Dispatch #2: Bright Hat, Big City

The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats (Puffin Books, 1976)

Part of what I love most about The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats is the reminder that sublime adventures in nature are available to us just beyond our front stoop.

Peter wakes to find his city transformed by fresh snowfall. He dons his bright red snowsuit and heads outside. He crunches his feet. He drags his stick. He flops himself down and flaps out an angel. Imagination inspired, he becomes a mountain climber summiting a high peak. When he tries to bring his snowball inside, it melts away, but come morning, fresh snow has fallen and he invites his friend next door to come outside and share the fun.

The Snowy Day is elegant, simple; its appeal wonderfully broad. Any kid can find magic just out their door—especially when Mother Nature drops an armful of snow and turns a familiar sidewalk into a hushed and inviting wilderness.