posted on 22 Oct 2016

The Snowflake Mistake by Lou Trealeaven and Maddie Frost

I rather like picture books that successfully blend fantasy with reality and so was pleased to see that the cover of this one shows a woman wearing glasses dressed in very practical warm clothes and a little girl looking out and smiling at the reader. The only clues to their royal birth are their crowns which are perched precariously on their heads and the silhouette of a turreted castle in the background. They are standing on some clouds with an intriguing looking globe like machine between them and there are snowflakes all around. There are some birds flying from left to right across the top of the page with snowflakes in their beaks. This is a triumph of illustration because without any words, we already know quite a lot about what is going to be inside the covers.

 On the first double page spread we have some simple rhyming text to confirm that snowflakes are indeed manufactured in an ice palace high above in the sky. The picture shows us a landscape that is slowly being covered with snow that is being blown by a strange shower like contraption that loops down from the clouds. On the turn of the page we are back with the machine that squashes the clouds and stamps in the snowflakes. The Snow Queen appears to be quite a perfectionist here with her demands and we see the little girl on the left hand page looking rather anxious. We soon learn that her name is Princess Ellie and that like most children she would prefer to spend her time playing with the birds sliding down rainbows and suchlike.

But the Queen needs to go away for a while and so gives Ellie the responsibility of looking after the snow machine in her absence. She doesn’t seem too bothered about this until the machine stops working and she has to come up with a solution to make sure that snow is still produced. I like the way that this is quite dramatic with the use of big bold fonts ‘SPLAT, CRASH, BOING, BANG, POP’ to communicate that this is pretty serious. As she looks through her telescope at the green fields below she spots some dejected looking children as they wait in green fields with skis and sledges.

Ellie is an optimistic, clever and creative little girl and so sets to work with the help of her friends, the birds to make the snowflakes by hand instead. In this way she solves the problem and is able to ensure the necessary snowfall. The world below is suitably transformed – making all the children look very happy.

When the Snow Queen returns Ellie nervously explains what has happened and they agree that ‘It’s the best snowfall ever’. The final pages show us the two smiling together as they celebrate with the birds.

This is a charmingly illustrated story that uses a soft palette dominated by blues, purples and white which feels appropriately wintry. I also liked the careful choice of words in the text particularly the memorable description of the hills that ‘become white like a pile of iced buns.’  It is always pleasing to see a story where a girl makes decisions and carries them out with confidence and panache. I imagine that this picture book will be enjoyed by many children,  and their parents. It will also be a welcome addition to a winter themed selection in any early years setting, particularly as the final page gives instructions for making a snowflake from paper which, as an ex- teacher I know is a standard activity in the run up to Christmas, real snow or not.

Karen Argent

October 2016