SNOWFLAKE'S JOURNEY
A Storybook for All Ages
Heather Croghan
Illus. by Adele Reeves

BOOK REVIEW
In Croghan and Reeves’ picture book, a snowball rolls downhill, growing through a lifetime of joys, sorrows, and
unpredictable paths.
Deposited by a benevolent breeze, a snowflake sets out upon a long downhill journey from mountaintop to lake. It
becomes a carefree, exuberant little snowball, undeterred by bumps and mishaps. It meets other snowballs and grows
with each layer of experience—some pleasant, some not. “Roll and grow,” the narrator exhorts in a mantra repeated to
stirring effect throughout the text. Sometimes, the snowball takes a wrong turn and wants to go back. “Snowballs can only
roll downhill,” the breeze observes—the seed of a philosophy that young readers will carry with them. Though damaged,
the snowball rolls on, gathering new snow to cover its scars. Part of it breaks away to form a smaller snowball, and for a
blissful time the two roll together. Then, the “child” angles off on its own path; the “parent” snowball grows old and slow.
Reaching the lake, it melts away and is scooped up by the breeze, carried off to be born anew. Croghan narrates in
straightforward, affecting prose, allowing this life parable to roll at its own pace and impress itself upon the reader. Reeves
complements the story with two-page illustrations of hazy, stick-armed snowballs and shifting, wintry hues that beautifully
encapsulate life’s unexpected turns, free-flowing uncertainties, and, beneath it all, wild, wonderful thrills.
A sweet, somewhat wistful allegory of life, death, and everything that comes between.