The Big Snow and Other Stories

A wonderful collection of Caldecott Award-Winning Tales, perfect for a young reader who love stories about animals.

The illustrations are charming and bring the stories to life.

I received a free e-book copy through Net-Galley in exchange for an honest review. This book will be on my to buy list for my son in print form.

These stories were probably in the school library when I was in elementary school, but I don't remember them. I've seen and read The Big Snow since then, but not the other two. Each of them has beautiful illustrations, obviously, since they are Caldecott winners and the details in some of the close-up views are remarkable. But they also show wonderful scenes of animals in their habitats. The Big Snow shows all the woodland animals as they prepare for winter by eating, storing food, preparing to hibernate or migrate, or growing a thick fur coat. It also shows two people being kind enough to put out food for the wildlife when the snow covers everything. Cock-A-Doodle-Doo seems as if it will be an Ugly Duckling story, but it is only similar in the way the egg of the little rooster winds up with the duck's eggs. Little Red braves all sorts of dangers when he decides to leave the pond and follow the rooster's call that he hears. As the story follows his journey, we see all the predators that would like to eat him and all the other smaller creatures in the meadow, the woods, and even the farmyard. Unlike the first story, this one mentions a little girl, but no humans actually appear in any of the pictures. The Mighty Hunter is actually the only story in the book that centers on a person. The hunter is actually a young Native American boy who chooses to hide his schoolbooks and practice his hunting skills instead. But as he encounters each animal and pulls back on his bow, the animal offers to lead him to an even bigger animal - one that is more worthy of such a mighty hunter. Young readers will find the lesson he learns very funny.

The three stories together show a variety of habitats and animals, making the book a great stating point for a unit on those topics. Or perhaps just a place for students to pick an animal on which to do a report. But it needn't be used only as the beginning of a lesson, any of the stories would make a wonderful read-aloud and captivate the audience with the lovely illustrations. It is fortunate that another generation of youngsters will be able to enjoy these stories through this collection.

This collected edition from Dover Publications actually contains three stories - ‘The Big Snow’, ‘Cock-A-Doodle-Doo’ and ‘The Mighty Hunter’, the first of which was originally published back in 1939. Each story is beautifully illustrated with a mix of water colour paintings and detailed pencil sketches relating to the events being described.

In the first story,‘The Big Snow’, the geese are flying south for the winter and, as they travel, they fly over other animals who each explain what they are going to do for the winter. The animal drawings and pictures are superb and really enhance the story which will also inform readers about these animals and how they spend the winter. Once the geese have gone and the snow falls the actions of the animals and humans are described - a delightful tale! Teachers could easily use this story to encourage pupils to investigate habitats, the animals in them and how animals are adapted to the different seasons.

‘Cock-A-Doodle-Doo - The Story of a Little Red Rooster’ is the second story. Again, it is beautifully illustrated throughout. This tells the story of a little chick who hatches in the nest of a duck and her ducklings and then braves the wild woods to try to get home to the cock from over the hill who he hears calling for him. It describes his encounters with other animals, many trying to eat him, en route and what happens when he grows up on the farm.

‘The Mighty Hunter’ is the third and final story in this collection. It concerns a young Indian Brave who wanted to be a wise man and mighty hunter. Again, it has superb illustrations throughout which enhance the story but this time a different fond style - nearer to calligraphy - is used for the text. This time it tells of the adventures and animal encounters he has on his way to school - and a lesson that I hope he learnt!

This is an enchanting timeless, compilation, with detailed, beautiful illustrations that children will love to read - and to have read to them!

Thanks to the author, publishers and NetGalley, too, for letting me read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Beautiful drawings. My kid loves it. Love the many sceneries and different animals. Love the snow on the rooftops because we just had some snow a couple days ago and he can compare this books's drawings with it.

This is a wonderful collection of Caldecott winning stories, all with gentle illustrations which will appeal to children and parents today. They all feature the world of nature. The title story in particular is a loving portrait of the coming of winter, the interplay of the many animals in the forest and the place of humans in the scheme. Only the last story of the three, The Might Hunter, feels somewhat dated in it's portrayal of the young Indian boy off to spend a day hunting instead of going to school. But it too is so well illustrated and also has a gentle story.

This is a nice book to add to a child's library.

A copy of this book was provided by the publisher through NetGalley in return for an honest review.

Definitely see why these stories won the Caldecott award

This is a lovely collection of short stories which all have moral messages. The first in the collection is 'The Big Snow' which tells the tale of the various animals at winter time as they see geese flying south. Some of the animals are confused why the geese are flying south and why they cannot get food during winter. A kindly couple provide food for the animals at winter and they all learn about why each different animal is different at winter.

The second story is 'Cock-a-doodle-doo' which tells the story of a young cockerel called 'Red'. Red has been seperated from his family and is confused why he doesn't fit in with the duck family he has joined. The story tells of his journey to try and get back to his family and avoid the predators which he faces. This is another beautiful story and has gorgeous illustrations to match.

The final story in this collection is 'The Mighty Hunter' which tells of a young Indian boy who is determined to become a fearsome hunter like his father. He doesn't see the importance of school as his father was a hunter and never went to school. However, meeting an animal can change his opinion entirely.

The book has some gorgeous detailed illustrations which are featured in a mixture of both colour and black and white which will certainly hook younger readers into the stories. It's lovely to see the stories in the collection being brought back to life. There are lessons to be learnt from each tale and they're all heartwarming stories. Though the last story may be seen to be a little stereotypical, the portrayal of the Native American boy is done well and is carefully executed.

Three Caldecott titles collected together based on theme. This would make a great git.

This is a classic book and I liked being able to read through it on my kindle.

These stories are timeless! You can't go wrong with this book.

I love this book! I had so much fun reading these stories with my children. The illustrations and stories were wonderful, and I would strongly recommend this book to others. We will enjoy reading these stories over and over.

Berta and Elmer Hader dominated the Children's Book market in the 1940's winning the Caldecott Award in 1949 as well as receiving praise for two previous Caldecott Honor Books. All three exemplary titles are included in the currently released The Big Snow and Other Stories: A Treasury of Caldecott Award Winning Tales.

Berta, who was a roommate with Rose Wilder Lane, daughter of Laura Ingalls Wilder, met Elmer at an art studio in San Francisco, but they both relocated to NYC where they married and bought (and built) a house along the Hudson River. The abounding wildlife surrounding their home surely inspired the three stories included in this book.

The husband and wife team passed their art work back and forth, between them creating a true collaboration. Both the Haders were interested in conservation, animal protection, and pacifism, which is reflected in the content of their books (a total of 34). Their pen and ink and color drawings are detailed and captivating with vibrant, eye catching colors rarely found in today's children's literature. Each page is a work of art which could easily be framed and hung on the walls of any home. It isn't a surprise that Berta was famous for her miniatures and Elmer was known for his portraits and landscapes. Together they were a true dynamic duo.

The Big Snow, originally published in 1948 by Macmillan, is a simple tale full of the woodland wildlife who are getting ready for the winter months. While the geese fly south for the Winter, other animals collect a store of food or prepare to hibernate until Spring. Unfortunately, a large snowfall covers their stash of sustenance, so the poor animals are doomed to go hungry. Luckily a kindly couple regularly feeds not only the birds, but the other critters as well. If you are familiar with the self caricatures that the Haders regularly drew on their homemade Christmas Cards, the reader won't be surprised to discover that the drawings of these benevolent souls are really representations of the authors outside their own cozy house. While this story is a little "wordier" than many picture books, the soothing words and illustrations provide a proper backdrop for parents to explain the wonders of nature to their little ones. There is even a ground hog who pops out of his hole on February 2nd, sees his shadow, and returns to sleep for another six weeks until Spring. It is easy to see why the committee choose this book for a Caldecott Award (given each year for America's most distinguished children's literature - with an emphasis on the illustrations).

Cock-a-Doodle Doo: The Story of a Little Red Rooster, originally published in 1939, is about a little red chick who finds himself out of place amongst his adopted family of ducklings. One morning when he hears a roosters, he recognizes the call and decides to follow the sound, despite a warning of the dangers he is sure to encounter in the tall grasses of the Meadow. Dodging the threat of being eaten by other wildlife, the little chick eventually finds his way and happily connects with his true kin, growing up to become the rooster for which he was destined. A simple tale perfect to tell at bedtime to little ones.

The third story is 1943's The Mighty Hunter featuring a cherubic Native American boy ( in those days referred to as an Indian) . His parents want him to attend school, but he has a different plan in mind. Taking his boy and arrow, Little Brave Heart goes on a hunt, but each animal he finds refers him to a bigger and/or better target (reminiscent of the three Billy Goats Gruff - "Not me, eat my brother. He's much bigger."). Finally the boy is chastised by a big grizzly bear for hunting simply for fun. Now she, on the other hand, hunts for food, and at the moment her stomach is growling. The Mighty Hunter hightails it out of there, and ends up where he should have gone in the first place - school. Written during a time when education wasn't a given, but a luxury, it is sure to appeal to it's intended audience.

These stories, despite the seventy plus years since their inception, have stood the test of time and, with the lush illustrations, should still appeal to both parent and child. A treasure to keep on the shelf for kids and grand kids.

Four stars.

A thank you to Netgalley and Dover books for sending me this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A delightful trio of stories repackaged for a new generation. The art and storytelling style have a retro charm that hipsters that grew up on Little Golden Books will get nostalgic for. My young daughter enjoyed the animal switcheroo surprise in Cock-A-Doodle-Doo and I enjoyed the ending of The Mighty Hunter. There's a gentleness to the nature/wilderness stories and a smart lesson-learned in The Mighty Hunter that parents and grandparents can enjoy.

When I asked my young daughter how she liked it, she admitted that there were other more modern stories that she enjoyed. Her rating: 3 stars

I enjoyed the yesteryear feel and wished there was at least 1-2 stories more to make this a real treasury. My rating: 4 stars

3.5 stars overall

What is it about artwork from the 1930's and 1940's that it is immediately recognizable as being from the period? Particularly children's book art?

The Big Snow and Other Stories is a collection of three children's picture books by Berta and Elmer Hader. Although there is a sub-title that reads "A Treasury of Caldecott Award-Winning Tales" only The Big Snow was a Caldecott winner. The other two books were Caldecott Honor books.

One of the really nice things about a picture book is that if the story is well told, it is truly timeless and could (should) be enjoyed by generations of readers. Thanks to Dover Publishing and this reissue, these three classic stories can indeed be enjoyed by a new generation of youngsters.

In The Big Snow, woodland animals prepare for the coming winter and the impending storm. The nice touch at the end is the humans who toss some food out for the animals to help them survive the storm.

Cock-A-Doodle-Doo is the second book in the collection and this is sort of an 'ugly duckling' story. Here, a chicken is born in to a family of ducks and despite his being raised as a duck, he can't escape who he really is. When he hears a rooster crowing, he leaves the safety of everything familiar to him in order to get to the roosters. This lesson of being true to yourself, seems extremely timely today -- perhaps moreso than when this was first published in 1939.

The final book is The Mighty Hunter, which is the one book that might struggle in today's market due to political correctness. A young Native American, referred to as an Indian, would rather go hunting than attend school. He hunts with a bow and arrow and is about to shoot a mouse. The mouse, however, has another idea, and leads the boy to a slightly larger animal. Each animal in turn leads the boy to still a larger animal, playing on the boy's greed to kill something bigger. While I appreciated the ultimate goal of reminding the boy that school was a worthwhile engagement, I didn't care for the process in getting there. This is one of those books that definitely feels dated.

This is definitely a book I would want in my collection if I had young children to whom I still read picture books.

Looking for a good book? The Big Snow and Other Stories is a reissue of three award-winning picture books that still have relevant messages and beautiful artwork.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

Assembling multiple Caldecott's in one volume is brilliant and will be much appreciated by those trying to share them with their children.

Classic, vintage, children's picture book, which we already own. A staple for children's book collectors. Five stars.