Snowflake Bentley (book) facts for kids
Snowflake Bentley
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| Author | Jacqueline Briggs Martin |
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| Illustrator | Mary Azarian |
| Country | United States |
| Genre | Children's picture book |
| Publisher | Houghton Mifflin |
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Publication date
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1998 |
| ISBN | 978-0-395-86162-2 |
| OCLC | 36676027 |
| 551.57/841/092 B 21 | |
| LC Class | QC858.B46 M37 1998 |
Snowflake Bentley is a children's picture book. It was written by Jacqueline Briggs Martin. Mary Azarian created the pictures. The book came out in 1998. It tells the true story of Wilson Bentley. He was the first person known to photograph snowflakes. Mary Azarian won the 1999 Caldecott Medal for her amazing illustrations.
About the Book
Snowflake Bentley is a medium-sized book. It measures about 10 ½ by 10 ¼ inches. The book has 16 pages filled with beautiful pictures. Most of the pictures are large and colorful. This is the usual art style of Mary Azarian. Each picture helps to tell the story on that page.
Many pages have a special vertical section. This section has a light blue background. It also shows white snowflakes. This part shares interesting facts about Wilson Bentley. Azarian also uses a bold black frame around her pictures. This makes them look like real photographs.
The Story of Wilson Bentley
This book is based on a true story. Jacqueline Briggs Martin wrote about Wilson Bentley. He was the first person to photograph snowflakes. Wilson lived on a farm in Jericho, Vermont. This area is between Lake Champlain and Mount Mansfield. It gets a lot of snow, sometimes up to 120 inches each year.
Wilson loved snowflakes very much. He wanted to capture their beauty. He hoped to share them with everyone. First, Wilson used a microscope. He tried to draw the snowflakes. But the snow melted too quickly. He could never finish his drawings.
As Wilson got older, he asked his parents for a camera. He wanted to photograph the snowflakes. His parents used their savings to buy him a camera. They wanted to support his special dream.
With his new camera, Wilson took many pictures. At first, many of his photos did not turn out well. But Wilson did not give up. He kept trying new things. He experimented with lighting and camera settings. He also tried different lenses.
Not many people were interested in Wilson's work. They did not care much for his snowflake pictures. When it was not winter, Wilson enjoyed taking pictures of nature. But photographing snow was always his favorite. Wilson even held evening slideshows on his lawn. He would show his friends his latest snowflake pictures.
Later in his life, Wilson wrote a book about snow. He also published his photos in magazines. When he went to publish his first book, he got caught in a big snowstorm. This made him very sick. Sadly, Wilson passed away two weeks later. To remember him, Wilson's friends built a museum. It showed all of his amazing work. Everyone would know about "Snowflake" Bentley.
