posted on 05 Dec 2022

Whose Tracks In the Snow? by Alexandra Milton

I always love picture books that encourage young readers to take time to look closely at the natural world around them. This one has a particularly quiet, still quality that reminds me of walking outside on a cold wintery morning.

The six creatures pictured on the cover each have their turn to star as the simple story unfolds. The painterly illustrations by Alexandra Milton who was apparently ‘brought up on a diet of beautifully illustrated children’s books’ are packed with texture and detail, an artistic style that reminds me of Jackie Morris. We see the distinctive tracks in the snowy landscape plus a hint of the track maker at the edge of each right hand page. The text on these pages is bold, uncluttered and rhythmic to encourage joining in when read aloud. There is plenty of vocabulary to think about and perhaps extend in terms of describing the different tracks.

Young readers will enjoy predicting the right answer and be rewarded when the creature appears and is named on each following page. The text on these pages is smaller which allows a great deal of interesting information to be included.

Every page is a visual treat, but I think my favourite is the gorgeously coloured long-tailed pheasant that shines against the white snow. I can see that this illustration in particular could inspire some fantastic artwork using a range of media. I also liked the diamond shaped prints of the bushy-tailed fox. I also learnt that: ‘Foxes can lie outside covered in snow because they have a big bushy tail that they wrap around their body’.

The final end papers show the tracks with life size proportions which will be another discussion point linking to mathematical concepts of size and pattern. And how interesting to see that the Hare’s front and back paws are so different …

I am very much looking forward to sharing this special book with children and taking time to relish every turn of the page. After finishing the book I wonder who will remember which creature had:

‘Tracks like hearts,

Tracks in two lines’.

Or:

‘ Tracks that are oval,

Tracks that are round’.

I am already imagining children carefully recreating each pattern and then matching to the correct creature. Hopefully they will also get a chance to look for real tracks in the snow at some point in the future and to use the knowledge gained from this beautiful educational book.

Strongly recommended.

 

Karen Argent

December 2022