We keep telling ourselves that the rain will eventually disappear and we'll get the first dusting of snow but so far we're busy fishing our canoes out of the garage instead of our sledges.
Meanwhile it's lovely to completely immerse ourselves in a book that's a rare delight, something both unique and inspirational in children's books that celebrates getting outdoors and finding adventure in your surroundings.
As those of you familiar to Beachy Books' other titles will already know, Jack and Boo are two children who do just that whether they're at the seaside (like in Jack and Boo's Bucket of Treasures) or on a nature hike (like in Jack and Boo's Wild Wood).
Philip and Eleanor Bell base the Jack and Boo books around their own adventures and their own children, and 'Snowy Day' shows off just how beautiful the Isle of Wight (where the Bell family currently reside) can be when the snow falls.
Philip Bell's prosaic storytelling is a delight to read and Eleanor Bell's illustrations use real photographs spliced with 'cut out' figures to lend the books a very distinctive and unique look that certainly makes them stand out on shelves. Very eye catching.
Charlotte and I read through the story, and enjoyed imagining what we'll do when the snow falls. We'll definitely be building an igloo and a snowman (and just like Jack and Boo, we'll undoubtedly be throwing snowballs and making snow angels too).
The best part of Beachy Books' titles are the knowing nods to mother nature and all the things that children can find and observe, even if you live in a big city with very little green space. There's always something to see, and there's a great spotter's guide woven into the story as well as a double spread at the end of the book to let children see what's to be found in a snowy landscape. Perfect for this time of year and a great little christmas stocking filler.
You can purchase Jack and Boo's Snow day from Beachy Books themselves (in fact visit the website anyway, it's chock full of Jack and Boo fun!), from Amazon or from excellent local independent booksellers like our own Mostly Books or from Beetroot Books , another brilliant indie bookseller (with a rather nifty purple website, yay!)
Charlotte's best bit: Charlotte loves Boo to bits, and likes the fact that Boo 'Won' the snowball fight :)
Daddy's favourite bit: A really unique children's book that reads almost like the journal of a family day out. Love the art style which is a great mix of photography and illustration. Best of all I like what the books inspire, a love of the outdoors and the search for all the brilliant things you can find out there.
(Kindly supplied to us for review by Philip Bell at Beachy Books)