Yesterday, my yard was so achingly beautiful that strangers stopped to shoot photos.  Even the gas man couldn’t resist taking a photo with his cell phone to show his wife.

The previous night a fierce storm blanketed our area with snow and ice.  In the daylight, our land looked like a magical realm of glistening snow and ice.

It was an ideal subject for the next Pen on Fire writing assignment: through a child’s eyes and ears. 

The task is to write a story that evokes a child’s point of view.  The writer is encouraged to turn to a child for coaching.

So, heck, I’ve got a kid, why not ask my son for guidance?

I’ll tell you why not. 

This kid doesn’t want to talk about magical realms.  He wants to say that the reason that the icicles sparkle like diamonds is that they are composed of ice atoms that are shaped like crystals. (Don’t ask me what that means!)

I asked him again to consider the fairy tale world around us, and to imagine fantastical creatures.

Pushed a bit, he was willing to concede that the snow drenched evergreens looked like space aliens.  And, yes, the snow on the ground looks like a cloud and maybe the falling snowflakes did remind him of magic falling from the clouds.  Then, he told me that this was confidential information, way too embarrassing to share.

I’m back to finding the child within. 

You see, I look around and I can’t help but imagine a fairly tale ball in a magical ice kingdom.  Dripping, sparkling icicles suggest a window into another realm where ladies adorned with silver lace, crystal beads, and glass slippers spin in ever widening circles.  I hear the tinkling bells, and tittering laughter, as bright red petticoats peak out from below the billowing white organza skirts.

It’s a world where the creatures of the earth come out to play, and snow tracks lead to hidden lairs where the mouse and the hare sit down to bask in the warmth of a pot of tea in front of a roaring fire.

Okay, before I get too carried away, here are a few of my favorite illustrated snowy tales:

Owl Moon.  By Jane Yolen, Illustrated by John Schoenherr.

Stranger in the Woods: A Photographic Fantasy. By Carl R. Sams and Jean Stoick.

The Ice Dragon, or Do as You Are Told from The Book of Dragons by E. Nesbit, Illustrations by H. R. Millar.

Stopping by Woods on a Snow Evening a poem by Robert Frost, Illustrated by Susan Jeffers.

Each is these books is a shining example of artists who see through a child’s eyes, ears, and heart.  What’s your favorite snowy tale?

More Pen On Fire Writing Assignments:

Resolve To Write

A Writing Late Bloomer?

Stealing Time

Travel Learning: The Art of Observation

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