Double Entry Diary for "The Thief Lord"

"Snowflakes whirled through the alley. They fell so densely from the off-white sky that Bo squeezed his eyes shut. Suddenly everything was gray and white--as if someone had erased all the colors of the city while they were in the shop."..."[The children] only had eyes for the snow. The cold flakes settled on their faces and in their hair. Bo gleefully licked one off his lip. He stretched his arms wide as if he wanted to catch them all. Hornet just looked up into the sky blinking. It hadn't snowed in Venice for years. The people they passed looked just as enchanted as the children. Even the shop assistants stepped into the street to look up at the sky" (191).

I love this passage! When I read it I feel like I am in Venice amazed at the snowflakes falling for the first time in ages. I really like the images in this passage of Bo tasting the snowflakes and trying to catch them all. The author's language truly makes me "see" the snowfall in this section. I can picture everyone being so amazed at the snow because they have probably never seen it before and are so excited to get to experience such a thing in their lifetime. One might expect the children to be fascinated by such a thing as snow, but the author takes this one step further and tells readers that even the adults were fascinated by this remarkable event in their city and came outside as if to see if it was really happening. I remember it snowing at my house when I was younger and how much I enjoyed it. I know I always had such a goofy look on my face because I could not contain the excitement of being outside and playing in the snow. This passage brings back those memories of my first few experiences with snow. It also shows that no matter what age we are, we always are somewhat child-like, with the image of all the adults' amazement with the snow event.