The Snowy Day
By: Ezra Jack Keats
Literary Elements
The cover of the book!
Peter looking outside to find snow!
Peter looking down at the footsteps he made in the snow!
Physical Features
Cover- The cover is very appealing because it not only shows Peter outside in the snow but it also displays a number of different colors that are bright and give a happy feeling. The title of the book also doesn't cover up the illustrations but simply sits in the red sky where they fit perfectly.
Endpaper- The endpaper of this book is just the color red. Now that's not very exciting and doesn't tell any sort of story but it is the main color that carries the theme throughout the book which is a great symbol of the book itself and what's to come in the next pages.
Front Matters- The first few pages of the book contained the authors name and the book contents but also included some nice color and snow that just got you even more excited to keep turning the pages so that you could read the book.
Paper- The paper had a glossy feeling to it which also made the pictures look shiny which had a cool affect at the way I viewed the snow because when you're actually outside looking at the snow the sun reflects off of it and it can give it the same look that the texture of the pages were giving the book.
Visual Elements
Line- The only straight lines on this page are of the roofs of buildings to show that those are the only solid structures in the picture and that the snow can melt or fall.
Color- There is a lot of white on this page because he is playing in the snow and the book talks about it being a blizzard and not just a light dusting so the page is mostly filled up with the color white to emphasize how much snow that they really did get. The sky is blue because that is the color of our actual sky and that will make more sense to children and the buildings are two different colors to give more pop to the page and to make sure that we can tell there is more than one building.
Shape-The shapes on this page are very round and there are not many straight lines. The outline of the snow angel makes a circle because that is the way that his arms and legs are moving. The buildings are in the shape of a square and the snowman is also made up of circles because that's how everyone makes them.
Texture- There is just a flat smooth texture on the part of the page that has no snow because it is a flat building and a flat sky. The texture really comes into play next to peter and the snow angel because it is painted in a way where you can tell his body is moving and there is also texture that shows snow build up so that you can tell he made an indent in the snow. This is important because otherwise the reader would never know whether he was making indents in the snow or if he was moving and that's how the snow angel was made.
Composition and Point of View- The composition is like the structure of the page. On this page everything is simple so that you can tell what is going on and your eyes don't wander. The main point of the page is to let us know that Peter made a snow angel and a snowman so those things take up 3/4 of the page and also come first. The buildings and the sky are really made to look like they are in the background and this page is really easy to follow and find the main point which is shown as Peter makes a snow angel and a snowman.
Distance-The picture is very small and compact and really keeps everything close so that you can stay focused on the main point of the page and you don't need to move your head or eyes in order to see everything on the page which is great for little children because they tend to get distracted easily.
The next page I'm going to analyze is the page where peter is looking at the footprints he made in the snow.
Line- The only straight lines on this page are on the sides of Peters coat to make him look like he is wearing a lot of layers and to show the readers that his clothing isn't tight so it must be cold outside.
Color-There is not much color on this page because the author is really focusing in on just Peter and his footprints. Peter's coat is red and red is on every page because it's carrying a theme, Peter's face is brown because that is his authenticity and the rest of the page is white and grey because the rest of the page is just snow and the grey is the footprints because it's made to look like snow but it needed a little more color so that the reader could tell that there were foot imprints going into the snow.
Shape- Peter is shaped like a square because it's representing that you can't see his real body shape because he is wearing so many pieces of clothing because of the cold. Peter's footprints are shaped like ovals because that is the only shape that shoes can be shaped like and it is easy for children to tell what it is. The rest of the picture is snow so there is no shape.
Texture- The texture of this page is very flat. There is no texture to Peter because his coat is flat and you can't see the outline of his face because he is wearing a hat. The footprints have a texture of moved snow because peter has stepped on the. The footprints have a piled on texture that makes it clear to the reader that the snow is raised up on the sides.
Composition and Point of View- This page was made very simply in and does not include very much. The page was set up to only show one thing and that is footprints being looked at by Peter. The author set it up so there was one thing and one thing only to look at so that the main point of the text could not have a way to be confusing.
Distance- This page makes the page and picture seem very small because Peter and the footprints are very big and in the middle of the page so that takes up the whole page making everything seem small and the distance to be very small and short.
Artistic Style
Artistic Media
Elements of Illustration
Arrangement and Page Turns- The arrangement in this book is very simple. Every two pages are just one picture so you don't have anywhere for your mind to wander because it is just one picture and the text is talking about one event that is happening in the picture. The story is also arranged in the manner where everything goes in order and there is never anything confusing about the story because it is just like a normal day out in the snow.
Narrative Sequence- The story is told one action at a time. There is not a bunch of things going on on a single page. For example on one page he makes a snow angel and then you turn the page and he walks in the snow. The sequence is very easy to follow and not confusing at all.