Synopses & Reviews
Clean, cold, white snow! Snow for sledding. Snow for catching on your tongue. Snow for making a SNOWMAN! Is there anything as wonderful as SNOW? Is there any better friend than a SNOWMAN? Snow isnand#8217;t forever, though. The wind shifts, the weather warms and snow melts into spring. The Snowman has become something elseand#8212;the fog, the rain. But, how can this boy forget his good friend? He doesnand#8217;tand#8230;and he doesnand#8217;t have to. andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Bestselling author, Alison McGhee reminds us all that nothing that has been cared for can ever disappear for good, for, and#8220;What you love will always be with you.and#8221; And, this tender story about the power of friendship will stay with readers long after they turn the last page.
Review
andlt;bandgt;Making a Friendandlt;/bandgt; andlt;BRandgt; andlt;iandgt;Alison McGhee, illus. by Marc Rosenthal. Sandamp;S/Atheneum, $16.99 (40p) ISBN 978-1-4169-8998-1andlt;/iandgt; andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt; McGhee takes up an ethereal subject: longing for absent loved ones. A boy buildsand#8212;and happily befriendsand#8212;a snowman, which later melts in a spring thaw. and#8220;Where did you go?and#8221; the boy wonders. and#8220;Look,and#8221; writes McGhee (Someday), as the seasons shift and the boy pours a bucket of water into a pond. and#8220;He is in the falling water, and the rain upon the ocean.and#8221; Rosenthaland#8217;s (I Must Have Bobo!) boxy houses and rural scenes speak of simpler times, and the soft, sepia outlines of his pencil drawings look like old lithographs. Visual hints of the snowmanand#8217;s lingering presenceand#8212;ripples in the pond echo his charcoal facial featuresand#8212;underscore McGheeand#8217;s message. (And just in case readers miss it, itand#8217;s also spelled out in a refrain, and#8220;What you love will always be with you.and#8221;) The success of the book is in the gentle rhythm created by McGheeand#8217;s telegraphic text and Rosenthaland#8217;s spot illustrations, and in its evocation of the long waits of childhood, so difficult for the young to endure. All ages.andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt; --andlt;iandgt;Publishers Weeklyandlt;/iandgt;, September 5, 2011
Review
andlt;bandgt;Making a Friend.andlt;BRandgt; andlt;/bandgt;McGhee, Alison (Author) , Rosenthal, Marc (Illustrator)andlt;BRandgt; Oct 2011. 40 p. Atheneum, hardcover, $16.99. (9781416989981).andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt; It is a simple story, told many times over: a child builds a snowman, and then the snowman melts.andlt;BRandgt; McGheeand#8217;s take stars a boy with a red baseball cap and the phrase, and#8220;What you love will always be withandlt;BRandgt; you.and#8221; To illustrate continuity, the narratorand#8217;s response to the boyand#8217;s question, and#8220;Where did he go?and#8221; points toandlt;BRandgt; the following seasonsand#8217; precipitation and the presence of water in the childand#8217;s world. In this way, theandlt;BRandgt; snowman is there in the rain, fog, and frost. When a new season arrives and it snows again, the boyandlt;BRandgt; lovingly builds a new snowman just like the one that melted, as if it had never left. Rosenthaland#8217;s spareandlt;BRandgt; drawings complement the tenor of the simple text. Childlike, the illustrations rely on a limited palate.andlt;BRandgt; Clues the snowman is still present in the elements show up in suggestions of the snowmanand#8217;s face and body in raindrops, puddles, and clouds. It is extremely subtle, but when observant children notice it, they will feel justly rewarded.andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt; --andlt;iandgt;BOOKLISTandlt;/iandgt;, October 1, 2011
Review
MCGHEE, Alison. Making a Friend.
Review
With the sparest text and softest watercolors, McGhee and Rosenthal lovingly evoke the pleasures of the seasonand#8217;s first snow. A red-capped boy makes a snowman, giving him pebbly eyes, a carrot nose, and finally, his own red hat to wear. When the snow melts, the snowman doesnand#8217;t really disappear: he is in the falling water, the rain on the ocean and the fog. He is always with the boy and will always come back in this tender paean to cold weather and enduring friendship. andlt;BRandgt; andlt;BRandgt; andlt;iandgt;--New York Times Book Reviewandlt;/iandgt; (12/28)
Review
MCGHEE, Alison. Making a Friend.
Review
MCGHEE, Alison. Making a Friend.
Review
MCGHEE, Alison. Making a Friend.
Review
MCGHEE, Alison. Making a Friend.
Review
MCGHEE, Alison. Making a Friend.
Review
MCGHEE, Alison. Making a Friend.
Review
andlt;bandgt;MCGHEE, andlt;/bandgt;Alison. andlt;iandgt;Making a Friend. andlt;BRandgt; andlt;/iandgt;In minimal but evocative text, McGhee introduces a small boy who builds a snowman and becomes attached to his creation. When it inevitably melts in the spring, the boy wonders, and#8220;Where did he go?and#8221; He finds his snowman almost everywhere he turnsand#8211;in the rain on the ocean, the fog in the hollow, the frost on the window, etc., and realizes, and#8220;What you love will always be with you.and#8221; When winter returns, he builds another snowman and again enjoys the companionship. Similar in tone to Mo Willemsand#8217;s City Dog, Country Frog (Hyperion, 2010), this gentle story offers the same opportunity to discuss the cycle of love, loss, and emotional renewal. The digitally manipulated pencil illustrations have a retro look and are reminiscent of the work of Louis Slobodkin. There is a lot of white space, particularly on the pages where only the boy and the snowman are depicted, giving the impression that they are in their own special private world. A simple but deeply nuanced story that should resonate with children.andlt;BRandgt; andlt;iandgt;SLJ, andlt;/iandgt;October 2011
Synopsis
In this gem of a picture book from the author of
Someday, a little boy happily builds a snowman after the season’s first snowstorm. He dresses his frozen friend in his favorite hat, and grows to dearly love the snowman. But snow isn’t forever. The wind shifts, the weather warms, and eventually, the snowman will be gone. But where does he go?
Though time passes and seasons change, the boy learns that the snowman will always be with him—in the spring fog, in the summer rain, in the fall frost, in a new winter’s snow—and, always, in his heart. Because, as readers are reassured in the gentle refrain, “What you love will always be with you.”On sale: 10.04.11
About the Author
Alison McGhee is the andlt;iandgt;New York Timesandlt;/iandgt; bestselling author of andlt;iandgt;Somedayandlt;/iandgt;, as well as andlt;iandgt;Firefly Hollowandlt;/iandgt;, andlt;iandgt;Little Boyandlt;/iandgt;, andlt;iandgt;So Many Daysandlt;/iandgt;, andlt;iandgt;Bye-Bye Cribandlt;/iandgt;, andlt;iandgt;Alwaysandlt;/iandgt;, andlt;iandgt;A Very Brave Witchandlt;/iandgt;, and andlt;iandgt;Bink and Gollieandlt;/iandgt;. Her other childrenandrsquo;s books include andlt;iandgt;All Rivers Flow to the Seaandlt;/iandgt;, andlt;iandgt;Countdown to Kindergartenandlt;/iandgt;, and andlt;iandgt;Snapandlt;/iandgt;. Alison is also the Pulitzer Prizeandndash;nominated novelist of the adult novel andlt;iandgt;Shadowbabyandlt;/iandgt;, which was also a andlt;iandgt;Today andlt;/iandgt;show book club selection. She lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and you can visit her at AlisonMcGhee.com.