The Snow Family

OH HOW CAN YOU NOT LIKE THIS SIMPLE EASY TO HAVE YOUR LITTLE ONES READ TO YOU SNOWCHILDREN STORY. WE LOVED IT! IT GAVE THE KIDS SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT... MAYBE THEY SEE WHAT A SPECIAL THING IT IS AFTER ALL TO HAVE PARENTS TO DRESS U & PAT YOUR CHEEK & KISS YOUR NOSE JUST BECAUSE THEY LOVE YOU SO! IT'S A KEEPER!

Snow Family is a colorful rhyming story book. When a boy named Jacob finds a band of little snow kids, he joins them in a few games, but when he ends up in a tree with an angry bear below it, it's time for his parents to come and help him. But the snow kids didn't have any parents to help and care for them, so Jacob's decides to help them out too. The art in the book is colorful and has a very unique style, which made the book just that much better. Children under the age of 4 would enjoy this story.

"Who tucks you in at night?" a little boy wonders as he plays with his new pals, a band of orphan snow children. In this story about the importance of family, a small boy worries about the welfare of his new friends, the snow children. The lighthearted rhyming text of this book gives it a feel of fun and warmth. Children will enjoy listening to the melodic rhythm of the words as the book is read aloud. The illustrations are truly beautiful paintings done by Kirk on canvas. The texture of the canvas is clearly visible, giving depth to the illustrations. The pictures do support the text in that they use vibrant, exciting colors to enhance the mood of playfulness. The reader can also readily identify the expressions of each of the characters in the story, allowing him/her to capture the true feeling of the story. This is a great family read, one to really snuggle up to during the long days of winter!

The book opens with Jacob, a small boy, and his dairy farmer parents, making a snow child in a field. The snowman comes to life to join a wandering band of other parent-less snow children. Later Jacob joins the children for a rollicking game of snowball. But Jacob notices that there's no one to take care of the snow children. "Jacob frowns, you lost your glove. You tore your hat it isn't right. You need someone to care for you. Who tucks you in at night?"When the snow children wake a sleeping bear, there are some tense moments as the bear chases Jacob up a tree. However, Jacob's parents arrive, chase off the bear and rescue him. The next day Jacob returns and builds snow parents for his friends. My 21-month-old daughter really enjoys this book. The rhymes are engaging, "Whoosh! Blows the winter wind, 'Caw!' laughs the crow. Crunch! go the little boots on fresh-fallen snow." And while she seems to be a bit anxious when Jacob's being chased by the bear, she's very interested when his parents rescue him.I love Daniel Kirk's illustrations and they are of the same style as other books of his we own, "Hush Little Alien" and "Chugga Chugga Choo Choo". However, my husband doesn't like his style. It's hard to describe, but the illustrations seem to be slightly darker than most of our other children's books. On our first read through, when "the child of snow comes to life to join a wandering band", my husband's reaction was, "Creepy." But I remember he had a similar reaction to a clown in "Chugga Chugga Choo Choo", so I think it's Kirk's illustrations more than the story. As I said, I love them, but to each his own.

This children's story is wonderful for a family to read together and is sure to be a favorite for any child. The story focuses on the importance of family and caring in a most endearing way. Everyone needs someone to look out after them is a theme that has been used before but Daniel Kirk has found a new way to express an old sentiment. The illustrations are vibratant and full, though the story could stand on it's own. This is a seasonal book that will be fun to read any time of the year!!!