It’s Christmas Eve, and an old farmer settles down for nap, wondering how Christmas can come when it hasn’t snowed yet. The farmer falls asleep and in his dream, he imagines snowflakes covering him and his animals. He awakens to discover it really has snowed. A surprise at the end of the book makes this a truly magical Christmas.
“The venerable and prolific Carle (Hello, Red Fox, 1998, etc.) offers a quiet Christmas story with a little music at the end. A farmer lives alone on a small farm with so few animals that he calls them One, Two, Three, Four, and Five. Oh, he also has a tree named Tree. One night near Christmas he falls asleep in his favorite chair after his peppermint tea, and dreams that he is covered in a white blanket. On successive pages, One the horse, Two the Cow, Three the sheep, and so on are each covered in a snowflake blanket, accomplished by an acetate page of flakes and an amorphous shape that when turned reveals the animal. When the farmer awakes and finds it has snowed for real, he dresses himself warmly, decorates Tree, and strews gifts for all five animals under it. When he shouts “Merry Christmas to all!” he pushes a button that children can push, producing a lovely Yuletide tinkle. The pictures are in Carle’s trademark richly colored and textured collages that capture the snowy magic of Christmas. Adults may be charmed to see that Carle dedicates the book to Barry Moser, who modeled for the farmer, although from the photo on the back cover Carle and Moser could pass for brothers with their shiny pates and neat white beards. Cotton candy.”
– Kirkus Review
“Eric Carle claimed that he would never write a Christmas book, but the idea for a story pushed its way into his consciousness and resulted in Dream Snow. A farmer lived a very quiet life with his animals named One, Two, Three, Four and Five. He cared for them and then spent his evenings relaxing with a cup of hot tea and honeyed bread. One Christmas Eve he fell asleep and dreamed that he and all of his animals were covered with a blanket of snow. Acetate overlays with snow flakes and a blanket of snow cover each of the animals as the story progresses. When he woke up the world was indeed covered with snow. The farmer dressed warmly in his red jacket and black boots and proceeded to set out presents for his animals under a tree that he had decorated. On the last page, kids push a button and get a little tune to accompany the visual feast. A charming story filled with plenty of wonderful signature Carle collages.”
– Children’s Literature
