The Ezra Jack Keats Foundation

For chef, author and entrepreneur Mario Batali, it’s not just about the food. In his work to improve kids’ lives, he says, The Snowy Day is a “tool for change.”

In all of my charitable work, I aim to educate and empower children. To supply them with the necessary tools to become active forces for change in today’s world. There are few tools for change comparable to The Snowy Day. Keats’s manuscript and illustrations are simultaneously topical and timeless.

Shawna Hamilton Doster, at right, Executive Director of Books for Kids, says: “When Books for Kids and the Mario Batali Foundation built a library together for low-income preschoolers on the Lower East Side of New York City, we made certain that the book collection included The Snowy Day. This beautiful, classic and timeless book is one which any child can relate to regardless of their life circumstances. For the children we serve, this book helps create a sense of belonging and magic in the world in which they live.”