Nonfiction Monday: Under the Snow by Melissa Stewart

Under the Snow
By Melissa Stewart
Illustrated by Constance R. Bergum
Peachtree Publishers
ISBN: 9781561454938
$16.95
Grades 1-4
In Stores

*Recommended*

It’s a question that crosses everyone’s mind at some point – where do animals go in the winter? Sure, we know that mammals like bears and squirrels hibernate and some birds fly south, but what about everyone else? Butterflies? Fish? Snakes? Under the Snow answers these questions for young readers.

The story is simple, yet informative at every turn. The narrator begins by describing the coming of winter, and the changes the season brings. The focus quickly turns to the animal world.

You spend your days sledding and skating and having snowball fights. But under the snow lies a hidden world.

Using cutaways and zoom-ins, the watercolor illustrations show a variety of animals in their winter homes. Ladybugs cluster in a gap in the stone wall. A bumblebee queen hides inside a rotted log. A turtle buries itself in the mud at the bottom of a pond. Each turn of the page shows a new animal adapting to the winter months.

Not a shelf-appeal stunner, but sporting a usefulness that can’t be denied. Under the Snow should be a part of your nonfiction collection.

Review copy borrowed from school library.

Check out the Nonfiction Monday roundup at The BookNosher.

Also reviewed by Kiss the Book, Kiwi Magazine.

Find this book at your local library with WorldCat.

Filed under: *Best New Books*, Reviews