Snowflake Bentley

Review of Snowflake Bentley, Ill. by Mary Azarian; by Jacqueline Briggs Martin From Publishers Weekly

Azarian's (A Farmer's Alphabet) handsome woodcuts provide a homespun backdrop to Martin's (Grandmother Bryant's Pocket) brief biography of a farmboy born in 1865 on the Vermont snowbelt who never lost his fascination with snowflakes. Wilson A. Bentley spent 50 years pioneering the scientific study of ice crystals, and developed a technique of microphotography that allowed him to capture the hexagonal shapes and prove that no two snowflakes are alike. Martin conveys Bentley's passion in lyrical language ("snow was as beautiful as butterflies, or apple blossoms"), and punctuates her text with frequent sidebars packed with intriguing tidbits of information (though readers may be confused by the two that explain Bentley's solution of how to photograph the snowflakes). Hand-tinted with watercolors and firmly anchored in the rural 19th century, Azarian's woodcuts evoke an era of sleighs and woodstoves, front porches and barn doors, and their bold black lines provide visual contrast to the delicate snowflakes that float airily in the sidebars. A trio of Bentley's ground-breaking black-and-white photographs of snowflakes, along with a picture and quote from him about his love for his work, is the icing that tops off this attractive volume. Ages 4-8.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

I love the wood cut illustrations; they bring a feeling of jumping back in time. There was something refreshing also to see how difficult it was to capture images so long ago. With cell phones and digital cameras, I think we take for granted how much of life can be documented. This book reminds us of a simpler time. The story of Wilson Bentley was told in storybook way that keeps even younger readers fascinated. The added facts in the side bars help older readers to build questions and become more inquisitive. This is a fantastic book that must be a part of the library.