THE SNOW GLOBE FAMILY

A small and gentle foray into imagination. A mama, a papa, a boy, a girl and a baby live in a big Victorian house. On their mantel sits a lovely old snow globe, and inside it lives a tiny family of the same configuration. The tiny snow globe family wishes for a big storm—someone to shake the globe—but that has not happened for some time. The papa tells of times the dishes were knocked off the shelves and he was thrown out of the tub. In the big world, a blizzard sends the family out with their sled, but mama and baby stay inside. Baby manages via footstool and pillows to reach the top of the mantel, to tumble over with the snow globe, providing just the “storm” the snow globe family had hoped for. They go out sledding on their tiny hill, Baby’s mama decides the snow is too wonderful for them to miss outside the big house and off they go, too (“Wheeeeee!”). Schindler’s colored inks and gouache in a wry, slightly exaggerated style capture the Victorian setting perfectly, vivacious line and muted color making a fine winter bedtime treat. (Picture book. 4-8)