Snow School

Gr 2-4--Two snow leopard cubs, born in a den high in Pakistan's Hindu Kush Mountains, are taught many lessons by their mother. Markle's simple, descriptive account moves along smoothly in an active voice. "In their smoky gray, black-spotted coats, the three snow leopards look like shadows slipping over rocks." Some readers may notice a bit of disconnect here as Marks's large, handsome watercolors of the cats depict them as beige with muted spots of brown and varied tones of gray to black. The soft hues of the animals and their white, gray, and blue environment are compelling. Marks adeptly conveys the muscular energy of the leopards in their rough-and-tumble play and their failed and successful encounters with other creatures. Shifting light through storms, drifted snow, and night lends variety to the terrain. The heart of the book is the killing of other animals in order to eat and survive, depicted in art and text as a matter-of-fact part of life. The tale ends with the male cub completing his lessons and making his first kill, enabling him to move on to life as a solitary hunter. Back matter includes a bit of explanation of physical features enabling the snow leopard's activity in the extreme environment and an author's note. There have been several attractive children's books on snow leopards in recent years, including Sy Montgomery's informative Saving the Ghost of the Mountain (Houghton Harcourt, 2009). This well-crafted introduction invites browsing and read-aloud enjoyment.--Margaret Bush, Simmons College, Boston