SNOW

SNOW

By Sam Usher
Published by Templar Publishing

If you live down in the South of England, you may have felt a slight sense of envy that the North West had a few days of snow over the Christmas period whereas the rest of us had to put up with the wet and cold. SNOW by Sam Usher captures the excitement for seeing snow outside the window; when it’s still fresh, clean and has no footprints! A lovely sight, especially when you don’t have to go to school or work of course. 

 

 

SNOW is about a little boy called Sam who awakes up to a snowy scene outside his window and can’t wait to be the first one outside. But there's one problem, he has to get his Grandad up before he can even step outside! Sam of course is raring to go but his Grandad isn’t quite as keen. Sam keeps reminding his Grandad about the snow while he showers, shaves and gets dressed. But as Grandad takes his time Sam impatiently watches on as his friends, the local cats and dogs and even some more wilder animals escape to the winter wonderland before him. 

 

Finally his Grandad is ready and they’re off to the park where Sam can have fun with everyone at last! There’s snow fighting, snowman building and sleighing and even Grandad gets involved winning a snow fight. Having read a recent interview with Sam Usher, I discovered he is greatly influenced by Hergé, Quentin Blake and Emma Chichester Clark which does come across in Sam’s illustrative style of ink and watercolour. SNOW has a lovely charm and with the double page spreads of large amounts of white, it captures that feeling of when you see fresh, clean, white snow. 

 

The story is very simple but there’s lots to point out to children within the pictures and children will be longing for their own snow days. SNOW is available to buy in all good bookshops and online.