written and illustrated by Ross Van Dusen 48 pp; 8-1/2 x 11 hardcover (25 illustrations)
ISBN 978-1-936744-48-0 $21.95 Ages 3 to 9
CONGRATS to Ross Van Dusen who received the Gold Medal Moonbeam Children's Book Award for Best Nonfiction Book Series for "What Makes a Rainbow?" and "What Makes a Snowflake?"
2016 Moonbeam Children's Book Awards
Gold Medal, Best Nonfiction Children's Book Series: What Makes a Snowflake? and What Makes a Rainbow? by Ross Van Dusen
2016 National Federation of Press Women Book Awards
Second Place, Children's Nonfiction: What Makes a Snowflake? by Ross Van Dusen
2016 New Mexico Press Women
First Place, Children’s Nonfiction: “What Makes a Snowflake?” by Ross Van Dusen
2016 INDIES Awards by Foreword Magazine
Finalist, Picture Book, Early Reader: What Makes a Snowflake? by Ross Van Dusen
2016 Southwest Book Design & Production Book Awards
Finalist, Children's Book, What Makes a Snowflake? by Ross Van Dusen
Now Available at:
Bookworks, Albuquerque
Treasure House Books, Albuquerque
Boofy's Best For Pets, Albuquerque
Sandia Tram Gift Shop, Albuquerque
Home on the Range Gift Shop, Bernalillo, NM
WEEKLY ALIBI: What Makes a Snowflake? by Ross Van Dusen
Retired graphic artist Ross Van Dusen takes on topics in science through his adorable and accessible children’s books. “This book is done in such a lovely, fun way,” Hoffsis said of this book, the winter-time companion to the earlier “What Makes a Rainbow?” “It explains science to young children with very funny rhymes. The writing is very memorable.”
The wonder of a snowflake can only be matched by the wonder and imagination of a child. The story of how snowflakes are made is wonderful but the illustrations are fun and fanciful. Even adults will love them! This book makes the perfect gift for a child or a child at heard. The second in the “What Makes” series.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
When Ross Van Dusen retired as Executive Vice President and Creative Director of Chiat Day Advertising in San Francisco, he turned his attention to drawing, painting, sculpting, and writing fulltime and never looked back. He has written and published eight light-hearted mysteries for adult consumption with more on the way. But children’s books were the perfect way to combine his two main interests. Children’s books allow him to express the whimsy and joy all children feel—with bright colors and happy words. Plus a little real information along the way. He has two grown children, one grandchild, and one great grandchild and lives with wife, Jean, in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
REVIEWS:
What Makes a Rainbow? is a children's picturebook that teaches young readers about how rainbows are made, using singsong rhyme and cheery color illustrations. "Now, when the sun / hits that tiny drop, / and hits it just right, / the drop acts as a prism / and splits up the light. // With the top being redder / and the bottom more blue, / the drop reflects those colors, / and guess what they do." At once both playfully entertaining and educational, What Makes a Rainbow? is an excellent choice to read aloud to curious young children ages 3 to 8. — Midwest Book Review, Children's Bookwatch/The Science Shelf, August 2015