Who Will Make the Snow?
$22.00
By Taras Prokhasko & Marjana Prokhasko
Illustrated by Marjana Prokhasko
Translated from Ukrainian by Boris Dralyuk and Jennifer Croft
Twin moles, Purl and Crawly, are born on the first day of spring. The newest members of their woodland world, they’re curious about everything. What is swimming? How do we get better when we’re sick? Do animals live in the sea? Why do grownups eat smelly cheese? What happens when we die? Every day is filled with another adventure as Purl and Crawly explore the peculiar characters that surround them in the forest. Home is always waiting for them, filled with the clacking of father’s typewriter, the sound of mother playing her upright bass, and the smells of quince jam and medicinal moss brews. During their adventures outside the home, they learn that the world is sometimes scarier and stranger than it seemed from the pocket of their father’s coat. Each new encounter leaves Purl and Crawly a little braver and wiser and with a few extra friends. Brilliantly illustrated with scenes of mischief and discovery by Marjana Prokhasko, Who Will Make the Snow? reminds us that the world is always larger and more wonderful than we can see from our own corner of the woods.
Out on December 5th, 2023
Praise
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Marjana Prokhasko's illustrations are beautifully textured and atmospheric. The characters draw you into their whimsical world, a place I would like to stay! There are so many sweet details throughout - a feast for the eyes and a delight for the inquisitive reader (or mole)!
— Esmé Shapiro -
Snow is part of everyday life in winter for Ukrainians yet the brilliant book by Marjana and Taras Prohasko deserves a spotlight of its own. From it, Ukraine's tiniest citizens will learn about friendship, sticking together and fighting fear.
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Beech Forest has the same Utopian charm of the Hundred Acre Wood and Moominvalley, and like those settings I would very much like to settle down, read the news in The Daily Mole, and visit friends at Under the Oak Cafe. It's not that nothing bad happens here, it's just that life's movements follow the seasons and all challenges are faced bravely and in community. Taras's story has the feel of a classic with a contemporary generosity, especially thanks to a lift from Dralyuk and Croft's superb translation, and Marjana's textured illustrations are expressive, often gorgeous, and full of delightful details.
— Timothy Otte, Wild Rumpus Books, Minneapolis -
This cozily domestic chapter book by married team the Prokhaskos opens on the first day of spring, when twins Crawly and Purl are born to an already sizable mole family . . . Forest adventures follow in seven chapters, accompanied by lively discussion . . . A world in which conflict stays largely mole-sized and manageable, while softly colored, scribbly line drawings provide glimpses of mole home life, including neat lines of drying underwear and a simmering cauldron of quince jam.
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In a small community that feels a bit like the Hundred Acre Wood, a large family of moles—which called to mind my father’s enormous Catholic family of origin—welcomes a pair of twins. It is spring, and the book will follow the family through the rest of the seasons with a delightful series of vignettes. The stories are incredibly charming and wholesome, timeless yet feminist (see Mama Mole). The illustrations are stunning—unique and unforgettable. Over the course of a year, the two youngest moles learn so much—namely, how to be brave. Who Will Make the Snow? is a standout treasure. Bonus points: it introduced me to both an intriguing Ukrainian writer and an intriguing Ukrainian visual artist.
— Mary Wahlmeier Bracciano, Raven Bookstore, Lawrence, KS