Cold Snap

The small town of Toby Mills, named after its founder General Toby, whose statue stands in the town square, experiences a cold snap in this charming wintry picture-book from author Eileen Spinelli and illustrator Marjorie Priceman. As the temperature drops and drops, the townsfolk go from happy enjoyment - the kids sledding and building snowmen, everyone partaking of hot soup and stew at Sullivan Diner - to irritation at the continued cold, and their constant efforts to stay warm. The, their mayor, conscious of their slackening morale, organizes a wonderful community event...

With the recent snowstorms here in the northeast U.S., and the continued low temperatures, Cold Snap couldn't have come at a better time in my reading schedule. I show more definitely identified with the freezing residents of Toby Mills, and found the tale of their wintertime doings engaging. The vibrant artwork, done by Marjorie Priceman in gouache, is colorful and appealing, capturing the community's active lifestyle. I don't know that it really speaks of winter to me - something more restrained, in paler shades, would better capture the beauty of the snowy world, I think - but then, it's depicting people in winter, rather than a winter landscape. All in all, this was a sweet little wintertime book, and is recommended to young readers looking for seasonal fare. show less

The illustrations really elevate this title from a fairly innocuous picture book to something more beautiful. The story tells the tale of a town experiencing a cold snap - it's getting colder and colder every day; the icicles are getting longer and longer; people start wearing more and more layers; etc etc. The story goes on to tell how people attempt to stay warm in the increasingly bad weather and ends with a big bonfire organized by the mayor.

I enjoyed the flat perspective, folk-artish style of the illustrations. The colors are vibrant, the sense of movement is surprisingly lively given the flat perspective, and the illustrator does a really good job of contrasting the shivery coldness of the outdoors scenes with the bright warmth show more of things like ovens, lighted windows, steaming bathtubs, etc. show less

Very old-fashioned. A bit like [a:Virginia Lee Burton|15450|Virginia Lee Burton|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1301112042p2/15450.jpg] at first. Also [a:Louis Slobodkin|169833|Louis Slobodkin|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/m_50x66-82093808bca726cb3249a493fbd3bd0f.png] and [a:Louis Slobodkin|169833|Louis Slobodkin|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/m_50x66-82093808bca726cb3249a493fbd3bd0f.png], and even, in the name of the characters name "Moffat," [a:Eleanor Estes|23821|Eleanor Estes|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1309266620p2/23821.jpg]... I'm assuming that's an homage.

And of course I must pick the nit that "zero" is not really all that cold, at least so those of us who grew up in the upper Midwest show more know.

Still, a charmer. Would that we all were so lucky to live in such civic-minded small-towns. show less

There is a cold spell in a town and the community tries several things to warm up but nothing seeing to help. The mayors wife has a big bonfire and the whole town gets together and they are finally warm. This is a good book to have in the classroom to teach students about sharing and community. This is suitable for grades 1 and 2.

I really love this book! The illustrations are complex - showing the goings-on around town as the temperature plummets day after day.

This is a delightful book filled with wonderful winter vocabulary and charming illustrations. It's a great read aloud for all ages!

This book is about the small town of Toby Mills and how they go through a major cold front. Day by day, the ice, the snow, the temperature kept getting worse and worse. The townspeople were out of ideas on how to raise the temperature of the town- everyone was FREEZING! Through the book, you see the town come together to think of ways that they can make Toby Mills go back to normal. At the end, they all climb up to the top of the mountain and make a MAJOR bonfire. This heats up the entire town and saves Toby Mills from their icy weather!

Genre: Fantasy