First published in 1978, The Snowman was an instant classic. It has won the Boston Globe - Horn Book Award and an International Reading Association's Children's Choice award, among others. This heartwarming tale tells a story without a single word. Instead, 175 various sized picture frames more than adequately express a detailed story of curiosity, exploration, and friendship. The pictures are done with colored pencils, creating a blended and subtle color scheme. It sometimes feels as though you've come across an artist's prized sketch book. Detailing the boy's day, the pictures do a great job of showing depth and unique angles; for example, one frame is set inside the house and shows the young boy looking out a window at his snowman. Then the next frame shows the same view from the outside of the house.
With no words, the door is open for interpretation of the story. Each time you and your little one sit down to enjoy the book, the story will be a little bit different! You can take turns adding in dialogue and narrating the scenes as you each see them. You can also tweak the story to match your little one's mood or interests. Encourage your child to help you 'read' by sharing his or her ideas about what might be going on each picture frame. What they notice and zero in on may surprise you. There is also great humor in the pictures while the boy shows his snowman friend around the house. The snowman's distaste for the fireplace and heaters in the hallways is obvious from his facial expressions, while his fascination with light switches, toothpaste, and toilet paper will likely get a chuckle out of readers. The protagonists also 'snack' on ice cubes, and the snowman is shown 'warming' his hands in front of the freezer. Various other shenanigans the two get in will either remind your little one of games they like to play with their siblings or friends, or perhaps give them some new ideas (consider yourself warned!).
I read this book with my three-year-old friend, Sam, who has seen snow maybe once in his young life but he was still tickled to see the snowman come to life. I got better at narrating the pictures as we went along, and have changed the story a little bit each time we read the book. Recently, I caught Sam sitting his is chair and flipping through the book while narrating aloud to his stuffed animal. If it's good enough to read to Piggy, then I know Sam loves this book.
--Audra