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!

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.