The Enchantment of Snow Geese Season: A Story in Nature

In the book Snow Geese Season, a young boy experiences a magical morning with his grandfather. Waking up while it’s still dark, they journey together in a truck through quiet neighborhoods and farms, arriving at a field to witness a spectacular event. As narrated by the boy, they first hear faint sounds, which swell to the music of a grand migration of snow geese.

Author Angela Burke Kunkel captures these quiet moments in nature that become significant to someone’s life.

Kunkel resides in Vermont, near the Dead Creek Wildlife Management Area. Each fall, this area transforms as geese blanket the ground in white, migrating south. According to Vermont Fish & Wildlife, prime viewing times are early morning and late afternoon, from early October to mid-November.

When illustrator E.B. Goodale read the manuscript, she felt compelled to witness the geese firsthand. Goodale was captivated by Vermont’s distinct color palette at dawn—deep dusky blues on mountain ridges, straw light yellows, and oranges in grasses.Goodale illustrated the book traditionally. Using watercolor washes, she amplified these colors. Monoprints made with plates, brushes, and oil-based inks added texture, finalized with oil paint linework for detail.

Snow Geese Season features two characters, focused on the anticipation of geese arrival. To keep pages dynamic, Goodale depicted scenes like characters viewing fields through binoculars and geese overhead from a bird’s perspective.

Goodale enjoys creating atmospheric works that convey emotions through place. Kunkel appreciates the familiar details in Goodale’s illustrations, like the house at the story’s start, reminiscent of her town’s architecture, and character attire.

During Goodale’s Vermont visit, Kunkel advised wearing neon gear due to hunters. Goodale ventured out with her son, observing vibrant contrasts of neon hats against dark backgrounds. Her visits, and resulting attention to detail, contributed to the book’s special and relatable nature.

Kunkel, reflecting on personal moments and nature’s quiet solace, recalls walks with her uncle during her childhood. Through Snow Geese Season, she realizes she paralleled such moments of space and nature’s tranquility in the book’s narrative.