Snowflake Bentley



Snowflake Bentley
By: Jacqueline Briggs Martin
Illustrated by: Mary Azarian
Genre: Nonfiction
Ages: 5-9

 This story is about a young boy named Wilson Bentley. Wilson Bentley loves nature, especially the snow. He wants to capture pictures of the snowflakes so he asks his parents about a camera that would allow him to do this. Once he gets the camera he perfects the task of capturing photos of snowflakes. He discovers that no two snowflakes are alike. He becomes known as Bentley, the man who discovered how to capture snow. Children in our area will love learning about how this man was able to capture photos of snowflakes. They can realte to what snowflakes look like and the idea that no two look alike. A great book to use during the winter season!


Theme:
To us, all snowflakes look alike. This is not the truth. There are no two snowflakes that are exactly alike. They are all the same shape (a hexagon) but they all have different designs. There are special cameras that allow people to take pictures of snowflakes up close.


About the author:
Jacqueline Martin is the author of several children's books. She likes to use events that happened in her own life as her inspiration when writing. Before she became a full time writer she was a preschool teacher that liked to read stories to her children. Her work Snowflake Bentley received the Caldecott Medal in 1999.


Pre-reading activities:
A camera will be setup on the table as well as pictures of snowflakes for the students to look at. Before reading the book, the students will sit in a circle and each student will tell the class one thing they have taken a picture of and why they took that picture.


Post-reading activites:
After reading the story, students will write a different ending of the story. The students will also make snowflakes in memory of Willie Bentley. 

Source used:
http://www.jacquelinebriggsmartin.com/