cover image SCHUBERT'S SNOWFLAKES

SCHUBERT'S SNOWFLAKES

Lynn Mercer, . . Iynx, $12.95 (32pp) ISBN 978-0-9535413-6-2

The text of this Scottish import seems even less solid than the snowflakes it describes, but the often striking art may merit a look. Schubert, a young polar bear, is sweeping the autumn leaves outside his family's two-story house when "something magical" happens: it begins to snow. He carries several snowflakes inside, but they melt before he can show them to his mother ("But I don't see anything dear," she says). The next day, a "proper" snowfall rewards Schubert's expectations. The mixed-media illustrations, conveyed in panels as well as full-page pictures, run heavy on contrasting colors, with bright purples, reds and yellows somewhat uneasily sharing space. But Mercer's falling snowflakes are lovely to behold: imposed atop the illustrations, they defy convention in seeming to get larger as they fall, aglow until they appear almost subsumed by light. The skies here, watercolors mottled in varying shades of blue for an almost tie-dye effect, grow thick with promise. Ages 4-8. (Sept.)