Snowflake Bentley (book)

The book is based on the life the first known snowflake photographer, Wilson Bentley, and his interest in capturing the beauty of snowflakes through photography. Wilson lived on a farm with his family in Jericho, Vermont, between Lake Champlain and Mount Mansfield, where the annual snowfall can reach up to about 120 inches. Wilson was very fond of snowflakes and wanted to capture them one day to share with others. With a microscope, Wilson tried to depict the snowflakes through drawings but was never able to finish, as the snow would melt too quickly.

As Wilson grew older, he asked his parents if they could get him a camera, so that he could photograph snowflakes. Wilson’s parents decided to spend their savings to buy Wilson his camera because they wanted to support his dream of capturing snowflake photos. With his new-found camera, Wilson went out to take hundreds of pictures.

In the beginning, Wilson’s photos were unsuccessful, but that did not stop him from pursuing his dream. Wilson experimented with lighting, lenses and camera exposures, eventually finding a technique that captured the snowflakes clearly. When it wasn't winter, Wilson loved taking pictures of other aspects of nature, but taking snow pictures would always be his favorite. Wilson would even hold evening slideshows on his lawn to show his friends.

Eventually, Wilson wrote a book about snow and published his photos in magazines. When Wilson went to publish his first book to share to the world, he got caught in a blizzard on his trip, a misfortune which caused him to catch pneumonia and become ill. Two weeks later, Wilson died of the illness. Wilson’s friends and neighbors built a museum of his work to educate the world about “Snowflake” Bentley.

Snowflake Bentley received critical acclaim. Kirkus reviews says “This is a lyrical biographical tribute to a farmer…whose love of snow and careful camera work expanded both natural science and photography”,^[2] and Horn book review says “The book exhibits a beautiful blend of Azarian’s splendid woodcuts, a lyrical text, and factual sidebars.”^[3]