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Nature Stories: Little Snowflake: Discover an Amazing Story from the Natural World-Padded Board Book

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If I haven’t earned the title of depression, then neither has she. Because she is a lot less miserable than I am. Or she certainly ought to be.” In an interview with the Irish Times, author Louise Nealon provided the roots of the novel as being personal. When she was 18, she awoke in the middle of the night convinced she was dreaming someone else’s dream. This was immediately dismissed as delusions. In Ireland, psychiatry is not thought of as being necessary, although it’s improving. Nealon wanted to write a story about the silence of mental illness in Ireland because for her, psychiatry didn’t help her, but reading literature did. This is a description of the local therapist in Debbie’s home town. There are so many problems in these two sentences alone. The ONE thing everyone loves? Everyone? And is that really Audrey’s problem? Or is it the problem of the people around her? In addition, this is presented as received wisdom from Debbie’s neighbours. Debbie does not question this in any way. Yet she’s apparently very smart? I guess in the ‘I am very intelligent’ meme sense only. I can’t imagine someone going through life without grasping the concept of the iconic six-armed snow crystal,’ I say. I tend to avoid some books when they're being hyped up in the media for fear they will not live up to that hype, this is one of those books I avoided at all costs for weeks. I then started to see comparisons being made to Sally Rooney's Normal People and decided hell no not for me. (Apologies Sally Rooney fans!) Fast forward to a Borrowbox update and this beauty popped up in the audiobook section, I thought what have I got to lose.

Nealon’s writing is sparse and when that’s coupled with a melancholic tone and the Irish setting, the inevitable comparison to Sally Rooney will be made. While i feel like it’s in a league of its own and not all upcoming female Irish writers should be dubbed ‘the next Rooney’, i can see the overlap between the two authors. I am a culchie. I grew up on a farm in County Galway, though I live in Dublin city these days. My country roots are something I might have run from in my youth, but lately I have grown to appreciate them. I have often felt that our tribe is underrepresented in modern Irish literature but finally, here it is. Snowflake is the Great Culchie Novel. When I saw references in the story to Wavin pipes, standing in gaps to move cattle and traditions like Cemetery Sunday, I knew I was in the hands of a true bogger. this is another contemporary, coming of age tale which follows debbie, an 18 year old who lives on a dairy farm as she navigates her 1st year at university, while also trying to handle her eccentric and troubled mother and uncle. if you know me you know i love a coming of age story, so this premise was right up my street. the writing was beautiful and lyrical but also raw, perfectly capturing the mindset of what it’s like to be a young woman figuring out life and trying to survive university (perfect for fans of sally rooney and naosie dolan in that regard). it also had a small magical realism element related to dreams which i definitely think added something unique to the story, even though i do wish it was developed a bit more. i also really enjoyed the irish slang in the dialogue and the exploration of some of the folklore, i found it all so interesting to read about! nealon also touches on several themes in this book too, like mental illness, family dynamics, friendship, identity, alcoholism, the pressure of university, and more. Final verdict: Bringing together all these lovely illustrations with educational elements make this a great read for any young child's library. LITTLE SNOWFLAKE is a great book to share with young learners/readers and teach them about the water cycle in the process.Snowflake hat mich in vielerlei Hinsicht positiv überrascht. Am Anfang dachte ich, es wäre die typische Geschichte einer jungen Frau vom Lande, die völlig naiv an die Uni kommt, sich dort zurechtfinden muss und dabei kaum Unterstützung von zu Hause erhält. Das ist es zum Teil auch. Allerdings ist dies nur der äußere Rahmen, denn die Geschichte geht viel tiefer. Aside from the two main reasons I bought this book – supporting Irish authors and keeping up with the zeitgeist – I genuinely thought this might actually hit my buttons. I too was once a sheltered country girl going to the big city for college and feeling horribly lost from day one. However, right from the start I lost sympathy with Debbie. As the author went through depression herself, we could feel Debbie's struggles bleeding through the book. The story balances the dark themes and humour well. The discussion of mental health isn't too bleak, yet holding its weight. Do take note there are a few detailed scenes on animal cruelty. LITTLE SNOWFLAKE is a delightful story that explains the water cycle through the eyes of a small snowflake. Tiny drops of water freeze and turn into a snowflake, who travels down to the earth with the wind. It lands on a tree before heading to the ground, where children make it part of a snowball and then a snowman. When the sun comes out, they melt and become vapor that travels up to the sky, where they can again be made into snow.

Veľmi dobre je tu zvládnutá téma dospievania. Nie je to zabalené do cukrovej vaty, proste poukazuje na to, že ten prechod zo strednej na vysokú nie je taký plynulý ako sa zdá. A môže byť miestami dosť krutý. Plus hlavná postava pochádza z dedinky neďaleko veľkého mesta a neskutočne sa mi páčilo ako sa to prelínalo/kontrastovalo spolu. The illustrations are really fantastic here. The colors are vivid and attention grabbing, making this a book that toddlers and preschoolers are sure to enjoy. Furthermore, the book itself is a lighter board book that will be easy to young toddlers to turn on their own and is fun to simply flip through. Nealon consistently refuses to use contractions, for no reason. It can’t be in service of rendering accurate Hiberno-English, because that would require more contractions, not less. If Audrey had kept quiet and continued to drink at home, people would still have sent their kids to piano lessons. Audrey’s problem was admitting that she had a problem, and the problem was with alcohol, the one thing everyone loved.” Besides being a coming-out-age story filled with complications and quirky moments, the story is also about self-acceptance and familial relationship. As Debbie steps out of her comfort zone, she has to navigate between new peers and the family bubble. Things eventually fall apart and the dark issues surrounding the family history and mental health are uncovered.

Little Legends: The Spell Thief

The story revolves around Debbie, the narrator, who is embarking on her university years. She’s leaving the dairy farm for the sophisticated Trinity College in Dublin. This is a coming-of-age story in that Debbie has been protected at the farm, with little city involvement. She’s intimidated by not only moving to university, but also navigating the big city. This is the story of her finding her place in the world, learning what other lifestyles there are other than dairy farming.

I inspect what I just squirted out of myself before I flush it away. Foam fizzed on top of the watery gold like froth on a pint.” What I loved: This book is full of great things- beyond the lessons and educational elements, there are lovely illustrations with animals, diverse children, and plenty of the little snowflake. The text is also rhyming, making it fun to read aloud and listen to. There is also a nice addition of the full cycle at the end of the book that lays out all the text in even simpler terms. While toddlers may not fully understand the process, this makes it easier to grasp and is a great introduction!Debbie has various encounters with the psychology and psychiatry services, which she describes thusly. Though seemingly unable to escape comparisons with Sally Rooney, this book is in an entirely different register from Rooney's work. While Rooney is interested in philosophical questions about our place in the world and how relationships work, Nealon's work is much grittier and down-to-earth. This is not a slight on either author: I've really enjoyed both of their work, but I think the similarities between them are superficial. Though Nealon's novel begins with Debbie going to university, this story is rooted in the world of a rural dairy farm. The world of Dublin and of Trinity college are secondary to the beating heart of the novel, which is Debbie's immediate family: her mother, Maeve, and her uncle, Billy. The family is loving, but struggles to function: Billy blames himself for his mother's death, and drinks heavily, while Maeve seems constantly on the point of breakdown. Debbie also uses alcohol to cope: it's all she's learnt. Though she was alienated at school, she also feels dislocated in university, and struggles to find her place, though she befriends the privileged but depressed Xanthe. This book is also an indictment of the struggling mental health systems and of clueless therapists, as characters try to seek help and meet bureacratic walls. Snowflake is a note to self to cherish your family and friends - and the moments spend alone with ourselves. Lousie Nealon is an Irish author that you shouldn't miss out on. Eighteen-year-old Debbie was raised on her family’s rural dairy farm, forty minutes and a world away from Dublin. She lives with her mother, Maeve, a skittish woman who takes to her bed for days on end, claims not to know who Debbie’s father is, and believes her dreams are prophecies. Rounding out their small family is Maeve’s brother Billy, who lives in a caravan behind their house, drinks too much, and likes to impersonate famous dead writers online. Though they may have their quirks, the Whites’ fierce love for one another is never in doubt.

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