Writing Distractions

Blurry white buckets
Silently build pristine hills
Mystery mountains

~ Haiku, by Angie Quantrell 2015

This is what I am writing about now.

But I am distracted by this happening out my window.

Snow, lovely, snow!

Somehow snow and Phoenix do not mix.

Winter Is Coming ~ Picture Book & KID KANDY

Winter Is Coming
By Tony Johnston
Illustrated by Jim LaMarche
(Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2014)

Winter Is Coming is a beautiful book that chronicles the changing of the season from fall to winter.

A young girl quietly and carefully perches on a platform in a tree and takes note of the many wild animals that pass beneath her. She sketches pictures of them and thinks about how they prepare for winter. Patiently, she learns from the animals - lessons of nature. Throughout October and November, she watches the changes taking place around her. And then winter comes.

The captivating illustrations and engaging text inspire, amaze, and teach much about the natural world. Readers both young and old will love to read and reread Winter Is Coming.

KID KANDY:

Observe Fall Changing to Winter

1. Go out for a walk (take a friend or parent or older sibling). You might want to do this walk the same day each week all through October and November, and maybe even into December.

2. Notice what is happening in nature. What are the animals doing? (Check the air and ground.) What about the plants? Look at the colors, textures, and changes that are taking place.

3. If you like to draw, take along a sketchbook and a few pencils. Or remember what you see and draw when you get home. Put the date on the page so you can tell how things change over time.

4. Repeat your walk several times all the way through the fall months. You will have to be quiet and patient and observant - like a scientist!

5. Each time you go, look at the same things, but also try and find new plants and animals to notice.

Isn't watching fall change to winter amazing? Seasons are a wonderful gift for us to enjoy.

Fox's Garden - PIcture Book & KID KANDY Activity

Fox's Garden
By Princesse Camcam
(Enchanted Lion Books, 2014)

What a treasure! Our public library had Fox's Garden on a display rack when I recently walked through with my granddaughter. We snatched it up right away.

The first draw for me was the long and narrow size. And then I was immediately attracted to the beautiful illustrations. Once we were home, I perused the rest of the book and discovered that it was a wordless book.

A fact soon noticed by my kindergarten grandson who set himself to read it. Only to find no words. "Nana," he called, "there are no words!"

An easy enough problem to solve. "Then you get to make up your own story to go with the pictures! How fun is that?"

He was sold and continued on to tell the story to sissy.

Fox's Garden is a simple story about Fox. Fox is not liked by town inhabitants, but she must find a warm spot ASAP. In a greenhouse, Fox finds the perfect place to rest. In that cozy environment, Fox meets a special friend and the reader gains a surprise. Several surprises.

Fox's Garden is a treat for nature and book lovers.

KID KANDY:

Princesse Camcam uses paper cutouts for many of the illustrations in Fox's Garden. Let's make our own paper cut-out picture!

1. Dig out cutting magazines, pencils, cardstock, scissors, crayons, and glue sticks.

2. Cut out pictures of people, animals, houses, food, or whatever else your child wants to use on his project. Of course, your child will do the work for his project. You are the assistant.

3. Draw some items to be a part of the picture - table, chair, car, swing, and so on. Cut those out as well.

4. Glue the cut-outs together in whatever way pleases your child. If the glue stick is too unwieldy for the paper, use tape or tiny drops of white school glue.

5. Add color with crayons.

Ta-da!

Angie Quantrell loves beautifully illustrated books. She especially loves nature themes and stories that can be enjoyed over and over again.

Froggy Gets Dressed - Winter Picture Book

Froggy Gets Dressed
By Jonathan London
Illustrated By Frank Remkiewicz
(Scholastic Inc., 1999)

Boys and girls love Froggy!

Froggy wakes up from a good sleep to see snow falling outside. Of course, being Froggy, he wants to go out and play in the winter white flakes. Even after his mother reminds him that frogs need to sleep all winter, Froggy struggles on with his clothes. The fun comes when his mother calls him back inside to put on missing clothing items. The very last piece will draw howls of laughter.

Once I have read Froggy Gets Dressed to a group of children, they always remember the cadence of the story and the funny ending. And they immediately begin to dress up and reenact Froggy.

KID KANDY:

The best fun thing to do after reading Froggy Gets Dressed is to play dress up.

Arrange quilts and pillows on the floor for beds. Dig out the winter clothes (or retrieve them from the drying rack). Choose who gets to be Froggy the first time around. Or better yet, everyone can be Froggy. Let the mom or dad of the family be the one who calls, "Frrroooggggyyyyyy!"

Angie Quantrell loves picture books that have kid humor in them. Talking animals just add to the fun.

Snow Party - Winter Picture Books

Snow Party
Written by Harriet Ziefert
Illustrated by Mark Jones
(Scholastic, Inc., 2008)

It finally snowed today and I am ready for some winter fun. Not that we had any accumulation of snow, but it was so beautiful falling down in big tufts of white.

Snow Party takes place on a frozen pond. After a snowfall, snow families appear out of nowhere, carrying all sorts of boxes and bags. An especially tempting box draws the attention of children, but they are not allowed to peek. All day long, snowmen moms, dads, boys, and girls work hard to prepare for the party. By nightfall, the snow party is perfectly ready. Will the special box be opened? What is inside?

Join Ziefert and Jones as they share a magical story about snowmen at a snow party. This book is great for those who want to know what snowmen do when we are not looking.

KID KANDY:

Act out Snow Party.

Almost every page of Snow Party has snowmen doing something. After reading the book together, reread the pages and encourage your child to act out the same thing she sees the snowmen doing - carrying heavy boxes, sweeping ice, decorating, dancing, and so on. Ask her to think of a few new ideas of things for the snowmen to do. Act those out as well.

Turn the tables and let your child tell you what to act out! Come on, it will be snow much fun.

The Missing Mitten Mystery - Winter Picture Books

The Missing Mitten Mystery
Written and Illustrated by Steven Kellogg
(Scholastic Inc., 2000)

A mystery is just what one needs for these short, dreary days.

In The Missing Mitten Mystery, Annie has lost her fifth mitten of the winter. She is in big trouble.

Thinking for herself, Annie chooses to go with her dog, Oscar, and retrace her footsteps and activities to try and locate the missing mitten. That is a great strategy!

Annie finds lots of lost things, but not her own mitten. Readers will have to look closely at the illustrations as they read the short amount of text in The Missing Mitten Mystery. The ending is a delightful surprise.

KID KANDY:

This is a great time for hide-and-seek. Except the hider needs to hide a mitten for the seeker to find. Start easy by leaving a bit of mitten peeking from its hiding place. Make it harder each turn by hiding more of the mitten. Players can always add clues by saying, "Warmer, warmer, hot, colder, cold, freezing cold..." depending on how close the seeker is to the hidden mitten.

Ready or not, here I come!


KID KANDY is a book extension feature for kids and their families. If a child has a fun activity to do after reading a book (or before reading a book), the ideas and information in the book are more likely to stick. We know that the more kids love books, the more they read. And the more they read, the more they internalize things like story structure, character development, language, conflict, and creativity. And the love of both reading and exploring is encouraged to grow deep and rich in the life of kids.

Pip & Squeak - Winter Picture Books

Pip & Squeak
Written and Illustrated by Ian Schoenherr
(Scholastic Inc., 2007)

What do mice love? Cheese.

Join Pip and Squeak, two adorable mice, as they race to make it to a birthday party for their friend, Gus. But guess who forgot the present of cheese? Pip! Now what to do?

Pip and Squeak find a solution and continue to the party. Read Pip & Squeak to find out if the make-do gift was successful. Readers will love the world as seen through the eyes of tiny mice.

KID KANDY:

Schoenherr does a fabulous job of illustrating this book from the viewpoint of the mice. What does it look like to be small in a big world? Hint: Most children are already aware of this, as their viewpoint of life is from a height of below our waist!

~ Hit the floor, everyone. Crawl around on hands and knees to see how things appear from down low. What can you reach? What do you see that you don't normally see? How hard is it to get around?

~ Go even lower. Wriggle worm style on the floor. Now what can you see? What can you reach (or not)?

~ Dig out a dollhouse and play with little people figures. Imagine you are as small as Pip and Squeak.


Angie Quantrell writes picture books, blogs, takes photos, and chases her naughty kitties off of the counters. Books come to life in her imagination and litter all spaces in her home. If it weren't for all of her books, Angie could live in a one room house.

Cat and Mouse in the Snow - Winter Picture Books

Cat and Mouse in the Snow
By Tomek Bogacki
(Scholastic Inc., 1999)

Cat and Mouse in the Snow is the story of two animal families, natural enemies, that meet up in a snow covered meadow. There, in the no longer green meadow, the cats and mice explore and enjoy snow, all the while playing with friends. But they have one big question - where is the green meadow now?

Younger readers and listeners will enjoy this picture book. Preschoolers who love animals will have fun watching the snow play. Read Cat and Mouse in the Snow and see if your child can figure out the answer to their question.

KID KANDY:

Do you live in an area with snow? Visit a favorite summer park. Encourage your child to share how the park is different in the winter - sights, smells, sounds, and feel. Compare the two seasons. Find a hill or a slide and enjoy the ride.


Angie Quantrell writes picture books, blogs, takes photos, and chases her naughty kitties off of the counters. Books come to life in her imagination and litter all spaces in her home. If it weren't for all of her books, Angie could live in a one room house.

The Mitten - Winter Picture Books

The Mitten
Retold By Alvin Tresselt
Illustrated by Yaroslava
(Lothrop, Lee & Shepherd Co., Inc., 1964)

I do love old books. This edition of The Mitten is almost as old as I am.

The tone of The Mitten by Tresselt and Yaroslava is set by the choice to use a minimal color palette. Blue, white, and black create cold winter scenes, while on alternating pages limited color additions keep the tone cold yet vibrant. The illustrations are simple, uncluttered, and adorable.

The story of The Mitten is familiar to many. In this version, a boy, unnamed, is collecting wood for his grandmother. He drops a mitten, and continues on his task, unaware of the story that unfolds behind his back. As with most retellings of The Mitten, this one introduces animals that come one-by-one to snuggle together in the warmth of the mitten. With disastrous results.


KID KANDY:

~ Check out as many versions of The Mitten that you can find. Look at the library, bookstore, or online.

~ Read and compare the different versions. There are a surprising number of variations. This is a great way to point out different techniques in illustrating and storytelling. The language and word choices used by different storytellers is fascinating.

~ Make your own version for retelling fun.

1. Cut 2 large mitten shapes from a file folder. Punch holes and use yarn to sew the edges (not the top) together.

2. Cut out a child and animals from magazines. Glue to cardstock and trim off extra edges.

3. Arrange in order - child, animals from smallest to largest, and the animal that breaks the mitten at the end.

4. Retell. Use funny voices. Let your child be as silly, scary, or adventurous as she wants. Have fun interacting with books.


Feel free to share the ideas found in this blog. I would love to hear how your KID KANDY escapades work out.


KID KANDY is a book extension feature for kids and their families. If a child has a fun activity to do after reading a book (or before reading a book), the ideas and information in the book are more likely to stick. We know that the more kids love books, the more they read. And the more they read, the more they internalize things like story structure, character development, language, conflict, and creativity. And the love of both reading and exploring is encouraged to grow deep and rich in the life of kids.


Angie Quantrell writes picture books, blogs, takes photos, and chases her naughty kitties off of the counters. Books come to life in her imagination and litter all spaces in her home. If it weren't for all of her books, Angie could live in a one room house.

Trouble with Trolls - Jan Brett Week - Winter Picture Books

Trouble with Trolls
Written and Illustrated by Jan Brett
(G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1992)

Treva and her beautiful dog, Tuffi, live in a majestic mountain area that suspiciously looks like Switzerland or Norway or any one of those gorgeous northern European countries. But none of those locations have . . . trolls.

Specifically, trouble with trolls, many of which Treva has had. Trouble with Trolls tells the story of how Treva and her quick thinking saved Tuffi from being taken by trolls. The trolls in this book are not too smart and are somewhat naughty and sneaky. In this story, all they wanted was a dog. First one troll, then the next, and the next, grabbed Tuffi (kidnapped). How Treva gets her dog back, repeatedly, shows how resourceful Treva is - and how gullible the trolls are.

Jan Brett again uses the borders of the book pages to tell what else is going on in the story, behind the scenes. Boys and girls will enjoy helping Treva rescue Tuffi. Read a few pages, and then brainstorm to see how many ways Treva might try to get her dog back. That is a part of the fun in reading a new book.

Can you find a hedgehog in Trouble with Trolls?

KID KANDY:

Fly Like Treva & Tuffi

Cut long, narrow ski shapes from cardboard. Use masking or duct tape to add foot bindings. Let your child slip his feet into the bindings and ski inside the house. But where is Tuffi? Dig out a stuffed dog or favorite animal for your child to carry as he skies. Away they go!

KID KANDY is a book extension feature for kids and their families. If a child has a fun activity to do after reading a book (or before reading a book), the ideas and information in the book are more likely to stick. We know that the more kids love books, the more they read. And the more they read, the more they internalize things like story structure, character development, language, conflict, and creativity. And the love of both reading and exploring is encouraged to grow deep and rich in the life of kids.

Angie Quantrell writes picture books, blogs, takes photos, and chases her naughty kitties off of the counters. Books come to life in her imagination and litter all spaces in her home. If it weren't for all of her books, Angie could live in a one room house.

The Hat - Jan Brett Week - Winter Picture Book

The Hat
Written and Illustrated by Jan Brett
(Scholastic Inc., 1997)

Animals and kids seem to be Jan Brett's gift.

Everybody knows that animals don't wear clothes. Or do they?

Meet Lisa, a young girl who resides on a snow-covered farm. One day, she has to do laundry. Lisa proceeds to hang up her woolens on the clothesline to dry. One piece falls off and the sock becomes stuck on poor Hedgie, an inquisitive and adorable hedgehog. Much to his dismay, and the delight of other farm animals, the stocking becomes stuck tight.

Journey with Hedgie as he tries to remove the stocking. Watch the sidebars for clues about what is happening elsewhere (in true Jan Brett fashion). Will Hedgie get out of his stocking? How?

Readers will be delighted with the antics of the animals in The Hat.

Hint: Jan Brett likes to include a hedgehog in many of her books. Can you find one in The Hat?

KID KANDY:

Hang up the Laundry!

Secure a rope between two solid objects. Adjust it to the height of your child. Dig out the socks, hats, mittens, and small items of clothing and put them in a basket. Provide clothes pins. Now it's laundry day!

If you do not want to use (and supervise) the rope clothesline, use a free standing clothes dryer. I have one from IKEA that folds when not in use. It's wonderful.

This activity is excellent for fine motor control and coordination. Plus fun.

Feel free to share the ideas found in this blog. I would love to hear how your KID KANDY escapades work out.

Angie Quantrell writes picture books, blogs, takes photos, and chases her naughty kitties off of the counters. Books come to life in her imagination and litter all spaces in her home. If it weren't for all of her books, Angie could live in a one room house.

Jan Brett Week - Annie and the Wild Animals - Winter Picture Books

Annie and the Wild Animals
Written and Illustrated by Jan Brett
(Houghton Mifflin Company, 1985)

Annie loves her cat, Taffy. But Taffy has not been interested in playing. So Annie goes out to find new friends. Forest animal friends. Using corn cakes as bait, she lures potential friends in order to find the prefect friend.

One can imagine that it does not work. Readers will enjoy both the illustrations and the outcome of Annie and the Wild Animals.

KID KANDY:

Corn Muffin Mayhem

- Children love to cook and help in the kitchen. Why not make corn muffins (i.e. cakes) together after reading this book? They are perfect for snack or a meal. Together, search a cookbook for a recipe. Gather ingredients, follow the directions, and taste the success.

- Save a few corn muffins to crumble on the ground outside near a window. Dig out the binoculars and watch who comes for a yummy snack. Birds? Cats? Your dog?

- Pack some corn muffins and water bottles in a backpack. Head out for a nature walk. Stop to rest in a spot with plenty of nature to observe. Share the snack. Listen for the sounds of nature. Try and identify what is happening around you.

And you thought making corn muffins would just make dinner. There is fun to be had, even in corn muffins.


Feel free to share the ideas found in this blog. I would love to hear how your KID KANDY escapades work out.

Angie Quantrell writes picture books, blogs, takes photos, and chases her naughty kitties off of the counters. Books come to life in her imagination and litter all spaces in her home. If it weren't for all of her books, Angie could live in a one room house.

Jan Brett Week - The Mitten - Winter Picture Books

The Mitten
Adapted and Illustrated by Jan Brett
(G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1989)

Meet one of my all-time favorite winter books. I usually focus on snow and winter during the month of January, and Jan Brett has many wonderful winter-based picture books.

The Mitten is an old, old story. But Jan Brett has adapted and illustrated The Mitten in her own way.

Nicki wanted his new mittens made from snow white wool. Baba knew what would happen to white mittens in the white snow. But how could she resist when Nicki was so excited to have beautiful, warm, snow white mittens?

The expected happens. Nicki loses a mitten. And then things get exciting. When I read this book aloud to children, I love showing them the last page and illustration of The Mitten. This illustration is a perfect prompt for getting readers (or listeners) to consider what the character is really thinking. They love it.

I always draw attention to the illustrations when I read. But in any Jan Brett book, I point out the cool text and illustration features - sidebars, recipes, the story beside the story hints, what comes next shapes, and so on. Once I have taught a Jan Brett book and we have noticed what is happening on the sides of the pages (in addition to the main illustration) it's all I can do to keep them from leaping to conclusions before everyone has had a chance to figure it out for themselves!

This week I will feature a different Jan Brett book each day. Have fun reading the story and the pictures.

KID KANDY:

Make your own decorated mittens!

~ Show your child how to hold her hand as if she is wearing a mitten. Trace two mitten shapes on cardstock.

~ Cut out the mittens.

~ Use markers to make matching designs on both mittens - dots, zig zags, stripes, hearts, flowers, snowmen, swirls, or anything else that sounds interesting.

~ Hook the mittens together by punching a hole in the top of each and tying yarn through the holes. Or punch holes around the sides and bottoms of the mitten shapes (not the wrist). Sew the mitten together with yarn.

The Mitten Game:

Give everyone mittens to wear. Play catch with foam balls. Or try to build towers while wearing mittens. Adding mittens to an indoor activity will ease boredom and create the sillies.

TIP: To protect favorite books and magazines from scissors in little hands, create a designated cutting tub. Add magazines, old greeting cards, scrap paper, comics, junk mail, and so on. Teach your child to cut only items in the tub.

KID KANDY is a book extension feature for kids and their families. If a child has a fun activity to do after reading a book (or before reading a book), the ideas and information in the book are more likely to stick. We know that the more kids love books, the more they read. And the more they read, the more they internalize things like story structure, character development, language, conflict, and creativity. And the love of both reading and exploring is encouraged to grow deep and rich in the life of kids.

Angie Quantrell writes picture books, blogs, takes photos, and chases her naughty kitties off of the counters. Books come to life in her imagination and litter all spaces in her home. If it weren't for all of her books, Angie could live in a one room house.

Sadie and the Snowman - Winter Picture Book

Sadie and the Snowman
By Allen Morgan
Illustrated by Brenda Clark
(Scholastic Inc., 1985)

Meet Sadie. A perfectly cute and ordinary little girl who loves her snowman.

In Sadie and the Snowman, Sadie builds a lovely snowman as her kitty cat companion looks on. That night, forest animals visit the snowman and gobble up his facial features. Sadie doesn't let that stop her. She rebuilds the snowman with a new face. And the animals revisit for a snack. Sadie is undaunted and continues to rebuild her snowman each day as the animals eat his food parts every evening. This pattern continues until the weather changes and her snowman begins to melt.

How does Sadie save her snowman then? For a little girl, she is very clever. I won't spoil the ending. Needless to say, the snowman visits Sadie the following winter.

Sadie and the Snowman, a fictional picture book, teaches about seasons, perseverance, and inventiveness. I love reading it every winter.

Kid Kandy:

Snowless? Never fear. Here is how to build a snowman when there is a lack of snow (which is happening in my area of the northwest as I write!).

~ Purchase a large piece of white felt at a fabric store. Also buy several colorful rectangles (single sheets) of felt.

~ Cut three different sizes of circles from the white felt, as large as can be. Cut smaller circles, rectangles, and triangles from the colored felt pieces.

~ Attach the snowman circles to a wall (staples or thumb tacks work well) or fleece blanket (static will keep the snowman in place).

~ Let your child decorate the felt snowman with colored shapes of felt. Want a new snowman? Take him apart and make a new one.

~ This felt snowman can stay as long as you want. Done? Store the pieces until next winter.

Kid Kandy is a book extension feature for kids and their families. If a child has a fun activity to do after reading a book (or before reading a book), the ideas and information in the book are more likely to stick. And the love of both reading and exploring is encouraged to grow in the life of kids. Feel free to adjust the suggestions to fit your circumstances.

You are welcome to share the ideas found in this blog.

Happy reading and exploring!

Winter Wonderland -Winter NF Picture Book

Winter Wonderland
By Jill Esbaum
(Scholastic Edition, 2012; National Geographic Society, 2010)

I wish I had written this book!

Winter Wonderland is a beautifully photographed nonfiction picture book for children. Both text and photos tell about winter and the things we might see, do, hear, feel, and smell in the season of cold.

What is interesting is the point of view - Winter itself is telling the story about winter. The narrator, Winter, explains how it might be gentle or sneaky or decorative. Throughout the book, descriptive words share the look and feel of winter.

For a different point of view, and good information about winter, read Winter Wonderland.

Kid Kandy:

Winter Collage

~ Take a walk in your neighborhood, noticing the signs of winter. Take digital photos of what you see.

~ Gather poster board, glue sticks, scissors, markers, and cutting magazines.

~ Cut out pictures of things found in the winter. Glue them on the poster board.

~ Print some of the winter photos you snapped. Add them to the collage.

~ Use colored markers to add winter words such as frigid, melt, icicle, snow, and so on.

~ Display your winter collage!

For you writers, how about penning a winter poem or writing a story that takes place in winter? See how many winter words you can use as you write. How about sharing it with us?

The Biggest, Best Snowman - Winter Picture Book

The Biggest, Best Snowman
By Margery Cuyler
Illustrated by Will Hillenbrand
(Scholastic Inc., 1998)

The Biggest, Best Snowman has the funnest characters! Little Nell is adorable and faces the problem of being the baby of the family. Consequently, she is usually told that she is too little to do anything for or by herself.

Unfortunately, Little Nell believes the hoopla passed on by Big Mama, Big Sarah, and Big Lizzie.

Enter the forest friends of Little Nell. With their encouragement and teamwork, Little Nell makes the biggest, best snowman. Ever.

I love the characters and the repetitive language used in this picture book. The story is enjoyable and lets little ones believe that they can do anything, even though they are small. The illustrations are delightful. This is a perfect book for preschoolers and kinder-aged boys and girls.

Kid Kandy:

Snowman Glitter Play Dough

Recipe:

3 cups white flour
1 cup salt
1/4 cup silver or white glitter
1 T. alum
2 T. baby oil

3 cups boiling water

1. Mix dry ingredients in large bowl.

2. Add baby oil and boiling water.

3. Stir with wooden spoon until cool enough to handle. Pour out on counter and knead until well mixed. Warning: This dough is very hot. Only an adult should knead it.

4. Cool and store in a lidded container.

To Play:

Roll glittery snowballs. Stack on top of each other to make snowmen. Provide chenille stems, twigs, and buttons to use on snowmen. Or dig out the rolling pins, roll the dough, and use snowman cookie cutters to make a snowman family.

The Snowy Day - Winter Picture Books

The Snowy Day
By Ezra Jack Keats
(Scholastic Inc., 1962)

I don't have snow. I really, really want snow. But it just hasn't happened yet.

So let me give you a favorite book about snow.

The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats is a Caldecott Medal winner, so I know I am not alone in my love for this book.

Peter. Meet Peter, a young boy who wakes up to a brand new world covered with mountains of snow.

After breakfast, Peter puts on his adorable snowsuit and heads out to explore. Just as any child would do when confronted with fresh snow, he makes tracks, drags sticks, makes a snowman (who looks suspiciously like Peter), makes a snow angel, and watches big boys throw snowballs. Peter even makes his own snowball and puts it in his pocket to keep for later.

The story is perfect. The illustrations are simple yet speak volumes. The Snowy Day is a classic. And a must for any reader.

Kid Kandy:

~ If you have snow, go outside! Copy the things that Peter did in The Snowy Day.

~ Make a snowball. Where can you keep it so that it stays frozen? Experiment. Make three snowballs. Put them in different places. Which one stays frozen the longest? Which melts the quickest?

~ No snow? Get out the white tempera paint and a big piece of dark paper. Use fingers to make your own snow prints.

Snowmen at Christmas - Christmas Picture Books

Snowmen at Christmas
By Caralyn Buehner
Pictures by Mark Buehner
(Scholastic Inc., 2005)

Don't you just love snowmen?

I do. I'm at the age that I may not want to play in the snow, but I definitely want someone to build a snow family in my front yard. Without a doubt.

And while the lovely volunteers are busy creating my snow family, I will be inside, wondering what my snowmen will do at night while I slumber. How will they celebrate Christmas? What will they eat? What will they drink? Do they give gifts? Sing songs? Dance?

I do enjoy the Snowmen series of books. I'm glad a gifted writer and illustrator have explained the night mysteries of snowmen. For a fun time, read Snowmen at Christmas.

Now all I need is snow. And volunteers. Any takers? Hot cocoa provided.

Kid Kandy:

~ Build a snowman. Make sure he/she has a scarf, eyes, ears, nose, mouth, and hat. Maybe add a few arms and feet. You can spray on color to make clothes. Mix food coloring in a water bottle. Spray where you want the colors to go.

~ Use large and small marshmallows to build mini snowmen. Stick toothpicks in to marshmallows to make them stay in place. Use frosting to stick on raisins, chocolate chips, and little candies for features and clothes. Eat carefully! (First remove toothpicks.)

~ Use white crayons to draw snowmen on blue construction paper. Choose other colors to add details. Add white glitter glue to make snowmen sparkle!