I was delighted to have a chance to share Laura Purdie Salas’s upcoming “Flurry, Float and Fly! The Story of a Snowstorm” with my second grade students recently. As Maine residents, we’re all well-versed in snow, so would they be the perfect audience for a snowy book or a snow-jaded lot?
As we settled in to read, the book quickly grabbed their attention. It is a gorgeous match between words and images. The rhyming was so well-crafted, that it took them a while to notice it, and they were delighted when they did. It really is masterfully done! Here’s the jet stream described oh-so-efficiently and oh-so-poetically:
“From the north,
a polar freeze…
from the south,
a humid breeze…
All winds advance.
The mix and dance. “
The kids oohed and aahed over several of the spreads, including this one:
“The words go down, down, down….Just like snow!” one student gushed. On another spread, they loved how Laura spaced her words across the page and greatly admired her use of ellipses ( a favorite second grade form of punctuation!). On other pages students noticed how Laura used larger font and capitals to make words pop out. By the end of the book, my students were chanting along with the refrain, “flurry, float and fly.”
As we discussed the book, they asked me to turn back to this next page again and again. It captures the magic of early morning snow and the arrangement of words and those lovely ellipses invite you to linger…to slow down and just take it all in.
As a bonus, there are several pages of back matter to dig into. In them, the science of snow is beautifully and clearly articulated, with explanations of the jet stream and snowflake formation and well-chosen illustrations. We didn’t have a chance to dig into these pages yet, but I’m already thinking how I will use them to model some powerful non-fiction reading and thinking.
Most of all, my students fell into the wonder of the book and its snowstorm. As Laura noted, “I know that science underpins its beauty, but it’s still magic, falling silently, gracefully, from the sky.” My students agreed, and there wasn’t a jaded one among them! Laura’s words and Chiara’s illustrations wove a spell of a beautiful snowfall on a very warm fall day. My active semi-chaotic class was lulled by Laura and Chiara’s collaboration into a temporarily peaceful state.
Perhaps I’ll read it again tomorrow!
Note: It’s due for release on November 11th, so you will also have the chance to enjoy it soon!
An additional side note: If you haven’t ever had a chance to read Laura’s book, Finding Family: The Duckling Raised by Loons, I highly recommend that you do! Published in 2023, it’s already become a a must read in my classroom. Kids are fascinated by the story and it sparks some wonderful discussions about family.
This week’s Poetry Friday Roundup is hosted by Sarah Grace Tuttle!
Nix the comfort zone 
I just forwarded your Slice to our son and daughter-in-law who have a second grader! And twin kindergartners. Thanks for the recommendation.
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Nice! Laura’s books are great!
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Oh, Molly, thanks so much for this beautiful post! I love that your second graders felt the wonder, and I love the craft moves they noticed. And most of all: “The rhyming was so well-crafted, that it took them a while to notice it, and they were delighted when they did. It really is masterfully done!” I’m getting ready to speak at NCTE about mentor texts, and a mentor text for FLURRY was ALL ABOARD, by Rebecca Kai Dotlich. Through meter variations and the shape of the text on the page, she makes it so you don’t even notice the rhyme for a while. I was hoping to attain a bit of that! Thank you, second graders! You made my week!
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Laura, it was a pleasure! What a lovely book! Also, my second graders were thrilled to learn that they “made your week.” I’m going to have to check out “All Aboard.” Thanks for that rec!
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appreciations for boosting this Friday with Laura & Chiara’s love of the snow wonder that hums a nature hymn to us: “flurry,float,fly”
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It’s such a perfect match of words and illustrations!
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We had that one rare snow last year, so I have more of an understanding of Laura’s beautiful words. Doesn’t she make it look easy? The combination of science and magic is just right!
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She really combines them beautifully. I think I now understand the jet stream better!
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Enjoyed hearing your students’ reactions to Laura’s poems. That these snow veterans weren’t the least bit jaded is a great sign of Laura’s skill as a poet — and of course Chiara’s gorgeous illustrations. Snow never loses its magic!
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My class just asked a Magic 8 Ball if it would snow in November and we were all disappointed in the “My sources say no” response.
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This looks fabulous– thank you so much for sharing about it! I’m rushing to place my pre-order now, and can’t wait to read it with the kids in my life!
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Happy Reading!
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I’ve loved Laura’s books for a long time, and am excited to see about another coming soon, Molly. I so enjoyed reading about Laura’s, sounds like celebrating, poems about snow, and the response from your students. Though it isn’t always easy when I have to go out, I still love our beautiful snow storms! Here we go!
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Snowfalls are definitely a mixed blessing. I’m not sure I’d feel as positively about them if snow days didn’t exist! 🙂
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What a beautiful book…I cannot resist books with onomatopoeias as title words. That illustration spread in sunrise colors is spectacular. What lucky 2nd graders to have heard the story from a poet author and poet teacher.
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That onomatopoeia is a lovely refrain throughout the book, too!
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I pre-ordered this lovely book! How fun to be able to read this with a class full of wonderers, Molly!
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It’s always fun to have a 2nd grade audience for new picture books 🙂
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You and your students are definitely the best ones to preview this wintery book! Got you itching for your snow boots???
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Yes! …and my camera! Winter photography is such fun!
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You’ve shared a quintessential lesson for a quintessential picture book! This is so inspiring. I loved reading about your insightful and appreciative young picture book aficionados.
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It was such fun to share a “not yet released” book with my class. They felt so privileged!
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Ah, Molly, I’m a week late, but I just saw the link on Laura’s post this week, so I had to come visit. Your writing about your class is always such a delight, it makes me miss second graders. Thanks for sharing the spreads, and I agree, the jet stream passage is masterfully done “oh-so-efficiently and oh-so-poetically” Beautiful writing by her and you.
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Thanks, Denise. It’s never too late to stop by 🙂
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