The Snowman Code
-
- $10.99
-
- $10.99
Publisher Description
In this cozy winter story, a six-hundred-year-old snowman and a ten-and-a-half-year-old girl strike up an unlikely friendship as they try to bring an end to the longest winter ever.
Article II of the Snowman Code: A snowman always helps a child in need.
It’s March, but the ground is still covered in snow, the lake in the park is still frozen over, and ten-and-a-half-year-old Blessing has three problems:
Problem #1: Blessing hasn’t gone to school in months. She just can’t stand those bullies, the Driplet Triplets, so her only solution to avoiding them is to pretend she and her mom moved to Australia.
Problem #2: Blessing’s mom gets sad in the winter. So sad she doesn’t go to work and sometimes doesn’t get out of bed.
Problem #3: The city is experiencing its longest ever winter, with no end in sight. And the longer it goes on, the longer her mom’s sadness does too. If spring doesn’t come soon and other grown-ups find out her mom is too sad, they’ll be separated again.
Just as Blessing starts to lose hope, she meets an unexpected new friend: Albert Framlington, a six-hundred-year-old snowman who just might hold the key to solving all three of her problems. But Albert has a problem of his own he may need a human’s help to solve.
Can this unlikely duo find a way to defeat Blessing’s bullies, win back Albert’s long-lost love, and overcome the never-ending winter before it’s too late? They have to try—that’s the Snowman Code after all.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In this warm children's debut by Stephenson (Sometimes People Die, for adults), the longest winter in more than 300 years leads to a tween encountering a sentient snowperson. To avoid bullies, 10-year-old Blessing ditches school, passing the time by traversing the streets of London. She feels that this is the only solution to her problem, since she believes that she can't ask her mother for help; because Mom gets sad in the winter, Blessing worries that her finding out about the bullies could make Mom so sad that she'll be hospitalized again. During her wanderings, the youth discovers a lopsided snowperson with bottle-cap eyes and a potato nose—an icy being that, to her shock, can talk. Snowman Albert informs her that he has lived through 627 winters, often being reborn several times around the world within a standard year. According to the Snowman Code, he must help children in need, and Blessing requires aid—and so does Albert. Nature-centered whimsy and the duo's interpersonal banter brighten a somber plot that also touches on issues surrounding depression. Digitally rendered b&w illustrations by Brown (Specs) depict a racially diverse human cast across charming winter scenes. Ages 8–12.
