Katy and the Big Snow
A hard-working snowplow rescues a city.
Having grown up in a place where snow was a once-every-decade rarity, Katy and the Big Snow always seemed exotic to me. The picture book is the story of a small town blanketed by a snowstorm and rescued by a tractor fitted with a snowplow named Katy. As an adult I appreciate it as a tour de force illustration, the use of negative space and the detail (The book is presented as a series of finely rendered maps that are covered by snow and then gradually uncovered). My kids love the maps, the repetition, and the anticipation of what will happen from one page to the next. Like many of Virgina Lee Burton’s most beloved books, time plays a big part of the story, as does the personification of an inanimate object. While this book doesn’t have the poetic oomph of The Little House, it’s a fun read especially for kids that love maps and machines. It’s sure to come off the shelf every snow day.
