Review by Booklist Review
Children and adults alike will have fun figuring out what's going on in this wordless picture book. It starts with a blizzard in a forest and a top hat lying on top of the snow. A rabbit investigates, stumbles into the hat, and is soon swept, as if in a hot-air balloon, over the snow-laden forest. The hat lands upon a snowman being worked on by a fox, a bear, and a penguin, and guess what? Newly hatted, the snowman comes to life, and he sets to reading a book to his three friends. The story swerves into a sudden search-and-rescue mission after the rabbit hops off with the book. Hillenbrand's illustrations, which include colored pencils, watercolors, and collage, invite close study, but they are equally effective in long two-page spreads of cinematic, snowy scenes. Subtle embedded lessons on friendship and forgiveness help bolster this ostensibly quiet but emotionally quite warm winter tale.--Fletcher, Connie Copyright 2015 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Although the tale of a snowman coming to life via a special hat is familiar, Hillenbrand (the Bear and Mole series) brings a freshness to the idea in this chipper wordless outing. Against a wintry blue-gray woodland background, delicately pixilated with snowflakes, a rabbit discovers a black hat, which has been dropped by a passing owl. The curious bunny tumbles into the topless top hat and is spirited away by a wind gust to the head of a snowman, newly built by a bear, fox, and penguin. The rabbit stays hidden inside the hat while the snowman shares a story from a bright green book. After the other animals fall asleep, the rabbit steals the book, drawing everyone (even the snowman) into hot pursuit. The ensuing chase, which includes a snowball battle, has a cozy finish that includes forgiving the rabbit's selfish book-snatching (which, while well-intentioned, remains a bit puzzling). Splashes of color-a red scarf, the green book, the animals' fur-and varying perspectives and panel sizes help convey a deft sense of movement and drama. Ages 3-7. (Nov.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 1-This endearing wordless picture book begins on a blustery winter's day as an owl drops a top hat in the snow, just the perfect sort of hat for a rabbit to hide in and the perfect sort of hat to picked up by the wind and blown onto the head of a snowman that has just been built by an owl, a bear, and a fox. Owl gives Snowman a book to read aloud, and when the story is done, they all go to sleep, except for rabbit, who climbs out of the top hat and runs off with the book. The others wake up and give chase, traversing a snow-covered field, crossing over a deep gorge, and climbing a treacherous hill, until they finally reach the rabbit's house and find her reading to her own little bunnies. Mixed-media illustrations have a charmingly innocent quality that artfully conveys both the gentle friendship and adventuresome spirit of these characters. A spacious wintry backdrop of sketchily drawn snow-dusted trees is overlaid with dots of falling snowflakes and warmed by the rosy roundness of Snowman. The wordless narrative is dynamic yet easily followed, perfect to share with pre-readers. An appealing addition to any seasonal collection.-Teri Markson, Los Angeles Public Library (c) Copyright 2015. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
In this clever wordless story, a bear, fox, and bird first build a snowman, then hand it a book to read to them before bedtime (i.e., hibernation). A mischievous rabbit snatches the book, and a chase through the wintry landscape ensues. There's drama, humor, and adventure in the tale, illustrated with varied yet easy-to-follow mixed-media illustrations. Pair with Briggs's wordless classic The Snowman. (c) Copyright 2015. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
With echoes of "Frosty the Snowman" in the background, a snowman's storybook within this wordless book delivers a comic wintertime romp.Woodland creatures build a snowman, giving him a green book as a finishing touch. This addition comes right after a windswept top hat lands on his head, vivifying him la Frosty. Hidden inside is a rabbit (it is a magic hat, after all); attentive readers will have seen the hat first on frontmatter pages and then with the bunny in the double-page spreads before the early ones devoted to the snowman's construction. The snowman reads his book aloud to the animals, with the rabbit surreptitiously listening in, its ears poking out of the top of the hat. When the others all drift off to sleep, the bunny emerges and steals away with the book. A chase ensues across snowy terrain and through a series of pages (perhaps a few too many for good pacing) replete with comic-style panels. When the animals and snowman confront the rabbit in its tree-hollow home, its motivation for book thievery is revealed: This bunny has a family and wishes to share the story with its children. All's well that ends well, and the animals convene (safely outside and away from the rabbit family's crackling fireplace) to read together. A cozy read for bibliophiles. (Picture book. 3-6) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
