A Quiet Conversation with the Snow by Lori Colvin and illustrated by Lee Steadman has a few tones and levels to it. The first thing I noticed was the repetition of the images. There is a lot of white and blue. When other colors come out, it is usually red and specifically the red of a male cardinal. This bird is on almost every page, allowing for the listener (and reader) to find it. Sometimes it is obvious and is the center of the back and other times a bit more hidden. The second thing I noticed was that it has a self-published tone, meaning that it is a good book, but sometimes things are not “flowing” or as polished as a big publisher would have them. And the final thing I noticed was that the voice of the narrator has a spiritual tilt towards it. This is not obvious until near the end, where God is mentioned and a Psalm is quoted about cardinals.
This all comes together to make a beautifully illustrated book that has a quiet, poetic day between a father and son in it. The cardinal, as said, is a strong focal point to things, but there, despite some lack of quantity, are other things to see. It is a softly tone read, that mixes the quiet of the snow, but also how it can have sound itself or the sounds that surround the two characters.
There is not a lot of traditional action, therefore the child who is into “excitement” along with their stories might not be the audience for things. However, most ages would be good with it as you can read the illustrations, have the text read to you or a combination of the two. Read via an online reader copy.