Snowballs Children's Book Review

There are children's books, and there are PICTURE books. This book falls into the latter category. The colorful and whimsical collage art of artist/author Lois Ehlert makes this picture book a fun and engaging read for even very young ages. With its large pictures and double-page spreads, this is a perfect read-aloud story for large groups of young children. The visual elements will keep your audience's attention.

Snowballs is a simple story depicting what one person does to fill their landscape with snow people--a snow dad, snow mom, snow boy, snow girl, snow baby, the family cat, and even "our dog spot." And when the snow melts...well, that's just part of the story.

Ehlert's illustrations combine the whimsical rainbow colors of objects from countries all over the world into fun and fascinating figures with textured papers and paper shapes. The term "visual feast" is perhaps a trite bit overused when it comes to children's books, but the term applies here.

Using "Good Stuff Saved In a Sack" Lois Ehlert makes collages from unexpected items. A Mexican Broom forms the hair for snow girl, while colorful striped Guatemalan belts give snow mom's hair an almost Rastafarian effect. You will enjoy discovering all of the materials and the unique ways Ehlert combines them to form pictures that evoke the hushed, tranquil skies of a snow day.

Sit with your toddler or preschooler and enjoy this book at face value, then go back and search for objects through the pages! This fun snow day book will make you long for a perfect snow day so you can build your own snow menagerie.

• Nature
• Seasons
• Winter
• Snow
• Snowmen
• Art
• Collage
• Color
• Weather
• Lois Ehlert

This book is appropriate for young toddlers and preschoolers. The large-print text, short storyline, and large, vivid illustrations make this book especially appropriate for this age group. This book is a great addition to a library story hour and is short enough to combine with other books on a winter theme.

Older preschoolers and even school-age children will enjoy the "search and find" element of Ehlert's complex illustrations. And teachers of many age groups will want to consider using this book or other stories by Lois Ehlert as a launch-point for a unit on art, color, or collage.

This book has simple, repetitive words and can be used by emergent readers who will be encouraged by seeing some repeat words often as they begin to read alone. Also, the text of the book is over-sized and very easy to read.

You can read this book to preschoolers as part of several different possible thematic units, including: snow, snowmen, snowflakes, winter, or winter holidays. The following lesson helps mainly focus on a snowman-themed lesson.

Music and Movement

Music and movement are important elements in teaching preschoolers. Children are very quick to memorize short songs and poems, which reinforces any subject you might teach them. Involving children in a movement activity reinforces the idea that storytime is starting and engages young children's attention before you begin reading to them.

The song Once there was a Snowman (a short, easy to learn action song) is a perfect match with this story. The song is part of the Primary Children's Song Book collection of the LDS church, but has no religious message:

• Once there was a snowman, snowman, snowman, Once there was a snowman tall, tall, tall. (Gradually move hand higher) Then the sun it melted, melted, melted, Then the sun it melted small, small, small. (Gradually Move hand lower)

Movement activity: Build a Snowman

Tell the children they are going to build a pretend snowman with you:

• Say: It's cold outside "brrr!" (Pretend to shiver, hug yourself)
• Say: Let's put on our coat! (Pretend to put on coat)
• Say: Let's put on our hat! (Pretend to put on hat)
• Say: Let's put on our mittens! (Pretend to put on mittens)
• Say: Oops! We forgot to put on our boots! Take off your mittens! (Pretend take off your mittens)
• Say: Now let's put on our boots! And mittens (pretend to put on your boots, then mittens)
• Let's open the door and go outside. (Pretend to open door)
• Time to walk through the snow. Lift your feet high (Walk in place)
• Lets make snowballs! (Pretend to make a snowball, roll it around. Repeat) 10. Time to stack the snowballs! (Pretend to stack snowballs)
• Our snowman needs a hat! (Take off your pretend hat and put it on pretend snowman)
• Whew, that was hard work! Good job making your snowman!

Click here to see other snow songs published on the Everything Preschool website. This site is an excellent, even encyclopedic resource for preschool lesson planning.

Transition Ideas

Finger plays, short poems, and short rhymes make great transitional activities in a library storytime setting. One of the key factors to your success as a story presenter is to keep your young audience fully engaged at all times. I am personally a big fan of using props and storyboards or finger plays.

If you are presenting to preschoolers with the story Snowballs, you will probably also want to read an additional story, with something short in between to help children get their wiggles out. Here are several transitional ideas you could do, or you could also incorporate into a more involved music and movement time.

Bag of Great Things

Bring a paper bag containing "great things". Ask kids how they would use the great things in the bag to build a snowman. Take the items out one at a time. This activity would be more appropriate in a small group setting, since in large groups it's difficult to control young children "talking out."

Craft Ideas

Snowmen-themed craft ideas are greatly abundant on children's preschool web sites. If these ideas don't suit you, try a Google search on the keywords: "preschool snowman craft"

Paper collage

(Appropriate for older preschoolers) Have children cut out shapes from pictures in magazines to form their own "favorite things" collages. To make this activity more appropriate for toddlers, use pre-cut, torn, or die-cut shapes in the collages. Young toddlers don't have scissor skills required to cut complicated shapes.

Snowman coloring

There are a plethora of snowman coloring sheets on the internet. If you don't like these, just do a Google search!

• Snowman in derby hat
• High Quality Winter Printables from Apples4theTeacher.com

Paper Tube Snowman

• Click here to make a simple paper tube snowman. This is an easy, inexpensive craft if you have a large group, are short on time, or have limited crafting resources.