A Considerate Farmer Makes Animals' Dreams Come True in Dream Snow

When it comes to crafting artistic, interactive, creative picture books, Eric Carle is truly a master. Whether it’s the expanding size of the Very Hungry Caterpillar or the long-awaited chirp of the Very Quiet Cricket, his books, while immediately recognizable as his from his unique style incorporating layers of colored paper, always seem to hold a surprise or two.

Carle’s books tend to be short on words, and this is no exception, with a couple of sentences per page the norm. The story concerns an affable farmer with a rotund figure and a bushy white beard. Modeled after Carle’s friend Barry Moser, the man also happens to bear an uncanny resemblance to a certain jolly old elf. Before the story ends, that similarity will come in handy.

The main portion of this book is very repetitious, as it involves the farmer, while asleep, dreaming of snowflakes that “gently covered” someone “with a white blanket.” At first, that someone is him. Then it’s each of his five animals (One, Two, Three, Four and Five). By the time he awakes, the snow is real, and it’s time for him to pull on his winter gear and provide a surprise for his barn-dwelling friends.

Carle first shows these creatures in their barn, with just their backs or bottoms visible through the windows, but this glimpse should be enough to tell readers which animal is which; they should, for instance, be able to tell that the horse is the first animal under that blanket of snow in the farmer’s dream. If they don’t remember that far back or feel like checking, they might try guessing based on the shape of the “blanket”.

The bulk of the story features just that quick succession of three pages several times over. One sentence in italics in the middle of a white page. One full-color illustration featuring a horse, a cow, a sheep, a pig or a chicken. And in between the two, a clear plastic sheet featuring a large white splotch and several smaller, snowflake-sized splotches. There is also a surprise at the end of the book, one that requires batteries. It’s a fun element, though it doesn’t add a great deal to the story, and it also makes less sense than the plastic snow pages.

If you’re a fan of Carle’s style or know a youngster who is, I recommend giving his original Christmas tale a look. I don’t think it will ever quite match the classic status of The Very Hungry Caterpillar, but Dream Snow should satisfy those who already appreciate Carle’s work.