Good Books: Fifty Words for Snow

Fifty Words for Snow by Nancy Campbell

What a fun book this is! Short chapters, interesting information, new-to-me words, and exquisite photographs of single snowflakes make this a very enjoyable read.

Campbell chooses words for snow from languages and cultures all across the globe, weaving in legends, scientific information, or local knowledge as she connects the word for snow with the physical location where it is used.

Because of my Scottish heritage I was personally drawn to “smoor,” a word used in Scotland meaning “to perish in a snowdrift.” This might be used when talking about sheep who were unfortunate to be left unsheltered in a heavy snowstorm.

Iceland has a word for snow describing “snowflakes big as a dog’s paw.” How fun is that! I love when vocabulary becomes so specific that we can quickly imagine what something might look like in real life.

This book is sure to grow your imagination as you consider information about snow you have never heard before and learn about the relationship other countries and peoples have with this winter wonder.