Ten Ways to Hear Snow: 10/16/20

Ten Ways to Hear Snow by Cathy Camper and Kenard Pak is a celebration of family traditions and the changing weather. Lina wakes up on the day she's to walk to her grandmother's to make warak enab (a dish similar to dolmas) to find it has snowed over night. As her grandmother is losing her eyesight, Lina wonders if she realizes it has snowed.

The act of wondering about how her grandmother might experience snow, Lina's walk turns into an aural exploration. On her way she stops to listen to different snow day scenes, noting each new way to hear snow.

While the book does have an illustration on how to wrap up the filling with a grape leaf, it doesn't include a recipe. I really wish it had. The dish looks delicious. I did find this one online, that I will be trying.

Kenard Pak, a San Francisco based illustrator, specializes in "quiet, unusual stories." For Ten Ways to Hear Snow the outside illustrations are naturally primarily white, with features brought out with light blue shadows. The people, including Lina, dress in muted earth tones. Each sound is given prominence, the new way of hearing presented in a bold blue typeface. The interiors, while still earth tones, are a warmer palette, giving a cozy, loving, homey feel to them. Pak is also the illustrator for The Fog by Kyo Maclear (2017).

The book also fits into the road narrative spectrum. Lina, while not a literal orphan (FF), is one for the purpose of her journey. She walks alone to her grandmother's house. Lina's destination is home (66), or rather her grandmother's home. Her route is the Blue Highway, meaning here the streets that she follows (33). Summarized, Ten Ways to Hear Snow is about an orphan traveler going home via the Blue Highway (FF6633).

Five stars

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