Tuesday, December 26, 2017

A POEM FOR PETTER: The Story of Ezra Jack Keats & The Creation of The Snow Day by Andrea Davis Pinkney / Book Review #APoemForPeter



By: Andrea Davis Pinkney
Illustrated by: Steve Johnson & Lou Fancher
Published by: Random House Kids
Released on: November 1st, 2016
Ages: 7 & up
Purchase from: The Publisher | Amazon | B&N
Add it to Goodreads
Rating: 4 Owlets
A copy of this book was provided by the publisher in exchange for my honest review

A celebration of the extraordinary life of Ezra Jack Keats, creator of The Snowy Day.

The story of The Snowy Day begins more than one hundred years ago, when Ezra Jack Keats was born in Brooklyn, N.Y. The family were struggling Polish immigrants, and despite Keats’s obvious talent, his father worried that Ezra’s dream of being an artist was an unrealistic one. But Ezra was determined. By high school he was winning prizes and scholarships. Later, jobs followed with the WPA and Marvel comics. But it was many years before Keats’s greatest dream was realized and he had the opportunity to write and illustrate his own book.
 
For more than two decades, Ezra had kept pinned to his wall a series of photographs of an adorable African American child. In Keats’s hands, the boy morphed into Peter, a boy in a red snowsuit, out enjoying the pristine snow; the book became The Snowy Day, winner of the Caldecott Medal, the first mainstream book to feature an African American child. It was also the first of many books featuring Peter and the children of his — and Keats’s — neighborhood.
 
Andrea Davis Pinkney’s lyrical narrative tells the inspiring story of a boy who pursued a dream, and who, in turn, inspired generations of other dreamers.


A wonderful celebration of the heritage of Mr. Keats and the historical making of his beloved classic, The Snow Day. A Poem for Petter is written in a creative and engaging way, and it's illustrations pay homage to the award winning story. The Snow Day's beloved character, Peter, is also featured in this book. This book is a wonderful read for fans of The Snow Day, and a great introduction to those who have not yet been introduced to it. 

Aside from The Snow Day story itself, this book is an inspiration. Mr. Keat's story is one that all should read. His picture book was one that was needed at the time it was published, and this is a book that is needed now. It's informational, historical, and inspirational. This is not only a great picture book for young readers, this is a book worthy of all ages to read. I walked away from reading Mr. Keat's story feeling grateful for having read his story, and feeling inspired by it. This is a great book to have in writing classes for middle schools on up. 

1 comment:

  1. This book looks adorable. I.. have not heard about The Snow Day before. Ack. But now I'm curious :) Glad you enjoyed this book. <3

    ReplyDelete

I would be most content if my children grew up to be the kind of people who think decorating consists mostly of building enough bookshelves. ~ Anna Quindlen

Good children's literature appeals not only to
the child in the adult, but to the adult in the child.
~ Anonymous ~