Wilson Bentley grew up on a farm in Vermont, where snow falls an average of 120 inches each year. He loved nature, but he especially loved snowflakes. He wanted to see what snowflakes really looked like, so his mother gave him a microscope, and he drew sketches of flakes he caught: 300 from the time he was 15, for 3 years.
When he 17, how did he have the money to get a camera that would allow him to photograph snowflakes? You'll have to read the book to learn about a huge sacrifice someone made for him.
After overcoming some obstacles, Willie spent the rest of his life photographing these crystals, spending every penny on his work. He published his book, Snow Crystals, when he was 66.
His life was a gift to our world to help us better understand the wonder and beauty of snowflakes.
I have loved learning about this man and his gift in this children's book, which was illustrated by Mary Azarian with incredible woodcuts. These illustrations won the 1999 Caldecott Award.
(New York: Scholastic Inc., 1999)
(Images are not uploading well today. I'll post the photo of the book later.)
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