Snowflake Bentley

Title: Snowflake Bentley (Caldecott Medal Winner)

Author: Jacqueline Briggs Martin

Illustrator: Mary Azarian

Publisher & Publication Date: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1998

Genre: Biography, informational, picture book

Grade Level: 2-4

Summary: Snowflake Bentley is a picture book biography of the self-taught scientist, Wilson Bentley. The book tells the story of how Willie Bentley became a famous photographer of snowflakes and other things in nature. On almost every page there is some biographical information of Bentley. The story takes you through his life, but on a level that young children would be able to understand. It starts with his love of the snow, then goes on to tell how he wanted a camera, and then how he got one. It then goes on to tell of how he tries to photograph the snowflakes and then how he starts to photograph nature. It tells when he died and how he died, and also gives information about the monument that was built in his honor in his hometown.

Response: I think that Snowflake Bentley is a wonderful book. It is so inspiring and really teaches the reader a lot about someone from history. I noticed as I was reading that in the side margins of the pages there were small pieces of information about Wilson Bentley. I think that is a great idea, because information is given not only about Bentley's life but about Vermont, early cameras, and snowflakes. I did not know of Wilson Bentley before I read this book, and I think that my students will not know who he is either. This book reminded me of when I was younger and how I was interested in caterpillars. I used to catch them all the time and keep them to examine them. I wanted to know everything about them, where they were coming from and what they ate. I made a strong connection with this story because of the fact that I was so interested in something so simple when I was growing up.

Teaching Ideas: An activity that you could do with your students is to have them think of something that they are really interested in. Then have them do a mini-research assignment. Take them to the computer lab and to the library to do their research. Have the students write down what they want to know about the thing they have selected, and then have them do the research to answer their questions. Of course you would have to help them find ways to research their topic. This is also a great way to introduce children the idea of researching. This would be very beneficial to them as they progress in school. They will already have basic research skills and knowledge of something that is really interesting to them. You could also provide good, credible websites for the children the check out while they are researching.