T 

“ I n a M i s s i s s i pp i w i n t e r, we h a v e t o
make our own snow!”
Traditional songs about jingle
bells on one-horse open sleighs
may be fun to sing but most
children have trouble relating
to the idea of riding on snow-
packed roads in a horse-drawn
sleigh.
Nowhere is that more true
than in Mississippi.
Pick up any children’s story-
book, video or CD containing
stories of winter and the images
created are of snowmen, sleds,
ice skates, icicles and sparkling
white landscapes on a winter
morning.
Mississippi children rarely, if
ever, see such things.
The idea of teaching young
children about winter using
images and concepts outside
their own experiences has both-
ered early childhood educator


Kathy Chase Young for years.
Young was born in
Greenville and raised in
Tupelo. Over 20 years ago she
moved to Hattiesburg as a
University of Southern
Mississippi student. She met
her husband and the couple has
remained in Hattiesburg ever
since, raising two children.
Over the years Young has
worked in a number of jobs in
the early childhood education
field. She has been a child care
STORY BY ROYCE ARMSTRONG
PHOTOS COURTESY TISHOMINGO TREE PRESS
director, a pre-school teacher, a
teacher at USM and an early
childhood education consultant.
And, throughout most of
those years she has written chil-
dren’s stories, usually tucked
away in a desk drawer when
completed.
Recently, and to the delight
of children, parents and teach-
ers, she has begun publishing
some of these tales.
Young’s second book, In a
Mississippi Winter, first hit
store shelves in mid-October
and is already receiving acclaim

across the state.
South Mississippi Scene
Magazine had an opportunity
to visit with Young about this
latest book. Here is some of
what she had to say.
Q. Where did the idea for
this book come from?
When I was in college at
USM, I had a professor by the
name of Lynell Rogers. She was
on faculty in the child develop-
ment department for many,
many years. And, there was one
class in which we were examin-
ing instruction and childhood
development. She taught that it
was important that we teach in
a way that was relevant to a
child’s body of knowledge. For
example, the children in
Mississippi when they see
things like sleds and mittens on
a standardized test, many of
those children don’t even know
what they are because they
have never been exposed to
them. She talked about every
time that we share winter with
children, we typically do it in a
way that … we talk about
snow, sleds, skis and things like
that. Many children don’t ever
have those experiences. Winter
here is not what you see in
story books.
That really stuck with me. In
20 years of teachers, as I have
picked up children’s books, I
have never found one that
showed our experience.
Q. When did you get the idea
for the story and how did that
come about?
Probably it was about five or
six years ago when my daugh-
ter was in first grade. The idea
had just been floating around in
my head. I was doing a story
time at my daughter’s class. She
found out that I had some sto-
ries that I had written and she
asked me to bring them and
share. I brought a couple of
them in and the children were
so receptive. That is when I
decided to write “In a
Mississippi Winter.”
south mississippi scene • 81

Q. Can you tell us just a little about the story?

Kathy Chase Young holds a master’s
degree in Child Development from the
University of Southern Mississippi and
has been an early childhood profes-
sional in varioius capacities for two
decades.
Kathy has a deep appreciation of
children’s literature. Her desire is to

share her own stories with children of
all ages.
Her first book, The Gift, was pub-
lished in 2005 (Tishomingo Tree Press).
She is proud to call Mississippi her


home, even in the winter.


82 • south mississippi scene
The story is set in a classroom. You cannot tell the age
of the children, but it is a younger classroom, like
Kindergarten or preschool. It is told from a very preco-
cious child’s point of view. As the teacher, Miss Bonnie
begins talking about winter, complete with pictures of


snowmen, ice skates and sleds, the children are all very

confused. The teacher is exasperated in trying to figure
out why, all of a sudden, that she has lost the attention of
the children.
The precocious child keeps saying, “Well, it looks like
fun, but it doesn’t look like winter where I live.”
Miss Bonnie realizes that she has made a mistake and
she shifts gears and the next day she talks about a
Mississippi winter. In a Mississippi winter we have to
make our own snow and the class cuts out paper
snowflakes. They use craft sticks to write their names in
grits because some people have very powdery snow. She
takes them through all of these different activities to help
them think of ways that we can have fun without the
same type of weather that other areas of the country
have. She takes them on a winter time walk where they
can see some of the Mississippi wildlife.
The gist of the story is going through a classroom
learning experience. The illustrations are just wonderful.
Kelly Stanford did a beautiful job with all of the illustra-
tions.
Q. Who is this book written for?
I didn’t have in mind writing it for anyone in particu-
lar. It reads best for children age’s five to nine. It has
been read to children as young as four years and they are
quite attentive, but it is a little bit long (32 pages) for
younger children.
Q. What has been the reaction to the story so far?
I am really pleased. Of course, with me being an edu-
cator, I felt like that it could be a valuable tool for educa-
tors. But, I am hearing about teachers that are excited
about it and they are buying it to give to their classrooms
because they have often not had the story books that I
missed as well. I am hearing lots of good reaction from
parents and people from Mississippi. I was in Tupelo last
week and people were telling me: ‘Oh isn’t that cute.
Isn’t that the truth? We don’t have the same kind of win-



ter that everybody else does.’
It seems to be getting a lot of attention. We have not
had too much trouble selling it to the stores because as
soon as they hear of the concept. It is being very well
received across retail and education.
There are activities throughout the book that children
can do at home. There are also activities in the back. The


book is more than a story. I really hope that children
will really begin looking for the holly bushes, and look-
ing at a winter sunset and which trees are bare and
things like that.
Q. Why was it important for you to tell this story?
I love my state. I love being from here. I think that it
is important for us to celebrate what makes us unique. I
wrote it because I want children to feel the same way
that I do.
Q. What is your favorite part of the book?
On the very last page, the precocious child has been
picked up by its Mom, and Mom asks: “What did you
do in school today?” The child replies, “Oh, nothing,”
while drawing snowflakes on the window.
As I wrote the story, I had a child in my head and I
was hearing his voice, but when I sent the manuscript
out to my friends and colleagues, some said that the lit-
tle girl was so cute and others said that the little boy
was so cute. I went to great lengths to hide the child’s
identity so that the book is not gender specific. If your
Kelly Arcarese Stanford is a freelance
illustrator originally from Hattiesburg,
Mississippi, who has been drawing as
long as she can remember. Her illus-
trative career has included such work
as murals, courtoom displays, and her
favorite, children’s books.
Her love of animals is evident in her
art and her home. She and her family
reside in Oak Grove with two cats, sev-
eral dogs, a turtle and a pampered
Arabian horse.
Kelly holds a bachelor’s degree in art


daughter or your son picks it up, either one of them can from the University of Southern
feel like they are the one telling the story. Mississippi. This is her second pub-
Q. Where can I find “In a Mississippi Winter”? lished children’s book.
It is all over Mississippi. It is in almost every inde-
pendent book store in Mississippi as well as Barnes &
Noble, Books a Million and quite a few small town gift
shops and drug stores. There is also a listing of where it
is available on the website, www.tishomingotree.com.
Q. Congratulations with this story. What is your

next book?
We keep going around about that. I want to publish a
story that I have written about a little girl that doesn’t
want to turn five because she likes being four. It is
called “Four Forever.” But, my husband is very interest-
ed in us doing the very first story that I wrote about a
little boy with attention deficiency disorder. I don’t
know. There are several possibilities.

south mississippi scene • 83