Snow in Vermont is as common as dirt. Why would anyone want to photograph it? But from the time he was a small boy, Wilson Bentley thinks of the icy crystals as small miracles, the he determines that one day his camera will capture for others their extraordinary beauty.
Often misunderstood in his time, Wilson Bentley took pictures that even today reveal two important truths about snowflakes: first, that no two are alike, and second, that each one is startlingly beautiful. His story, gracefully told by Jaqueline Briggs Martin and brought to file in Mary Azarian’s lovely woodcuts, gives children insight into a soul who had not only a scientist’s vision and perseverance, but a clear passion for the wonders of nature.
Born in 1865,Wilson Bentley grew up on a small farm near a village in Vermont and was misunderstood for his passion for snowflakes; however, with perseverance and his family’s support he finally captured the crystals on film using the microphotography he invented, and shared their beauty as well as the photography techniques with the world.
In the days when farmers worked with ox and sled and cut the dark with lantern light, there lived a boy who loved snow more than anything else in the world.
Willie Bentleys happiest days were snowstorm days. He watched snowflakes fall on his mittens, on the dried grass of Vermont farm fields, on the dark metal handle of the barn door. He said snow was as beautiful as butterflies, or apple blossoms.
He could net butterflies and show them to his older brother, Charlie.
He could pick apple blossoms and take them to his mother. But he could not share snowflakes because he could not save them.
The opening lines entice the reader to learn more about this unusual boy, give a sense of time and place, and present the problem—that he could not save snowflakes.
The author builds on the opening lines through Willie’s first view of the snowflake crystals through a microscope given to him by his mother, his attempts to draw them before they melted, his parents’ use of their savings to buy him a camera/microscope combination, his first winter of failure and second of success using the new tool, and finally his journey to awaken the people around him and far away to the wonder and beauty of the snowflake.
At the age of 66, and with the support of other scientists, Willie published a book of his best photographs but died of pneumonia less than a month later after walking out in a blizzard. His book has lived after him and has spread his passion and knowledge of snowflakes to the world. A monument and museum in his honor were established in his village—where he was first misunderstood.
microscope, ice crystals, intricate patterns, glass negatives, experiment, photography, molecules, evaporate, slides, published, pneumonia
The author did not specify sources although the museum was mentioned in the text.
This book awakens children to the beauty and wonder of snowflakes and gives them the model of a man who was different and misunderstood, but through passion, perseverance and the love of his family selflessly carried out his studies and experiments, and gave the world microphotography and the precious gift of snow crystals for all to see.
Need and Want:
Willie needs to find a way to study the snowflake and capture its fleeting beauty so others can share his love and wonder of this ephemeral treasure. Often misunderstood and considered odd in his snowy community of hard-working farmers, Willie also needs others to find value in his passion and life’s work.