Review by Booklist Review
Ages 3^-8. A snow family is the heart of Ehlert's newest picture book, which shows, early on, a paper bag overflowing with materials ("good stuff in a sack" ) suitable for decorating. snow sculptures. The snow creations are depicted lengthwise on the pages, beginning with a snow dad formed from circles of paper festooned with raisin eyes and a mouth of unpopped corn kernels. A snow mom with coffee bean eyes comes next, and so on. A variety of objects, from food to ethnic clothing, are used to make each snowman, and Ehlert's trademark cut-paper animals visit the snow critters. Children will love figuring out what each decorative item is, and Ehlert labels everything in a glorious double-page spread that is certain to give kids (and their teachers) lots of craft ideas. Ehlert loses her focus at the end, shifting to explanations of snow science and photographs of real snowmen, but less relevant pages can be skipped easily. A recipe for popcorn balls that can be turned into "snowmen" appears on the back flap as a nice bonus. Susan Dove Lempke
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Only an artist as gifted as Ehlert (Nuts to You!) could take so well-worn a topic as building a snowman and make it as fresh as-well, new-fallen snow. Her faultless sense of design immediately engages the reader: tidy white circles dot the gray backgrounds of her collages; cut-paper birds show off their hand-painted wings; and an offscreen narrator exhibits a sackful of ``good stuff''-birdseed, peanuts, corn kernels, etc.-accumulated in anticipation of the ``perfect snowball day.'' Soon the narrator and invisible colleagues have constructed a whole family of snow people and their pets. Each member of the snow family receives a full spread, to be viewed vertically, and each is decorated with ``good stuff.'' Birds (and squirrels) can feast upon some of the adornments; and bright textiles (a Bolivian hat, a Guatemalan purse) imaginatively intermingle with stones, twigs and such prosaic items as a luggage tag and a claim check. Factual information about snow is included as well as a spread featuring photos of 13 snow creations. Even jacket space is not wasted-the flap has a recipe for popcorn balls, while the back cover features a selection of snowy newspaper forecasts. A joyful and inventive book just brimming with its own ``good stuff.'' Ages 3-8. (Oct.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 2Ehlert once again displays the innovative collage style that so vividly celebrated spring and summer in Growing Vegetable Soup (1990) and Planting a Rainbow (1988), and autumn in Red Leaf, Yellow Leaf (1991) and Nuts to You! (1993, all Harcourt). Here, she puts a creative twist on one of the favorite traditions of winterbuilding a snowman, or, in this case, a snow family, including pets. Children who believe snowmen must have charcoal eyes and carrot noses will be inspired by the unique adornments, for each creation here is decorated with the narrator's cache of ``good stuff in a sack.'' Mom's hair is a Guatemalan belt; boy's nose is a toy compass; baby's arms are plastic picnic forks; dog's spots are a collection of buttons. As in the previous books, bold, rhyming text describes the simple pleasures of the season. The contrasting sensations of the crisp iciness and dreary isolation of winter are effectively created by placing the colorfully decorated white figures against a textured gray background on double-page vertical spreads. The background glows bright orange as the sun appears. Ehlert concludes her book with some winter facts, photographs of snowmen, and a recipe for popcorn balls. Another spectacular effort.Kathy Piehl, Mankato State University, MN (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
Lois Ehlert, Author-Illustrator Snowballs A good snowfall means terrific snowballs and great snow play. Birds probably know when snow is on the way, but kids anticipate a big snow by saving all kinds of "good stuff" like seeds, nuts, corn kernels, and colorful yarn. When snow does come, so can a "perfect snowball day" when the collected good stuff is used to create wonderful snow characters: a snow dad with raisin eyes and a corn kernel mouth; a snow dog named Spot, dotted with colorful buttons. All the members of the snow family, placed on vertical page spreads, extend the full length of the book; the perspective emphasizes the snow characters' height, allows life-sized objects to be used to decorate them, and enhances the drama of their inevitable demise when the golden sun comes out. Large, crisply lined, well-designed illustrations effectively blend open space, colorful paper cut-outs, and real objects. The pleasure in and effectiveness of the book are diluted, however, by the inclusion of much extraneous information. "Snow Info" appears on one double-page spread and includes a definition of snow, the three states of water, and life-sized gloves and mittens. (The differences between a Wisconsin and an Italian mitten and a Korean and Afghani glove remain unclear.) Color photographs of real snow play and snow creatures, with an explanation of "What makes it snow?" and a double-page spread of labeled everyday objects also seem to be an unnecessary, intrusive inclusion in an otherwise handsome book.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Vibrant collages and a spare text stretch boldly across pages that must be turned sideways to be read. Snow dad, mom, children, and dog incorporate cut-paper shapes with real materials such as Bolivian hats, African kente cloth, dried corn, and crayon-bright buttons. If every month were December, these pictures would be perfect pin-ups for a calendar. There is a generous spirit to this jolly, unassuming book, as if, having given readers a satisfying meal, Ehlert keeps stuffing yet another treat into their pockets. The back matter extends the text with pages of labeled props that may prompt readers to recreate the collages in their own homes, meteorological information about snow, and photographs of real snowmen. Even the back flap gets a new role--that's where readers will find a recipe for popcorn balls. The whole package is fun to look at, fun to read, and fun to share. (Picture book. 4-10)
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
