The Tiny Snowflake

The premise behind The Tiny Snowflake is simple: "God made all of us special." To illustrate this, author Arthur Ginolfi uses one of the most common examples of uniqueness...Snowflakes.

The story begins on a stormy winter night. Snowflakes are falling from the sky. Some (as illustrated by Louise Reinoehl Max) are elaborate, others are more simple. Each is a different shade and shape. But one little snowflake named Lacy doesn't want to be different. She wants to be like all the other snowflakes.

As she falls to earth, Lacy passes by several other snowflakes. One, named Crystal, explains that no snowflake is perfect, but "God made all of us special." Another snowflake tells of how she's especially fluffy, which is what makes her special. Another snowflake explains that he's slick, and that's how he's special. Another snowflake says she's special because she's delicate and soft.

Lacy isn't especially fluffy or slick or soft. She can't imagine how she's special.

Finally, Lacy lands on the ground, and as the sun begins to rise, she begins to sparkle. At last, she knows how God made her special.

What I Like: The theme of this book is a great one. Every child needs to know they are special, and that God created them that way. Children may also find it encouraging to know that it can take time for them to discover the special talents unique to them.

What I Dislike: To me, the story seems a little trite...a little too much like many stories before it. But most children haven't heard about the uniqueness of snowflakes a hundred times before...and in fact, my two year old enjoys this book. I also admit I don't care for the illustrations. They seem a bit amateurish to me...but my daughter loves them. There is, however, a same-ness to many of the illustrations, and she sometimes grows tired of looking at such similar pictures from one page to the next, and is ready to turn the page before I've read all of the text.

Overall Rating: Good.

Age Appeal: 2 - 5.

Publishing Info: Thomas Nelson, 2003; ISBN: 1400302056; hard back, $7.99.

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