Over and Under the Snow Book Review And Sensory Invitation

Jan 15, 2022 | Book Reviews, DIY Crafts & Activities | 0 comments

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I love great picture books that pull young readers into the world on their pages, and Over and Under the Snow by Kate Messner, illustrated by Christopher Silas Neal does just that.

Reading great picture books with our little ones has so many benefits, so when I find great books that I know will bring joy to other little learners, I am always eager to share them.

Picture Books:

Introduce children to reading
Encourage conversations
Build language skills
Inspire visual thinking
Help children become better listeners
Increase engagement/ Build connections
Introduce complex concepts in a safe environment
Provide opportunities for children to just have fun

Over and Under the Snow Book Review

Over and Under the Snow is a beautifully illustrated picture book that will hold your little ones attention as they learn about the kinds of animals that live over the snow and under the snow in the winter months. This is a great book to add to your collection of winter reads if your little ones are interested in animals and their habitats or if you are teaching the theme of hibernation, adaption and migration to your little ones.

The book starts off with a little girl and her father going into the forest to explore. She sees a red squirrel that disappears down a crack and asks the question, “Where did he go?” Her dad responds by saying, “under the snow.”

The story continues as the father explains what is happening in the animal kingdom under the snow. She then shares what she sees as she explores the forest, adding facts about animals in winter above and under the snow.

Areas for discussion in the book Over and Under the Snow

Animals that hibernate
How animals that hibernate manage to survive while they sleep.
Animals that adapt
Animals that store food for Winter
Animal tracks
Where animals go to sleep or prepare a warm place to sleep out the cold winter months.

Over and Under the Snow Invitation to Play

When I purchased this book, the girls were learning about animals in winter and working on the important maths skill of one-to-one correspondence, so I used cardboard and paint to recreate one of their favourite scenes from the story.

“Over the snow, I glide past reeds where tadpoles play tag in springtime.”

Under the snow, fat bullfrogs snooze. They dream of sun-warmed days, back when they had tails.”

While the girls played we:

Reviewed numbers 1-10.
Worked on the skill of one-to-one correspondence as they counted the frogs, shells and stones.
Discussed similarities and differences based on colours and patterns on the frogs and shells.
Got the opportunity to explore the different textures of the stones, shells and wooden pieces.
Continued our discussions about animals in winter
Reviewed some letter sounds
Reviewed colours
Developed vocabulary and oral language skills
Worked on being team players by sharing the contents of the tray.

Observing the different patterns on the frogs.

What I used to recreate the base for our sensory invitation

Over and Under the Snow Invitation to play

Cardboard
Paint
Paint brushes
Pencil
Stencil knife

Materials I added for play:

Stones
Shells
Toy frogs
Pinecones
Wooden slices
Wooden circles
Decorative stones

This invitation to play was out on our tray for many days and fostered so many learning opportunities for my girls. All the work that went into creating the base for them was so worth it! I will definitely be keeping for future use and will share any creative ways in which it is used with you all!