The Snowflake

Benji Davies
Harper Collins

Age 3-5

This is a beautifully told and illustrated story about a snowflake searching for somewhere to land and a little girl called Noelle who dreams of decorating her own Christmas tree, complete with a star on top, just like the ones she has seen in shop windows. Eventually their stories combine, their wishes come true and Noelle’s makeshift Christmas tree becomes very special indeed. The words and images really evoke the magic of snowflakes dancing as they fall, the excitement of Christmas (particularly a snowy one!) and the pleasure of making your own decorations.

Watch the story read aloud

Share the story

Read Aloud
Before beginning the story look at the cover illustration together talk about what you can see and your child’s experiences of snow. As you read the story, take time to look at the beautiful illustrations.

Join In
When familiar with the story younger children may like to hold a snowflake on a stick to wave for the snowflake dancing. Older children may enjoy joining in with the reading perhaps taking the part of the snowflake or Noelle.

Talk about the Story
Share your favourite illustrations and talk about why you chose them and what you see

Some of the vocabulary may be unfamiliar to your child, for example the snowflake feeling ‘proud’ or the different words to describe its movements – such as ‘swirling’ and ‘drifting.’

Talk about what they mean.Has your child seen snow? Share memories if so and look at photos together.

If you are sharing this book on a snowy day, then wrap up warm and go out to experience it first-hand!

Things to make and do

Make paper snowflakes
Make some paper snowflakes to decorate a room, trying to make each one different.  How to Make a Paper Snowflake! | Project for Kids – YouTube  and here How To Make Frost Paper Snowflakes | Winter Crafts For Kids (penguin.co.uk)

Dance like a snowflake
Dance like a snowflake together – twirling, swirling, drifting, twisting and tumbling talking about the different movements as you do so/.

Decorate a tree
Go for a walk in a wood or a park and look for a twig or small branch which your child could bring home and decorate like Noelle does in the story.

Find out More

Read more books by Benji Davies, we have activity pages for several of these on Lovemybooks:
The Storm Whale
The Storm Whale in Winter
The Grotlyn
Grandad’s Island
Tad
Grandma Bird

Find out more about snowflakes Where Do Snowflakes Come From? – YouTube