- juvenile biography of scientist Wilson A. Bentley, set in Vermont
- his love for snow led to a lifetime of studying snowflakes and other parts of nature
- neat woodcut illustrations
- all religious aspects of his life are excluded from this book
Type: biographical picture book
Ages: 4+
Author: Jacqueline Briggs Martin
Illustrator: Mary Azarian
This is one of those books that I think is appreciated the older one is. Children might not see the beauty in snowflakes the way an adult might, or acknowledge the neat fact that Bentley was the first ever to photograph them. However, it is still a decent book for all ages.
There was no mention of a family or how he was supported (it seemed as if he had no job but just took pictures all day), but I imagine there are other resources out there with more details.
Also, because the author excluded any aspect of religion (obviously on purpose as it was in a lot of his writing and she couldn’t have missed it), you should read more about him elsewhere if you’re interested in his part of history. He gave glory to God, the “Great Designer” for the incredible beauty he found in nature. I found this article interesting–plus the footnotes show further reading.
Biographies are powerful ways to share history with the next generation, so this is a thumbs-up from me.