Page 1 of Snowflakes Fall




  Text copyright © 2013 by Patricia MacLachlan. Jacket art and interior illustrations copyright © 2013 by Steven Kellogg.

  All rights reserved. Published in the United States by Random House Children’s Books, a division of Random House, Inc., New York.

  Random House and the colophon are registered trademarks of Random House, Inc.

  Visit us on the Web! randomhouse.com/kids

  Educators and librarians, for a variety of teaching tools, visit us at RHTeachersLibrarians.com

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  MacLachlan, Patricia.

  Snowflakes fall / by Patricia MacLachlan; illustrated by Steven Kellogg. — First edition. p. cm.

  Summary: In this illustrated poem in honor of the victims of the 2012 shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, falling snowflakes

  celebrate the uniqueness of life, its precious, simple moments, and the strength of memory.

  ISBN 978-0-385-37693-8 (trade) — ISBN 978-0-375-97328-4 (lib. bdg.) — ISBN 978-0-375-98219-4 (ebook)

  [1. Snow—Fiction.] I. Kellogg, Steven, illustrator. II. Title.

  PZ7.M2225Sn 2013 [E]—Dc23 2013008622

  v3.1

  DEDICATIONS

  I was very active in the school and library communities of Newtown and Sandy Hook, Connecticut, where I lived with my family for thirty-five years. My first book for children was published just before we moved there, and was followed by a hundred more books that were created in the attic studio of our old farmhouse. The changing seasons in the woodlands, fields, and streams that surround the Sandy Hook village provided an idyllic environment for raising a family. Those scenes and memories inspired these illustrations.

  It is my hope that this book celebrates the laughter, the playful high spirits, and the uniqueness of the children of Sandy Hook and of children everywhere.

  —Steven Kellogg

  I wrote Snowflakes Fall after Steven told me of his sadness and concern for his community and for children everywhere. This is a sadness that the world felt, and that I felt too. What brought us comfort was the idea of renewal and memory, and while writing Snowflakes Fall, I thought about all children and families affected by loss.

  —Patricia MacLachlan

  In honor of the community of Sandy Hook and Newtown, Connecticut, Random House Children’s Books has made a donation to the Sandy Hook School Support Fund. This donation, as well as a book donation to the national literacy organization First Book, in support of children everywhere, was made in conjunction with the publication of Snowflakes Fall.

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Dedications

  First Page

  About the Authors

  After the flowers are gone

  Snowflakes fall.

  Flake

  After flake

  After flake

  Each one a pattern

  All its own—

  No two the same—

  All beautiful.

  Snowflakes fall

  To sit on gardens

  And evergreen trees

  And the tongues of laughing children—

  No two the same—

  All beautiful.

  Snowflakes

  Fall

  Drift

  And swirl together

  Like the voices of children.

  Snowflakes fall

  On a winding river’s sandy banks

  On a hilltop town

  On its ancient church

  On its loved library

  And its familiar flagpole.

  When snowflakes fall at night

  Wailing winds may blow

  And frantic, icy snowflakes

  scratch the window glass.

  Branches fly

  And shadows

  darken dreams.

  But then—when we wake in the morning light—

  Surprise!

  The world shines.

  Snowflakes fall

  To quilt meadows

  So we see the wandering prints

  Of birds

  Rabbits

  The bobcat at dawn

  And the footprints of small red boots—

  Making sled paths

  And snowmen

  And forts

  And fields of snow angels.

  And when the snowflakes melt

  In quiet sun

  They fill the chattering streams

  Flowing

  Rushing

  Sending drops of water up

  To fall as rain

  On places where the snowflakes had been.

  Where soon

  Flowers will grow

  Again.

  And when the flowers bloom

  The children remember the snowflakes

  And we remember the children—

  No two the same—

  All beautiful.

  About the Authors

  Patricia MacLachlan, the author of numerous picture books and novels for children, is best known for her Newbery Medal–winning novel Sarah, Plain and Tall. Her other works include Journey, Baby, Waiting for the Magic, and Kindred Souls. Born in Cheyenne, Wyoming, she graduated from the University of Connecticut and now lives in Williamsburg, Massachusetts, with her husband.

  Steven Kellogg, an award-winning author and illustrator, has published more than one hundred books for children, among them The Day Jimmy’s Boa Ate the Wash, Johnny Appleseed, and Clorinda. He graduated from the Rhode Island School of Design before moving to Sandy Hook, Connecticut, where he raised his family and was active in the community for thirty-five years. Kellogg now lives in Essex, New York, with his wife.

 


 

  Patricia MacLachlan, Snowflakes Fall

  Thank you for reading books on BookFrom.Net