Snowflake Bentley

Snow in Vermont is as common as snowflakes. So said all of Wilson Bentley's neighbors, and they scorned his passion for observing and photographing snow. Yet, with the passage of time, Bentley's "gift to the world" became crystal clear, and Jericho, Vermont, took pride in the magnificent accomplishments of Snowflake Bentley. This gentle production reflects the gentle man portrayed. Sean Astin's voice is quiet, calm, and focused as he describes the determination and precision with which Bentley worked winter after winter for a lifetime. Musical snow "falls" lightly in the background. The recording offers options for listening both with and without the book. It's a credit to the production that both versions flow meaningfully. An additional treasure is artist Mary Azarian's woodcuts, for which she won a Caldecott Medal. A.R. Winner of AUDIOFILE Earphones Award (c) AudioFile 2004, Portland, Maine

September 28, 1998
Azarian's (A Farmer's Alphabet) handsome woodcuts provide a homespun backdrop to Martin's (Grandmother Bryant's Pocket) brief biography of a farmboy born in 1865 on the Vermont snowbelt who never lost his fascination with snowflakes. Wilson A. Bentley spent 50 years pioneering the scientific study of ice crystals, and developed a technique of microphotography that allowed him to capture the hexagonal shapes and prove that no two snowflakes are alike. Martin conveys Bentley's passion in lyrical language ("snow was as beautiful as butterflies, or apple blossoms"), and punctuates her text with frequent sidebars packed with intriguing tidbits of information (though readers may be confused by the two that explain Bentley's solution of how to photograph the snowflakes). Hand-tinted with watercolors and firmly anchored in the rural 19th century, Azarian's woodcuts evoke an era of sleighs and woodstoves, front porches and barn doors, and their bold black lines provide visual contrast to the delicate snowflakes that float airily in the sidebars. A trio of Bentley's ground-breaking black-and-white photographs of snowflakes, along with a picture and quote from him about his love for his work, is the icing that tops off this attractive volume. Ages 4-8.