Module 2- June 13-19 Snowflake Bentley by Jacqueline Briggs Martin

 



            Snowflake Bentley by Jacqueline Briggs Martin






Summary:
Snowflake Bentley is a biography about Willie Bentley and how determined he was to photograph and learn about snowflakes.  Bentley develops a technique of micro-photography which allows him to show snowflakes and their beautiful designs to the world.


Read it Again?
Yes, this was an amazing and detailed book about photography and snowflakes.  It is a great way to introduce biographies to younger students while teaching the importance of going for your dreams.


Library Use:
This would be a great book to use a unit on snowflakes and how they are made and why they are all individuals. The students could learn how to make snowflakes in a variety of ways.  A discussion about how we are different just like the snowflakes would be a good character lesson.

Reviews:

Booklist starred (Vol. 95, No. 3 (October 1, 1998))

Ages 5-8. From the time he was a little boy, Wilson Bentley loved snow. Yet snow was frustrating to him. He could pick flowers for his mother or net butterflies, but he couldn't hold on to snowflakes. First, Bentley tried drawing snow crystals, but they would melt too quickly. Then, as a teenager in the 1870s, he read about a camera with a microscope. His family were Vermont farming folk, but they scraped together the money to buy him the camera. From then on, there was no stopping Bentley, who was nicknamed Snowflake. He spent winters photographing the intricate flakes. At first no one cared ("Snow in Vermont is as common as dirt"); but Bentley found fame as a nature photographer, and even today his photo book of snowflakes is considered a primary source. Martin has chosen her subject well; Bentley's determined life will have innate inspiration for children. Just as important, all parts of the book work together beautifully. The text is crisp and engaging, using word imagery to good advantage: "[his new camera] was taller than a newborn calf and cost as much as father's herd of ten cows." Azarian's woodcuts are strong and sure, just like Bentley himself, and also, like him, show a love of nuance and detail. The book's design allows for snowflake-touched sidebars that offer more specific details about camera technique or Bentley's experiments with snow. There will be so many uses for this book--not the least of which is simply handing it to children and letting their imaginations soar like Bentley's

Library Talk (May/June 1999)

This is the story of a determined young man, Wilson Bentley, and his life in Vermont where snow is a common sight. From his earliest childhood days, he loved snow, snowstorms, and watching the snowflakes fall. There are many other things that Wilson could do, such as catching butterflies and picking apple blossoms. He could show these to his friends. However, snow crystals melted before Wilson could show them to anyone. Wilson experimented with photography in an effort to capture the snow crystals so that everyone might enjoy them. Others did not seem to be interested. But did Wilson give up? No! He kept right on photographing the snowflakes. Artists and designers have been inspired by his work. Bentley is known today for his work with snow crystals and the development of microphotography. Azarian's detailed but simple woodcut illustrations give readers a clear picture of what life was like during Wilson's day. An interesting biography that will be a welcome addition to weather units or in units dealing with scientists or character traits. Appropriate as a read-aloud for the primary grades and as an easier-to-read biography for intermediate grade readers. Highly Recommended. Sue N. Howard, Library Media Specialist, Locke Elementary, Memphis, Tennessee





References:
www.mackin.com
www.titlewave.com


Bibliography:
Martin, J. (1998). Snowflake Bentley. New York: New York. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.