Stranger in the Woods - An Enchanted Snowman's Woodland Adventure

What child doesn't love a snowman? They bring with them snow angels, rosy cheeks, hot cocoa and visions of a winter wonderland.

The authors of the award winning children's book, Stranger in the Woods, Carl Sams and Jean Stoick, combine snowmen with woodland animals in a beautiful winter forest setting. Children and adults of all ages will enjoy this enchanting story.

This delightful story opens with the forest inhabitants enjoying their winter's day. Suddenly, a bird's voice cries out "Stranger!" and sets off a quest to find out just who that stranger is. It turns out he's a friendly snowman with a carrot nose and more treats to share with the animals.

At the end of the book, readers get a peek at the young snowman builders who enjoy watching the animals as they gratefully eat the carrot nose off his face and nibble at corn left at his base. Young children will be inspired to get outside and make snow angels and build their own snow family.

The story is sweet, but it's the photography that makes it pop. While it's written with young children in mind, young and old alike will appreciate the beauty of the pictures depicting real woodland creatures in their natural habitat.

The artistry of wildlife photographers Sams and Stoick shows itself on every page. They live in Michigan which is a perfect place for capturing winter scenes on film. But you don't have to be from the north to enjoy this book. Anyone who remembers making angels in the snow when they were kids or who wished they could have will be delighted by Stranger in the Woods. Visit their preview page for a peek at some of the beautiful photographs from the book.

The authors took film footage while taking photographs of Northern winters. They put this together with a soundtrack and Stranger in the Woods - The Movie was born. The film is about 40 minutes long and starts out with two talking snowdrifts. One of them is Pierre who makes you wonder if he's faking that bad French accent. It's all in good fun though, and he sets the cheerful tone of the film.

Video footage is interspersed with photography from the book throughout the film while each of the woodland creatures try to figure out who the stranger is. Children who love the book will adore the movie and might even learn the songs and sing along. This would be a fun flick to show young children during the winter to get them excited to go and have their own northern adventures.

This book is an excellent way for teachers to engage young pupils on topics related to the environment, animals, winter projects and Michigan (and similar) weather and woodlands. With this in mind, the authors have created a curriculum guide with 54 activities for the classroom. To learn more, visit the Stranger in the Woods activities page. They also have sample activity pages to print out.

The brother and sister team, Laura and Robert Sams, who both lend their musical talents to the movie version of the book, also give school presentations for primary grades. Visit their site for more information.