Wilson Bentley (1865-1931) was a Vermont dairy farmer and self-taught scientist, best known as the first person to photograph a single snowflake.

From a young age Bentley was fascinated by nature and used an old microscope to study the world up close. He spent several winters painstakingly drawing snowflakes and when his parents bought him a camera with a built in microscope he experimented until he was able to capture snowflakes on film and share them with the world. When he was sixty-six he published a book of his photographs, but sadly he died of pneumonia not long afterwards.

We should be grateful for Wilson Bentley’s curiosity and determination. Thankfully we now also have two lovely picture books about his life and work.

Snowflake Bentley by Jacqueline Briggs Martin, illustrated by Mary Azarian (Houghton Mifflin, 1998)

This picture book is a well-written and engaging story of Wilson Bentley’s life. In addition to the main text are sidebars that provide more information, including quotations. Although that format is not my favourite, it does allow you to read the story to younger children. I love the illustrations, which are woodcuts hand tinted with water colours. A photograph of Bentley and three of snowflakes are a valuable addition to the book. Recommended for ages 5 to 10.

My Brother Loved Snowflakes: The Story of Wilson A. Bentley, the Snowflake Man by Mary Bahr, illustrated by Laura Jacobsen (Boyd Mills Press, 2002)

Published just four years after Snowflake Bentley, this book is also well written but more personal in tone as Bentley’s life is described from the point of view of his older brother Charlie. It includes more detail about Bentley’s varied interests, like studying clouds and auroras and playing and writing music. As an example, the author’s note at the end of the book mentions that “Between 1898 and 1904, he measured the size of 344 raindrops from 70 different storms.” I prefer the illustrations in the first book, but My Brother Loved Snowflakes certainly brings to life both the childhood and adulthood of a fascinating man. Recommended for ages 7 to 10.

To conclude, you can’t go wrong with either of these picture book biographies!