Text copyright © 2013 by Patricia MacLachlan. Jacket art and interior illustrations copyright © 2013 by Steven Kellogg.
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
MacLachlan, Patricia.
Snowflakes fall / by Patricia MacLachlan; illustrated by Steven Kellogg. — First edition. p. cm.
Summary: In this illustrated poem in honor of the victims of the 2012 shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, falling snowflakes
celebrate the uniqueness of life, its precious, simple moments, and the strength of memory.
ISBN 978-0-385-37693-8 (trade) — ISBN 978-0-375-97328-4 (lib. bdg.) — ISBN 978-0-375-98219-4 (ebook)
[1. Snow—Fiction.] I. Kellogg, Steven, illustrator. II. Title.
PZ7.M2225Sn 2013 [E]—Dc23 2013008622
v3.1
DEDICATIONS
I was very active in the school and library communities of Newtown and Sandy Hook, Connecticut, where I lived with my family for thirty-five years. My first book for children was published just before we moved there, and was followed by a hundred more books that were created in the attic studio of our old farmhouse. The changing seasons in the woodlands, fields, and streams that surround the Sandy Hook village provided an idyllic environment for raising a family. Those scenes and memories inspired these illustrations.
It is my hope that this book celebrates the laughter, the playful high spirits, and the uniqueness of the children of Sandy Hook and of children everywhere.
—Steven Kellogg
I wrote Snowflakes Fall after Steven told me of his sadness and concern for his community and for children everywhere. This is a sadness that the world felt, and that I felt too. What brought us comfort was the idea of renewal and memory, and while writing Snowflakes Fall, I thought about all children and families affected by loss.
—Patricia MacLachlan
In honor of the community of Sandy Hook and Newtown, Connecticut, Random House Children’s Books has made a donation to the Sandy Hook School Support Fund. This donation, as well as a book donation to the national literacy organization First Book, in support of children everywhere, was made in conjunction with the publication of Snowflakes Fall.
Title Page
Copyright
Dedications
First Page
About the Authors
After the flowers are gone
Snowflakes fall.
Flake
After flake
After flake
Each one a pattern
All its own—
No two the same—
All beautiful.
Snowflakes fall
To sit on gardens
And evergreen trees
And the tongues of laughing children—
No two the same—
All beautiful.
Snowflakes
Fall
Drift
And swirl together
Like the voices of children.
Snowflakes fall
On a winding river’s sandy banks
On a hilltop town
On its ancient church
On its loved library
And its familiar flagpole.
When snowflakes fall at night
Wailing winds may blow
And frantic, icy snowflakes
scratch the window glass.
Branches fly
And shadows
darken dreams.
But then—when we wake in the morning light—
Surprise!
The world shines.
Snowflakes fall
To quilt meadows
So we see the wandering prints
Of birds
Rabbits
The bobcat at dawn
And the footprints of small red boots—
Making sled paths
And snowmen
And forts
And fields of snow angels.
And when the snowflakes melt
In quiet sun
They fill the chattering streams
Flowing
Rushing
Sending drops of water up
To fall as rain
On places where the snowflakes had been.
Where soon
Flowers will grow
Again.
And when the flowers bloom
The children remember the snowflakes
And we remember the children—
No two the same—
All beautiful.
About the Authors
Patricia MacLachlan, the author of numerous picture books and novels for children, is best known for her Newbery Medal–winning novel Sarah, Plain and Tall. Her other works include Journey, Baby, Waiting for the Magic, and Kindred Souls. Born in Cheyenne, Wyoming, she graduated from the University of Connecticut and now lives in Williamsburg, Massachusetts, with her husband.
Steven Kellogg, an award-winning author and illustrator, has published more than one hundred books for children, among them The Day Jimmy’s Boa Ate the Wash, Johnny Appleseed, and Clorinda. He graduated from the Rhode Island School of Design before moving to Sandy Hook, Connecticut, where he raised his family and was active in the community for thirty-five years. Kellogg now lives in Essex, New York, with his wife.
Patricia MacLachlan, Snowflakes Fall
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