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The Adventures of the Bailey School Kids #50
The Abominable Snowman Doesn't Roast Marshmallows
A funny and spooky new adventure in the best-selling and beloved series about a town where the grown-ups are more than a little weird.
There are some pretty weird grown-ups living in Bailey City. But could the frosty stranger in town for the Winter Carnival really be . . . the Abominable Snowman? The Bailey School kids are going to find out!
There are some pretty weird grown-ups living in Bailey City. But could the frosty stranger in town for the Winter Carnival really be . . . the Abominable Snowman? The Bailey School kids are going to find out!
96 pages, Paperback
First published March 1, 2005
5 people are currently reading
434 people want to read
About the author
Debbie Dadey
244 books329 followersDebbie Dadey is the author and co-author of 162 books for children, including the Mermaid Tales series from Simon and Schuster and the beloved Adventures of The Bailey School Kids from Scholastic. Ms. Dadey is a former teacher and librarian. Please like her at Facebook.com/debbiedadey.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews
March 4, 2022
I was torn with giving this 1 star or 2. 1 is harsh considering it isn’t a bad book so I went with 2 but for overall story and plot, it really deserves a 1. This whole story had no point whatsoever. I kept waiting and waiting for something to be definitively solved or proved, but it never happened. They just wanted to write a story about the abominable snowman but had absolutely no idea what to do with it or where to take it.
I remember the kids sometimes being really mean in the werewolf one. Eddie said they had to do a snow sculpture that would beat this weird family that won last year. Then the author wrote that the family lives in a rundown house. Like because they live in a rundown house they shouldn’t have won? Down with the poor family that can’t take care of their house!
The kids came across a man roasting marshmallows at a big fire in the snow. He wore a big hairy suit and spoke in broken English, saying things like “Me like snow,” and he was there to visit a cousin named Squash.
The kids remembered a Mr. Squash teaching them square dancing on a school field trip. I wondered if that was a previous book or if this was made up just to fit this story.
The girls thought the natural conclusion was that if Mr. Squash was his cousin, that would make him the Abominable Snowman. Eddie’s big argument and the title of the book is that the abominable snowman doesn’t roast marshmallows.
Melody kept insisting that they needed to save Bailey City from the monster attack and kept thinking the abominable snowman was going to use it as his feeding ground. Eddie kept insisting there was no such thing. In between talking about how cold it was, the kids did absolutely nothing.
Melody found huge barefoot tracks at her house and the other kids’ homes and they went off on this tangent to track him down. They found him at the top of the mountain on skis, and they all hopped on the sled and took off after him. Craziness ensued and Liza ended up being in the sled while the other 3 pulled, went faster and faster and hit ice and the other 3 kids ended up back in the sled and they hit a pile of snow and went flying onto the parade float where he had his winter table and chair scene. It was made of marshmallows and the kids ruined it and he thought he was out of the contest. The kids’ sled ride won them the race somehow even though they weren’t in the race and no one else was racing…yeah.
He was working for the marshmallow company and the kids discovered he left and the newspaper article came out that he won the parade and stores sold out of marshmallows because of the kids…Again, okayyy. Why would kids smashing a marshmallow display and ruining it so there’s nothing in left to see win the contest and make the town run out of marshmallows??
And that was it. He never met up with his Sasquatch cousin and we never had it disproved that he wasn’t the abominable snowman. The footprints went unexplained. I was dumbfounded at this whole story. And the werewolf one was so good, I can’t believe this was such a dud.
I remember the kids sometimes being really mean in the werewolf one. Eddie said they had to do a snow sculpture that would beat this weird family that won last year. Then the author wrote that the family lives in a rundown house. Like because they live in a rundown house they shouldn’t have won? Down with the poor family that can’t take care of their house!
The kids came across a man roasting marshmallows at a big fire in the snow. He wore a big hairy suit and spoke in broken English, saying things like “Me like snow,” and he was there to visit a cousin named Squash.
The kids remembered a Mr. Squash teaching them square dancing on a school field trip. I wondered if that was a previous book or if this was made up just to fit this story.
The girls thought the natural conclusion was that if Mr. Squash was his cousin, that would make him the Abominable Snowman. Eddie’s big argument and the title of the book is that the abominable snowman doesn’t roast marshmallows.
Melody kept insisting that they needed to save Bailey City from the monster attack and kept thinking the abominable snowman was going to use it as his feeding ground. Eddie kept insisting there was no such thing. In between talking about how cold it was, the kids did absolutely nothing.
Melody found huge barefoot tracks at her house and the other kids’ homes and they went off on this tangent to track him down. They found him at the top of the mountain on skis, and they all hopped on the sled and took off after him. Craziness ensued and Liza ended up being in the sled while the other 3 pulled, went faster and faster and hit ice and the other 3 kids ended up back in the sled and they hit a pile of snow and went flying onto the parade float where he had his winter table and chair scene. It was made of marshmallows and the kids ruined it and he thought he was out of the contest. The kids’ sled ride won them the race somehow even though they weren’t in the race and no one else was racing…yeah.
He was working for the marshmallow company and the kids discovered he left and the newspaper article came out that he won the parade and stores sold out of marshmallows because of the kids…Again, okayyy. Why would kids smashing a marshmallow display and ruining it so there’s nothing in left to see win the contest and make the town run out of marshmallows??
And that was it. He never met up with his Sasquatch cousin and we never had it disproved that he wasn’t the abominable snowman. The footprints went unexplained. I was dumbfounded at this whole story. And the werewolf one was so good, I can’t believe this was such a dud.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 2, 2018
I mean it wasn't that bad, but Melody was just mean in this one. She convinced her friends that the man was the abominable snowman, and they ended up destroying his float, because they thought he was going to...what...ruin the town? Eat everyone?
I do admit, the giant foot prints that were outside of their houses was a little weird. But that's all the proof they had, if you want to call that proof.
Sometimes these kids are just mean.
I do admit, the giant foot prints that were outside of their houses was a little weird. But that's all the proof they had, if you want to call that proof.
Sometimes these kids are just mean.
October 21, 2020
There's a LFL down the street from my sister. I always check it when I'm there. But I typically only have time to read the children's book in it.
Sadly, this wasn't much of an adventure. Not much depth or interesting writing, even for a kid's book.
Sadly, this wasn't much of an adventure. Not much depth or interesting writing, even for a kid's book.
August 29, 2021
This was a weird one.
December 22, 2023
Of the four BSK books I read recently (for the purposes of recording a podcast), this one was by far the weakest. Even by the standards of chapter books for children, The Abominable Snowman Doesn't Roast Marshmallows has NO plot. The only thing that happens in the entire book is that the kids witness a very large man sitting by a campfire eating Mega-Marshmallows in the middle of a snowstorm. They jump wildly to conclusions in a way that, for the first time, I found straight-up annoying--there was something kind of charming about their wide-eyed wonder in previous books, but here they just invent wholesale the idea that if they don't chase the Snowman away, winter will never end in Bailey City. It's like a bad episode of Rugrats. Then it ends with a sled chase down a mountain that feels like the literary equivalent of the cringe-worthy slapstick you'd get in a Disney Channel Original Movie. The book has WAY more illustrations than the earlier books in the series, depicting moments in the story that don't remotely NEED to be illustrated, so it feels like a ploy to pad out the page count.
I guess I can't blame the authors too much, since they'd been reworking the same formula at this point for fifty books over the course of fourteen years. Still, for the penultimate book in a beloved series, you'd hope for something a bit more energized.
I guess I can't blame the authors too much, since they'd been reworking the same formula at this point for fifty books over the course of fourteen years. Still, for the penultimate book in a beloved series, you'd hope for something a bit more energized.
January 10, 2023
This was weak. I’m so disappointed. But it’s not like this looked that great to begin with. My problem is how random these stories are. Why would the abominable snowman roast marshmallows? Why is that something he would eat?
Unlike the werewolf book, this didn’t make me believe Savage was the yeti.
I also expected them to see an animal in the woods, not a person to be wearing clothes that look like a yeti costume. The abominable snowman can’t be a person!
It was very unrealistic how Savage and the kids skied/sled down the mountain straight to town, right in the road and onto the float in the parade!
It turns out Savage works for the Mega Marshmallow Company. Idk, it’s all just too random.
Could have been scary that he was walking around all their houses but it wasn’t and nothing further was done on it. They search his camp and find nothing, then find him all the way on the mountaintop skiing to make his grand entrance on the parade float! Like what? Why not have him already on the float? The timing and execution that would take to land that jump on a moving float…I know I’m reading way too much into a kid’s book but I like some basis of realism in my books, Idc what the age group is.
I’m just disappointed in the randomness and the missed opportunity at a yeti story from these authors and what they could have done with it.
Thought about giving this one star…
1.5 stars
Unlike the werewolf book, this didn’t make me believe Savage was the yeti.
I also expected them to see an animal in the woods, not a person to be wearing clothes that look like a yeti costume. The abominable snowman can’t be a person!
It was very unrealistic how Savage and the kids skied/sled down the mountain straight to town, right in the road and onto the float in the parade!
It turns out Savage works for the Mega Marshmallow Company. Idk, it’s all just too random.
Could have been scary that he was walking around all their houses but it wasn’t and nothing further was done on it. They search his camp and find nothing, then find him all the way on the mountaintop skiing to make his grand entrance on the parade float! Like what? Why not have him already on the float? The timing and execution that would take to land that jump on a moving float…I know I’m reading way too much into a kid’s book but I like some basis of realism in my books, Idc what the age group is.
I’m just disappointed in the randomness and the missed opportunity at a yeti story from these authors and what they could have done with it.
Thought about giving this one star…
1.5 stars
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 2, 2025
Classic Bailey School Kids! The question of 'Monster or Not Monster' is well done here, and the action is quick. The pictures make a big impact in this one- it's hilarious to watch the adventures.
I'm not a big fan of how the Abominable Snowman/Yeti was portrayed, just because the myth is so wide ranging, but even though they picked a version of the creature I wasn't a fan of, that direction really worked for the story.
Also- loved the role of marshmallows in the story. Marshmallows are awesome.
I'm not a big fan of how the Abominable Snowman/Yeti was portrayed, just because the myth is so wide ranging, but even though they picked a version of the creature I wasn't a fan of, that direction really worked for the story.
Also- loved the role of marshmallows in the story. Marshmallows are awesome.
February 6, 2021
Cute juvenile fiction for young readers.
The series was pretty popular when I still worked at a public library. They are mild adventure stories for kids fresh to chapter books.
They are a little formulaic, but, for young readers they are probably just about right.
I bought a few of these for my daughter, but, there was so much to read in that category like Junie B and Amelia Bedelia and Magic Treehouse that we just missed reading them.
The series was pretty popular when I still worked at a public library. They are mild adventure stories for kids fresh to chapter books.
They are a little formulaic, but, for young readers they are probably just about right.
I bought a few of these for my daughter, but, there was so much to read in that category like Junie B and Amelia Bedelia and Magic Treehouse that we just missed reading them.
August 31, 2024
While some of the stories definitely leave you wondering if the "monster" was actually a monster after all, I thought that this one was a pretty obvious No. A strange loner in the mountains does not a yeti make, but if you're not sure you believe me, read the book for yourself!
January 30, 2025
The book was superficial for me and I did not feel the atmosphere of adventure, despite the characters were entertaining and I still prefer the book I read last winter ( Dragon dont throw snowballs) much more than this one.
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#VERDICT
(5/10)
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#VERDICT
(5/10)
February 3, 2017
Read this with my 9 year old son. He loved it. Easy for him to read to me and it kept his attention the whole time as he tried to figure out if Mr. Savage was really the Abominable Snowman!
September 7, 2021
Quick easy book that I read to my kids in about an hour. I used to love these books when I was a kid and I really enjoy reading them to my twins every now and then.
February 3, 2022
Simple sweet childhood memories. The gang thinks the new stranger in town is the abominable snowman and he is going to ruin the winter carnival. B
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 16, 2023
Quality entry in the series with some great illustrations.
June 26, 2023
It made me hungry for marshmallows!
December 26, 2025
I read this book to my class- I remember really liking them as a kid but I found it a bit lack luster.
December 31, 2023
This was a winter read aloud for us and we enjoyed it.
June 12, 2012
This was a cute story that I read aloud to my fourth graders as it is listed as "4.0 Reading level" in the "Accelerated Reading" program. The characters are actually in third grade, so I think I'll read it to third next year. It is a simplistic story with some hanging plots at the end of each chapter that keep it moving forward as a read aloud. It is a good way to get students started on a series.
September 16, 2014
The collection of "The adventures of the Bailey School Kids" stories are among my all-time favorite children's books. Witty, mischievous and fun, these short and silly books continue to bring giggles to the young and old. Just as I have enjoyed them as a kid, my own children also love them today. I even catch myself re-reading them (alone) from time to time. What can I say? I guess I'll always be a BSK kid at heart.
July 29, 2011
The Bailey School Kids is a best-selling children's book series by Marcia Thornton Jones and Debbie Dadey. Its main characters are a group of four children (Eddie, Howie, Liza, Melody) who suspect some persons in the stories are popular folk lore or fairy tale characters. They are appealing because they mix a familiar story in with this group of kids. Mid-grammar school
April 26, 2015
The first chapter book I've read aloud with Gavin.
He liked it. There was just enough mystery to keep him going.
Liza, Melody, Eddie and Howie have a friendship clicks. Melody seems to have an over active imagination, but her friends go along with her ideas...just incase there is an Abominable Snowman in Bailey City.
He liked it. There was just enough mystery to keep him going.
Liza, Melody, Eddie and Howie have a friendship clicks. Melody seems to have an over active imagination, but her friends go along with her ideas...just incase there is an Abominable Snowman in Bailey City.
Read
November 12, 2012A silly series that creates more questions than it answers. It's great for formulating theories as well as predictions. The class dynamics should be very familiar to those of the Magic School Bus generation.
January 5, 2011
Cute mystery about four friends who thy to uncover the true identity of a mysterious stranger in town. Needless to say, their imaginations run wild. This is the first I have read in the series. It doesn't seem like you need to read in order.
January 3, 2016
My 6 year old daughter liked this book. She enjoyed the characters and there were times she laughed out loud. It is one of the books that adults don't mind reading to kids, but isn't one that adults love either (hence the 3 stars instead of more )
March 18, 2008
This book made me laugh. It showed me that in books you can imagine anything.
August 21, 2009
great when ur little
March 13, 2011
Eddie Liza Melody & Howie found an abominable snowman .they thought he was going to reck the parade but he didn't.
Auryn 7yo
Auryn 7yo
May 5, 2011
One of the books I read about Bigfoot is the Abominable Snowman's cousin.
June 2, 2011
not as awesome as the title sounds, but still pretty badass. Love this series!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews