Product Description

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #23332 in Books
• Published on: 2007-11-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 32 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780152061159
• Condition: USED - VERY GOOD
• Notes:
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

From Publishers Weekly
While this deceptively simple book starring children building a snowman is ultimately about community-how human beings, no matter how small, can help each other create something bigger than themselves-youngsters will find the lilting language and action-filled illustrations to be just plain fun. Schertle's (How Now, Brown Cow?) text deftly describes what goes into making a snowman: "Billions of snowflakes/ piled in a mound,/ pat them/ and pack them/ and roll them/ around/ into one big ball." Her refrain-"That's all you need for a snowman. Except..."-encourages readers to turn the page for each new component. The watercolors, meanwhile, feature children in padded winter jackets who work together. As in childhood, the snowman looms larger than life. As they roll that "one big ball," for example, the children appear to be hugging the edge of a snow-white planet. They place saucer-size bottle caps on the snowman's face-"Surprise!/ Snowman's eyes!"-and add a broom taller than a house. The completed snowman is so huge that the book needs to be turned sideways to view it. Lavallee's illustrations, in the style of her work in Mama, Do You Love Me?, emphasize the children's profiles, shadowing one half of each face as if each character possessed both light and dark skin. A wintertime treat. Ages 2-5.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal
PreSchool-Working cooperatively, the children of this snow-clad chalet village build two huge snowmen. In colorful winter clothing, these plump and squat kids, with their two-toned faces, swarm the white pages as step-by-step they create a snowman so big that readers must turn the page sideways for a full view. The text is bouncy and light, and rolls along like hand-packed snow. A heavy use of the word "except" entices children on to the next page. Finally, they see two snowmen of Paul Bunyan proportions. The skill of both the author and the artist gives this book energy. Toddlers will be thoroughly satisfied.
Martha Topol, Traverse Area District Library, Traverse City, MI
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
PreS-K. The narrator offers encouraging advice on how to make a snowman, while neighborhood children industriously build two impossibly large ones, decked out with all sorts of winning accessories. "One small snowflake / fluttering down-- / that's all you need / for a snowman. / EXCEPT / two more snowflakes . . . / three flakes . . . four . . . / five . . . six . . . seven thousand . . . / eight million more. " The text flows easily, rhythmic and rhyming, but without ever falling into lockstep predictability. Just as fresh and pleasing as the verse are the watercolor-and-gouache paintings, which capture the playfulness of the subject. Though the children cavort in the snow, they also work seriously and succeed magically in making their enormous snow sculptures. The harmonious colors of their clothing glow against the ever present backdrop of blue-tinged whiteness. Lavallee, whose appealing artwork will be familiar to readers of Mama, Do You Love Me? (1991), creates series of scenes that celebrate the serious pleasures of children at play. A captivating book for snow-themed story hours and a dreamlike manual for would-be builders of snowmen. Carolyn Phelan
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Customer Reviews

A great snow day story, nothing more than that
My 3 yr old son absolutely loves this book and I was pleasantly surprised with the simple rhyming story and how nice it reads aloud. I couldn't disagree more with a previous reviewer's insinuation that this book is depicting a hidden sexual message simply because the two snowmen are male at the end. Last time I checked two men ("snow" or of any other type) can be friends without it meaning anything else. Ridiculous. Like I said, a great inexpensive read - words flow beautifully and the pictures are sweet and great for kids.

All You Need for a Snowman
PreS-K. "One small snowflake fluttering down- that's all you need for a snowman. EXCEPT." Alice Schertle uses rhyming, catchy text in describing how to make a snowman. The use of the word "EXCEPT" encourages children to listen closely as they wait for the page to turn. The watercolor paintings help tell the story of neighborhood children working together to build a larger than life snowman. The children, dressed in colorful clothing "pat them and pack them and roll them around," and then, that "one big ball," seems to be larger than a house. The finished snowman is so large the book needs to be turned sideways to see it. These beautiful paintings along with the fun text keep the energy alive in this book. A great book for a snow or snowman themed storytime!

1 thing BETTER than A SNOWman & that's 2 SNOWMEN!!!
CUTE SIMPLY BOOK & EASY & FUN FOR THE KIDS TO READ TO THE FAMILY! IT'S A NICE BOOK & AFFORDABLE... WE LOVE ALL SNOWMEN & SNOWANIMALS!!!