Snow Boy

PreS-Gr 1–It’s winter, and a child builds a boy out of snow and plays all day with his new friend. When the child runs inside at night, Snow Boy peers through the window and sees the warm glow of the Christmas tree lights and the boy hugging his dad. Where is Snow Boy’s family? As he visits the denizens of the wood, Snow Boy wonders where he belongs. With the beaver family? He’s no match for them. With the mice? He couldn’t possibly squeeze into their tiny home. Finally, he comes to a bear den and snuggles in with the creatures. Papa Bear has an idea, and sets about making a family for Snow Boy. All the animals of the forest help: the rabbits contribute carrots, the squirrels bring acorns. Farrell presents a rhyming tale that ponders the meaning of family and belonging. In a riff on P.D. Eastman’s Are You My Mother?, young readers learn the behavioral characteristics of the animals of the forest: the seed gathering of the mice, the wood harvesting of the beaver, the hibernating bears. The groups portrayed in the story follow the traditional mother, father, child family structure. Thomas’s bright, cheerful illustrations have a cartoony, retro style and show an expressive protagonist with a jaunty little knitted cap and scarf.