By Cathy Camper, illustrated by Kenard Pak
Kokila, 2020
Picture book, 32 pages, ages 4-8
Lina wakes to find everything blanketed in quiet white: snow. But Lina won’t let the overnight blizzard keep her from helping her grandma cook warak enab. She travels by herself to visit Sitti, walking a few city blocks through the snow. Along the way, she counts the ways she can hear snow – the scrape, script, scrape of a shovel is one way. The snyak, snyek, snyuk of her book treads, two ways. Then she discovers three, four, five and more different ways to experience snow.
A warm, multi layered exploration of snow, stuffed grape leaves, and family.
When she gets to where Sitti lives, which appears to be an assisted living facility, the story transforms itself into a recipe of how to make stuffed grape leaves. Interesting, but a completely different turn. The shining light of this part of the book is the intergenerational bond between grandmother and granddaughter. As they sit down to eat the warak enab they made, Grandma gives Lina another way to hear snow. The book ends with the two outside enjoying the snow together.
While I thoroughly enjoyed this book, it felt like there were two different stories being told: Lina’s journey of discovery, looking at (and hearing) snow in a new way; and a story of a girl and her grandmother cooking together. On one hand, it felt a bit disjointed, but on the other, it felt like the reader gets to tag along with Lina for an afternoon.
The illustrations are gorgeous and add so much to the reading experience. The muted color palette and strong design – cool tones in exterior environments and warmer tones in interior scenes – evoke the stillness of thickly fallen snow.
Feeling familiar and approachable, we get a small peek of something that might feel a bit foreign to some readers: Lina’s Lebanese identity. The differences and commonalities can help readers get a broader view of the world and gain a greater appreciation for another culture. It’s a quiet, contemplative read with depths of value.
Will kids like this book? Yes, if they’re in the mood for a gentle story.
Ten Ways to Hear Snow by Cathy Camper gets 5 stars from this reviewer.