Caldecott Book 1

The first book I read is called Snowflake Bentley by Jacqueline briggs Martin and illustrated by Mary Azarian. Snowflake Bentley won the Caldecott Medal in 1999.

I loved Snowflake Bentley for several reasons. I feel it is only appropriate to mention the beautiful illustrations first since it is a Caldecott winner. I thought the pictures were not only clear and crisp like snowflakes, but they also succeeded in bringing the story to life.
From a teaching standpoint, I felt the book had many good messages for students. Willie can teach us all about following dreams, being persistent, working hard, and never giving up even when others put you down. He shows us that money isn't always the most important thing. He continued to follow his dream even though he knew he would never make great money.
I loved the fact that this story is about a real person. So many times, we read fictional stories to our students about these same things, but in the end, it is still fiction. It is always nice to be able to show my students examples of real people who followed their dreams and did something with their life that they were passionate about.

My reaction to this book is influenced by my own life. I admire Willie for chasing his dream even when some people didn't support him. While teaching is my passion, it is not my only passion or dream I had for my life. Many times, I find myself regretting the decision to give up on other dreams that I had.

When reading this book, I found myself comparing it to other books about people who pursued and achieved dreams. While Willie's persistence was very similar to that of others, I really liked the fact that his goal was so different: photographing a snowflake. Many other aspects of Willie's journey were very similar to those in these other books. I think it is important for these books to include the struggles that were faced in order to reach a goal. Willie couldn't draw the snowflake, he had trouble photographing them before they melted, and he had to do hours of work on each photo, to name a few struggles. Many times our students expect instantaneous results. It is important for students to see the years of dedication put into a single goal.

When I first think about great children's literature, biographies did not come to mind. I know part of this is because I still have A LOT of literature to be exposed to. However, this book is a great example of how a biography can be a great piece of literature. Overall, Snowflake Bentley is a great piece of children's literature.