Module 3 - Snowflake Bentley

Summary

Snowflake Bentley tells the story of Wilson Bentley and his fascination with snowflakes.  While ridiculed in his time Wilson did what no one else had done at the time, he photographed snowflakes, although it took him a while to make it work.  Martin does a great job of combining the enjoyable story with scientific history.  

Bibliographic Citation

Martin, J. (2009). Snowflake bentley. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.  

Personal Impressions

 This was a fantastic example of an enjoyable nonfiction book.  The story told is enjoyable but the informational tid-bits on the side of the pages are a great addition.  The wonderful illustrations made a great addition to the story.  

Reviews

  

What's the story?

Everyone believes that no two snowflakes are alike. Why? Because Wilson Bentley spent his life photographing over 6,000 of them, and never found a match. From an early age, Bentley was fascinated by snow and wanted to share its beauty. Jacqueline Briggs Martin's eloquent text and Mary Azarian's colorful woodcuts illustrate his life and convey his enthusiasm for snow.

  

Is it any good?

 

This is an excellent choice for introducing biographies to young readers, especially because it is a life story of an inspirational subject who exhibits tenacity. Any child who has cut a folded-paper snowflake will appreciate Wilson Bentley's infatuation with the beautiful and intricate designs of snow crystals. Plainspoken as a Vermonter's speech, Jacqueline Martin's text is also lyrical. Fact-filled sidebars highlight specifics of Bentley's life and his discoveries.

Mary Azarian uses hand-colored woodcuts to illustrate Bentley's life, and a Vermont winter is skillfully captured. Country touches bring the past to life. As beautiful as these illustrations are, more examples of Bentley's photos would have been welcome. Strangely, in a book emphasizing the near uniqueness of snowflakes, each sidebar is decorated with the same set of snowflake designs.

  

What families can talk about

Families can talk about science and art. Do you think Bentley was an artist as well as a scientist?

  

This review was written by Sally Snyder

Elementary Library Uses

This book would be great used as an example of literary nonfiction.  Students would also enjoy viewing original images from Bentley.  This website would be a fantastic way to engage students in Bentley's work.