Treasures of the Snow by Patricia St. John is a lovely story to read around the Christmas season. Many of the main events in the book take place at Christmas, and we grew up listening to the radio audio by Moody Radio every year in the week leading up to Christmas.
The book is the story of Annette, a young girl who takes charge of her little brother when her mother goes to be with the angels on Christmas Eve. After the village bully is responsible for a terrible accident involving her brother, Annette vows to never forgive him. The story is one of hatred, revenge, redemption, and forgiveness.
Patricia St. John writes beautifully for children. Often I’d look over at my 8-year-old daughter as we were reading it and find her smiling. She could relate so well to the feelings of the characters in the story. I noticed the same when we read The Tanglewood Secret by the same author.
Beautiful Quotes in Treasures of the Snow
The book contains one of my favorite quotes found in children’s literature. Annette’s grandmother is explaining the love of God to Annette and says,
Perfect love casts out fear. When Jesus brings His perfect love into our heart, it drives out unkindness and selfishness, and it can also drive out fear. You see, if we really believe that He loves us perfectly, there is nothing left to be afraid of. If He loves us perfectly, He will never let anything really harm us.
This time as we were reading it, the following quote stuck out to me since it elevates homemaking into its rightful place:
Monsieur Givet looked at the valiant old woman in front of him, and his eyes suddenly became misty. He saw her with her two happy healthy grandchildren behind her, and the clean peaceful home of which she was the guardian angel, He caught a glimpse of the love and courage that had strengthened her twisted hands, and lightened her dim eyes to perform a labor far beyond her natural power; and of the simple selflessness that gave the children without question because it was best for them to go. He knew that he was standing face to face with one of the saints of God.
Because the book ties together so well with Christmas, I thought I’d put together a Treasures of the Snow Unit Study.
If you don’t yet own the book, make sure you buy the older version that isn’t revised. The revised editions change much of the beautiful language. (Here is a comparison by another blogger.)
Ten+ Treasures of the Snow Unit Study Ideas
Books to Read
Read a book about the country of Switzerland.
Having just finished a book that takes place in Switzerland, your child will be curious what it is like to live there. Here are a few that you can check out from your library.
Read a book about William Tell.
In the book, the schoolmaster praises Annette for her knowledge of Swiss history. The story of William Tell is specifically mentioned. Here are some books on the subject that look like they would be great. The first four are picture books. The Apple and the Arrow is for older children.
- The Legend of William Tell by Terry Small
- William Tell by Leonard Everett Fisher
- William Tell by Margaret Early
- The Apple and the Arrow by Conrad Buff
Read another fiction book set in Switzerland.
There is, of course, Heidi by Johanna Spyri. For a picture book, Florina and the Wild Bird by Selina Chonz looks like a sweet story.
Things to Make
- Make hot chocolate.
- Make homemade hot chocolate mix gifts.
- Try your hand at cheese making.
- Make gingerbread men.
- Give a wood carving kit to your child.
- For something a little simpler, try a soapstone carving kit.
Other Ideas
- Listen to the Moody Radio audio version. (This is the one we grew up listing to, and it has many word-for-word quotes from the book.)
- Watch the movie on Amazon. (This is an old movie, deviates from the book a lot, and, quite frankly, is not very well done, but my daughter enjoyed it.)
- Assign copywork based on the main Bible verses referenced in the book. 1 John 4:18 and Revelation 3:20 are two that are main themes in the book.
I hope you’ve enjoyed these unit study ideas for Treasures of the Snow! Which are you most likely to do?
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