Parents' Guide to

The Snowy Day

By Esther Ehrlich, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 2+

Classic captures a kid's delight in freshly fallen snow.

Book Ezra Jack Keats Picture Book 1962
The Snowy Day Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this book.

Community Reviews

See all
age 4+

Based on 7 parent reviews

Katherine R.
Katherine R. Parent of 10, 14, 18+, 18+, 18+ and 5-year-old
June 17, 2024
age 3+

corina T.
corina T. Parent of 4-year-old
January 30, 2024
age 2+

Quality for little kids

Lovely message. My kid gets super sad when the presents break, but it’s a good lesson.
See all 7 parent reviews

What's the Story?

A young boy wakes to a world of freshly fallen snow and goes exploring throughout the cityscape in this gentle, glistening classic. With bold text and whimsical collages, Ezra Jack Keats captures the delight kids feel in the simplest pleasures.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (7 ):
Kids say (1 ):

THE SNOWY DAY challenges the assumption that more is better, inviting you and your kids into a world of slow, easy pleasures. Ezra Keats is remarkable in his ability to create a calming yet vibrant story, striking this balance gracefully in pictures and in text. His artwork is spare yet the pictures burst with brilliant color and expression. In many of the pictures, Peter lacks facial features except his eyes, but Keats manages, with the angle of his head and the composition, to convey feeling.

The text, similarly economical, is made up of just enough words to tell the story -- none of them too hard for a young reader to sound out or for a young listener to understand -- and they are vivid words used powerfully, often rhyming or repeating. The result is that kids (and parents too!) can settle into Peter's snowy world. A bonus in this sparkling story is the African-American main character -- an all-too-rare occurrence, still, in children's literature.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about the pleasures of different types of weather: snowy days, rainy days, windy days, and more. Which is your favorite type of weather? Why?

  • How easy is it to create fun by yourself? Is it sometimes as much or more fun than playing with others?

Book Details

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

See all recommended book lists

Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.

See how we rate