(An early draft described him as a “brown sugar boy.”) They reworked the libretto several times, choosing to describe Peter as a “beautiful boy” rather than to explicitly mention his race. They added a father, who is featured in later books by Keats but not in “The Snowy Day,” to avoid any suggestion that Peter was being raised by a single mother. The creators wanted the work to show a Black family that was happy and intact to counter stereotypes in popular culture of dysfunction and despair in Black communities. Several new characters are introduced, including Amy, a Latina friend of Peter’s who teaches him some words in Spanish. Use words like sliding, jumping, running, and throwing to describe their actions.While Thompson and Pinkney tried to stay true to the spirit of Keats’s work, they also took liberties. What does your child like to do outside? When you are outside with your child, look for children at play. Start a conversation with your child about ways to play outside.You may wish to discuss the prompts shown below.Be sure to talk about objects and actions the child brings up, too. Good words to ask about are listed in the vocabulary section below. If he or she needs help in answering a question, ask that question again the next time you read the book. For example, ask: What is Peter doing? (He is sliding down the hill.) Use your finger to point to what you are asking about.

Give prompts about objects or activities in the pictures.

For example, ask: What is happening in this picture?

Each time you read The Snowy Day, leave more of the 'reading' or retelling to the child.

What does snow feel like? What can you do with snow? After you have read the story, say: This book is about a boy named Peter who plays in the snow.

Give the child enough time to look at each of the pictures.

Read the words to the story on each page, moving your finger under the words as you read.

If the child is familiar with snow, use the story and the pictures to start the child talking about some of his or her experiences with snow. Does the child know what snow is? If not, explain that snow is white and cold and it falls during the winter. Say the title together as you point to each word.

Read the title of the book from the cover, while pointing to each word.Peter and his friend go out to play in the new snow. That night he dreams that the sun melts all the snow, but when he wakes up he finds that it has snowed again. Before he comes inside, he makes a snowball and puts it in his pocket. Peter wakes up to find it has snowed and goes out to play in it. Of 2 Intro and technique The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats Summary of the Story