'S No Day Like A Snow Day: In the Snow by Peggy Collins

"Look out the window! It snowed--while I was asleep!"

I put on my fuzzy hat, long socks, warm mittens, cozy coat.

And big, clunky boots. I am all ready.

OOOPS! I forgot my snowpants!

An excited preschooler hurries his bearded dad outside into the snow, where they soon get their baptism in the cold, white stuff, stumbling and flopping flat in the deep, crunchy drifts. Undeterred, Dad rises from the snow, abruptly pretending to be a monster Yeti, chasing his son across the yard until both suddenly stop to observe the variety of animal tracks left by the little animals also fleeing the "Yeti."

While the boy trails after a bunny's tracks, his dad begins an enormous snowball. "I wonder what it is for?" the boy says. Of course, it's the base for an extra ambitious snowman, taller than Daddy, with the boy's toy wrench and screwdriver for arms and a yellow Bob hard hat for a topper. The boy is ready to play with his snowman, but Dad, having moved at least a ton of snow, has a sudden need to sit down and lean against that snowman for a while.

Then the boy realizes he's ready for a change as well.

"I'm tired now, too. My tummy is grumbling. My nose is running. And my toes are a little bit cold. It's time to go inside now.

And Dad has just the remedy for snow symptoms--some lunch, dry socks, and a cuddle in their favorite chair.

"Our house is warm and cuddly. My tummy is full. My toes are toasty.

And Daddy and I are very... very... sleepy."

A dad who has the formula for a snow day never to be forgotten is the heart of Peggy Collins' new In the Snow (Applesauce Books, 2009). For youngsters, there's no time like snow time. It's a time of special joy only accessible in childhood, and this dad knows how to make some historic tracks in that new-fallen white stuff.