winter inside, although the season is not officially here. Add in this lovely quote by Lewis Carroll. 

I wonder if the snow loves the trees and fields that It kisses then so gently? And then it covers them up snug, you know with a white quilt; and perhaps it says, 'Go to sleep, darlings, till the summer comes again.' " 

I am adding an equation poem, the format comes from Laura Purdie Salas' Classroom Connections posts. This poem, Flurry, Float, and Fly! connects me with her book and follow-up classroom topic.

snow + imagination + creativity = classroom fun

Today is Flurry, Float, and Fly!'s Book Birthday - 

🎂 the Official Publication Date! 🎂

Thank you, Laura and  Ciara for creating this wonder-filled book. 

____________________________________________________________________

This Slice of Life is dedicated to the educators who provide noteworthy books to their students and family members who continue the art of reading in their homes.

at Two Writing Teachers

Celebrating the Book Birthday of "The Thing To Remember About Stargazing"

Did you know that books have birthdays? It is not a party with cake and candle blowing but it is a splendid send-off into the world on the day the book is published. Come celebrate a wonder-filled children's book, THE THING TO REMEMBER ABOUT STARGAZING, by one of my talented children's book author and poet friends, Matt Forrest Esenwine. October 3, 2023 debuted the arrival of Matt's amazing book published by Tilbury House and illustrated by Sonia Maria Luce Possentini. Matt has a magical touch when writing and his newest book combines the wonder of the evening sky and the lure of "just being" still on a starlit night. 

Let's take a look at the book trailer premiere that gave the kidlit world a sneak peek into "this picture-book ode to stargazing with an underlying message of awe for the wonders of nature". 

Nature provides wonderers with so many awesome sights to see in this world. If you look closely at the front cover of Matt's book you notice the glow of the evening sky. Does this bring you back to your childhood? Did you once upon a time, trace the sky with your eyes and listen to the sounds of stillness? In a poetic way, Matt offers a voyage back into time or a new experience for those who cannot now see the amazing pictures glowing in the sky. 

The intro to the book reminds us that not only humans look to the sky at night. All creatures do."The stars look down on us all, and we all gaze upward. The night sky binds us together." This one line makes me reflect on a world at crossroads and how important it is to remember we all live on this great big planet. This book with its mindfulness theme offers a gentle new way to reflect in silence.

The illustrations enhance the magnitude of Matt's choice of words and the simplicity of his message for all. "The most important thing to remember about stargazing is...to do it."

After the end of this beautifully imagined book is an informational text, The Stars In Our Eyes, written once again from the poet's perspective. A new word for most children, asterisms, is introduced. "Images and patterns that we see within constellations are known as asterisms. Matt even adds a whimsical game to the act of stargazing. ...You can find your own asterisms in the night-sky-just connect a few dots (i.e.,stars) and come up with a name for the image you imagine. Perhaps you'll discover the Leaping Platypus, the Great Pickup Truck, or the Ancient Crazy-Haired Teacher."  

✯

I posed the following Questions for Matt to answer.

1. When you began your journey of writing this book, how long did the total process take?

The book took nearly 10 years from the time I wrote the original poem to the date it was published. In-between, it went from a poem titled "A Beginner's Guide to Stargazing" to a picture book manuscript titled, "The Thing to Remember About Stargazing" - and there was a lot of revision going on there, as well! You can learn more about the backstory here: https://writersrumpus.com/2023/10/06/the-thing-to-remember-about-stargazing-a-lesson-in-learning-to-rewrite-revise-recycle/. Within this thought lies the truth about writing. "Passion, Persistence, and Patience Counts!"

2. What is your process when creating a title for your books? 

As far as titles, half the time a title will come to me and I'll write the book around that, and half the time an idea will pop into in my head and I'll get the book halfway done before the title comes to me. But I like having a title as early in the process as possible, because it sort of keeps me on track, focused on the story/subject, almost like a compass pointing north. In the case of Stargazing, I had no choice but to change the title, so I used a line from the book as the title because it summed up the narrative very nicely.

✯

A piece of interesting information about Matt's successful career as a writer, poet, children's author: Matt is sending out StoryWalk(R) copies of his new book to two dozen libraries across the state of New Hampshire.

✯

As a certified Wonderopolis wonderologist, I am constantly wondering. Perhaps, classroom children would like to find out Why Do Stars Twinkle?  Find the response at Wonderopolis' Wonder of the Day #1818. 

✯

Thank you, Matt, for allowing me to enter your big universe of stargazing as I used to do as a child. Your book inspired me to write a small poem.

Within this book, I found a small poem

found

within this book

a universe of stars

a pathway to wonder

awe-struck, stilled moments

©CVarsalona, 2023

✯

Today is a happy day at Bridget Magee's blog post, wee words for wee ones. She is not only happy to be the Poetry Friday host but celebrate another year around the sun. Bridget has "decided to lean hard into happy because right now the world needs happy".