In the Snow

A simple introduction to Chinese character writing.

It's a wonderful day for a walk in the snow. Using snow as her canvas, Xiao Ming's mother teaches her son ten new Chinese characters.

Huy Voun Lee's focus on the similarity between writing Chinese characters and drawing pictures makes learning Chinese seem accessible. Simple mnemonic explanations help children learn and remember the character for each word. In the Snow is a great introduction to one of the world's oldest picture languages.

A mother and son practice writing Chinese characters in the snow. Introduces the characters for ten simple words.

"The textured paper, vibrant winter clothing, animals in their fur and feathers, and snowflake-decorated colored borders create a lively atmosphere for this memorable lesson in Chinese writing." —Booklist

Publishers Weekly

As Xiao Ming and his mother walk through the winter forest, the fresh snow-white and smooth as paper-inspires an educational game. While his mother scratches Chinese characters with a stick, Xiao Ming guesses what the symbols represent. Through careful teaching, the mother links characters and words so that they make sense to a child. For example, ``forest'' is comprised of two characters for ``tree.'' And the symbol for ``snow'' combines ``hand'' beneath ``rain''-signifying a form of rain that can be held. Focusing on 10 words, Lee (At the Beach) introduces an often daunting language as a tantalizing system built on images and common-sense connections. Thoughtfully composed cut-paper collages convey the same clarity as the text. An author's note explains that, while over 800 Chinese dialects exist, the written language is uniform. Ages 4-8. (Sept.)

Huy Voun Lee was born in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, and moved to the United States in 1975. She has written and illustrated three other books on Chinese character writing: At the Beach, In the Snow, and 1, 2, 3, Go! A graduate of the School of Visual Arts, Ms. Lee lives in New York City.