• Age: 5 to 7
• Grade: k to 2
• Reading age: 4 to 7

Yuta and Yuna are snow children. They are attending an ice festival in their hometown when they hear about a meeting on global warming. Yuna doesn't want to go, but Yuta persuades her. On their way they meet a family of rabbits who have almost been buried by an avalanche, hungry polar bears who can no longer hunt on the frozen ocean, and a herd of caribou who can't find the grasses they like to eat.

Snow people from all around the world have gathered for the meeting, and although Yuta and Yuna feel shy, they tell the group about the animals they have encountered. "Colder is better," some people say. "Maybe, but what can we do about the heat?" say others.

But when shimmering snowflakes begin to fall, all the snow people are filled with joy. They recognize that they have a beautiful world and that it is up to them to save it.

This is a picture book that works well both as a story and as a vehicle to address the crucial issue of global warming with very young children. It includes facts on the effects of climate change as well as a list of things that even the youngest readers can do to help the situation.

Masako Yamashita has had a lifelong passion for painting and drawing, and she studied traditional Japanese painting in Kyoto. Her illustrations have won a number of awards and prizes at picture book competitions in Japan. This is her first picture book. She and her husband, a former diplomat, have lived in the United States, Indonesia, Belgium, Taiwan, Germany, Bangladesh, Sweden and Canada. They now live in Tokyo.

Masako Yamashita's profile page