Snow Day

Although Sister Agatha Ann asks her to write a poem, Maggie wants to draw it instead; a day of playing together in the snow resolves the dilemma.

Kindergarten-Grade 4?Fain's first picture book is a heartwarming tribute to special childhood memories of schools closed due to winter storms. Maggie Murphy is happier than most students that there's no school at St. Bridget's one morning because her teacher, Sister Agatha Ann, has given her a dreaded homework assignment; she is to write a poem and recite it in front of the entire class. Maggie's day of freedom is short-lived, for who should appear at the sledding hill but Sister Agatha Ann and several other nuns for some fun in the snow. Student and teacher both learn to appreciate the need for poetic and illustrative art forms after they share Maggie's sled and win the race to the bottom of the hill. The text has a lyrical quality and beautiful imagery?"Her neighborhood was covered in deep, blue softness, as if every cloud in the sky had fallen to the ground"?set off by luminous oil illustrations that perfectly depict the skies of late December when snow is in the air. Children will identify immediately with Maggie and her dilemma. Few will realize that the story is set more than 30 years in the past until the author's clue on the final page. This timeless quality will ensure that Snow Day remains a favorite winter read-aloud for years to come.?Maura Bresnahan, Topsfield Town Library, MA
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

The wintry dream of children everywhere?school cancellation due to snow?comes true in Fain's picture book debut, a period piece set in 1961. Maggie Murphy has cleverly disguised her habits of chewing gum and writing notes in Sister Agatha's class?until now. Sister Agatha catches Maggie off guard and punishes her with an extra homework assignment, an original poem to be read aloud to the class. Maggie fails to write the poem, but she is reprieved. An overnight snowstorm buys her some time and provides for an enlightening chance meeting with her strict teacher on School Hill, the best place for sledding. The lightweight text brims with the stereotypical details of a large Irish Catholic family, and the poem Maggie finally composes ends the story on a somewhat treacly note, but several descriptive turns of phrase fuel the story's energy. Fain's accomplished, atmospheric oil paintings successfully set both a mood and sense of place. Sister Agatha will surely prove an unusual sight to most young readers; perhaps the chief pleasure in the image of nuns in their long black habits sledding down a snowy hill is reserved for those who remember the days of more formal religious dress. Ages 5-8.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Fain's first book for children, demure and even stilted in text and art, attempts to teach a lesson about self-expression. Clever Maggie Murphy usually keeps a close watch on her stern teacher, Sister Agatha Ann, but one day she is caught drawing--a drawing that has spilled onto her desktop. For defacing school property, Maggie has special homework: She has to write a poem overnight and present it the next day in school. Maggie struggles that night and fails; the next day there is no reprieve--a school holiday because of heavy snowfall--because Sister Agatha Ann is sledding at School Hill. Maggie's teacher not only helps her win a sled race, but proves to Maggie that pictures can be drawn in words. She improvises a poem on the spot, an exercise that helps her student successfully complete her assignment. A car, the children's clothing, and Sister Agatha Ann's full-length habit help place the story, revealed as 1961 on the last page, but the plot seems convoluted for the simple resolution, and despite a text that implies that the siblings are various ages, Maggie's brothers and sisters look the same age as she is. (Picture book. 5-8) -- Copyright ©1996, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Ages 5^-8. Set in an era when even older kids wore snowsuits and nuns wore habits, this is the story of Maggie Murphy, who likes to draw. But sometimes Maggie draws at the wrong moment, and when Sister Agatha Ann catches her drawing when she's supposed to be listening to poetry, Maggie is ordered to write a poem to be recited the next day. She's saved, however, by snow--so much is falling that a snow day is called. It's off to the hill for sledding, and there are Sister Agatha Ann and several of the other nuns, who sled along with the kids. Afterward, when Maggie confesses she hasn't written her poem, Sister Agatha Ann recites one to her. The next day Maggie reads her own poem about snow--and illustrates it. The characters are occasionally stiffly drawn, but mostly the two-page spreads are delightful, with lots of winter blues and whites and heavy leaden skies. The snow is so deep and fluffy, you can almost feel your feet sink into it. Like the art, the story has an amiable feel and cozy appeal. Ilene Cooper