Snowflake Bentley

          Picture Book # 16

          AUTHOR:  Jacqueline Briggs Martin

          ILLUSTRATOR:  Mary Azarian

          GENRE:  Picture Book

          SUB GENRE: Biography

          THEME:  

          Follow your dreams in spite of adversity.

          PRIMARY AND SECONDARY CHARACTERS:   

          Willie Bentley, Charlie and his mother.

AWARD(S): Caldecott Medal 1999

DATE OF PUBLICATION AND PUBLISHER: 

1998 by Houghton Mifflin.

SUMMARY:  Born in 1865 in Vermont, Wilson Bentley loved snow.  As a young boy he loved to keep a record of the weather and he went onto experiment with raindrops.  One day he decided to study snow crystal under a microscope.  It is here that he discovered that each snowflake has its own shape and design.  His neighbors and friends had fun of him but he persevered.  He introduced the world to the perfection of snow crystals.

HOW WOULD YOU USE THIS BOOK AS A TEACHER:  We could use this book to teach about geometric and symmetrical shapes.  We could also discuss the spirit of kindness and of determination.