Community Snowman
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- $9.99
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
Building a snowman becomes a community effort, in this wordless story about a cold winter day that snowballs into a warm neighborhood gathering.
One morning, a girl wakes up to discover that it has snowed overnight. After breakfast she starts building a snowman — and soon realizes that it’s easier and more fun to do with some help!
Other kids join in to help roll the balls that make up the snowman’s body. A passing teenager helps them reach to place the head. Then more neighbors come along and each contribute something unique from their packed lunches or winter ensembles: a pickle for a nose, bagel halves for the ears, lychee buttons, a shawl …
The final touch comes in the form of a poppy pin placed by a veteran over the snowman’s heart. The snowman smiles as the community members pause to admire their work. And when the crowd disperses, the girl and her grandfather stay behind to share a snack and warmth with someone who needs them.
Inspired by a real “community snowman” built by neighbors, author Deborah Kerbel has crafted a narrative about serendipitous connections, working together and paying it forward. These themes — and more! — are brought to life by the comic brilliance of Tine Modeweg-Hansen.
Key Text Features
wordless
panels
illustrations
Correlates to the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.3
Describe characters, settings, and major events in a story, using key details.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.7
Use illustrations and details in a story to describe its characters, setting, or events.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Kindness and communal collaboration are on full display in Kerbel and Modeweg-Hansen's ebullient picture book, which wordlessly unfolds through loosely inked sketches and comics-style panels. Gleeful scenes open as a brown-skinned child awakens to a window view of a snow-covered city. Having donned warm layers, the youth and a pink-skinned caregiver rush outside to frolic. Attempting to build a snowperson, the child gets swift support from an increasing number of passersby, who readily assist in rolling and lifting the components as well as comedically ornamenting the figure with a dill pickle nose, bagel ears, and a flower arrangement coif. After the crowd, depicted with varying skin tones, cheerfully congratulate one another on successful teamwork, the story shifts focus as the main characters dismantle parts of the snow sculpture for the benefit of a pale-skinned figure who appears underdressed for cold weather, making for an idyllic vision of community care. Ages 3–7.
