All You Need for a Snowman

by Alice Schertle, Barbara Lavallee (Illustrator)

One small snowflake fluttering down--
That's all you need for a snowman.
Or is it? In these pages, an exuberant crew is summoned to create a snowman of heroic proportions.

Genres: Picture Books, Storytime, Childrens, Fiction, Christmas, Poetry, Holiday

32 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2002

About the author

Alice Schertle has written more than 40 books, mostly for children. A mother and former elementary school teacher, Ms. Schertle is a graduate of the University of Southern California. Many of her most famous works are poetic in nature, though she writes about a wide variety of topics.

Reviews

[Shanshad Whelan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute book for this time of year, but a tough one to read aloud to an audience since the words wander around the page and don't always flow as you expect them to. Still, it's a decent snowman book.

[Cassandra Gelvin · Rating 3 out of 5]

But-- what-- I don't--

This book is just irritating. It keeps changing its mind and not settling on anything. "One small snowflake/fluttering down--/that's all you need/for a snowman./EXCEPT.../eight million more..." It just gets out of control, all the various things you need for a snowman. It keeps saying that it's simple, and then makes it really complex. It's like, of course you can't build a snowman with a single snowflake. That would just be weird. It would be a snowflake-man. But it keeps listing things, and repeatedly saying "that's all you need" and then "EXCEPT", like "psyche! I just lied to you, flat out!" Either the narrator is an idiot or a compulsive liar. I'm not sure which.

On the plus side, the illustrations are interesting to look at. The children are very charmingly ambiguously racial. It's very colorful.

For more children's book reviews, see my website at http://www.drttmk.com.

[Courtney · Rating 4 out of 5]

Alice Schertle takes the reader step-by-step through the snowman-making process. At the beginning she says, "One small snowflake fluttering down... two more snowflakes... three flakes... four... five... six... seven thousand... eight million more..." I love how she tries to illustrate how many teeny tiny little snowflakes make up just one ball of snow. It's crazy when you look at it like that!

Then you need to make two more balls- a middle-sized ball and a small-sized ball. Then the snowman needs a hat. Then some bottle caps, a carrot, and many different objects to use for clothes. Then comes my favorite page. A full-sized snowman with all the fixings, and children hanging off every limb trying to build their snowman to perfection.

This book makes very good use of the pages. I would recommend it to children that love playing in the snow or even children who have never seen snow!

[Becky · Rating 4 out of 5]

First sentence: One small snowflake fluttering down—that’s all you need for a snowman. EXCEPT two more snowflakes...three flakes...four...five...six...seven thousand...eight million more...Billions of snowflakes piled in a mound, pat them and pack them and roll them around into one big ball.

Premise/plot: Do you know what it takes to build a snowman?!?! In this rhythmic poem, little ones learn exactly what is involved in the building of a snowman. At least according to the author Alice Schertle. In truth snowmen like snowflakes can be very unique.

My thoughts: I definitely liked this one. It is a cute wintry read aloud to share with little ones. It was originally published as a picture book in 2002. It is newly published as a board book.

Text: 4/5
Illustrations: 3/5
Total: 7/10

[Christine Turner · Rating 5 out of 5]

One small snowflake fluttering down...That's all you need for a snowman. Or is it?

In these pages, an exuberant crew is summoned to create a snowman of heroic proportions. Starting with the very first flake, Alice Schertle's clever and energetic rhyming text details the steps these little sculptors take to create a chilly chum.

Barbara Lavallee's bold and lively illustrations overflow with brisk winter energy. Snow, colorful clothes, and a dash of the miraculous combine to shape a winter experience that is both familiar and fantastic.
Subjects

Snowmen -- Juvenile fiction.

Snowmen -- Fiction.

[Aleece · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is very similar to the author's other title, All You Need for a Beach but it does the trick for a snow themed story. The story puts a fun spin on how a snowman is built from the millions and billions of snowflakes.

This is a cute story about how snowflakes can be packed together to make balls to be then stacked on top of each other to make a snowman. Then of course you have to dress the snowman. While there are stories out there about snowmen there are not as many out there about building a snowman which makes this story fun because kids can go out and build their own based on the book.

[Lynn Davidson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This beautifully illustrated story is in rhyme. It takes the reader from the first snowflake, through the fun process of building a big snowman after enough snow falls. Children work at rolling the snow into balls large enough to make a snowman, and they all add the extra things needed. When it starts snowing again they gave the fun of building a friend for the first one.
This is a fun story for young readers and pre-readers to enjoy and want to build their own snowman.

[Judy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Colorful art. In general, I like LaVallee's art, but it didn't work for me here. The children's heads often looked to be upside down, or at least in very awkward positions, and the snowman was too huge.

Maybe I'm being grumpy. I should have waited until I could read it with a child; then I would have been able to view it thru a child's eyes.

[Amber Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like this depiction of how children make a snowman. They started everything with one snowflake and went from there. The book even started with counting snowflakes. The children started with one large snowball and then got two more. Then the children started to explain that the snowman needed eyes and a nose. Finally the snowman was accessorized with all kinds of stuff.

[Logan Marshall · Rating 5 out of 5]

Genre: Poetry
Grade: K-1
This would be a fun book to have for students during the winter months. Kids would be able to relate to the book which is why it is so good. It has a lot of rhyming in it that allows the students to get engaged and be interested more. Overall, this is a really good book that should be read to students.

[J · Rating 4 out of 5]

That is one big snowman. How did they even find a broom that big? Anyway, the art in this is just lovely, and the kids I read this to got really excited about it and started talking about how they wanted to build a snowman.

[Zoraida Rivera Morales · Rating 3 out of 5]

This text uses a clever way to keep the reader turning the pages. Making a snowman can be simple... except, there's always more. It has a clever twist at the end. Kids living in a cold climate will identify with this book.

[Amanda Graves · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute read for kindergarteners. The illustrations are whimsical and wintery. Reads more like an offbeat poem than a children's book, the EXCEPT and BUT at the end of every other line throws off the kids they kept interrupting and saying "that's not all!"

[Caitlin · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you're a children's librarian and you don't have this on your shelf or your storytime docket, let me make this simple... ADD IT. This book is SO fun and cute. Plus...it would easily go with a craft like paper snowmen...just saying...

[Jess · Rating 4 out of 5]

January 2018 - a fun and silly celebration of winter. Ben especially enjoyed all the unexpected things used to make the snowman.

[Donna Mork · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute book about making a snowman and what it takes, starting from the first snowflake all the way to dressing the snowman in scarves and boots. And then....making him a friend.

[Elizabeth Moreau Nicolai · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite snow storytime books.

[Ginette Danis · Rating 5 out of 5]

The kids loved the storyline.

[Bethe · Rating 3 out of 5]

just a little snow... and some other stuff and you have a snow man and his friend. Don't think I've ever made a snowman with a fanny pack however :)

[Mellanie C · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a little bit like Laura Numeroff's "If You Give a Mouse" books. The kids enjoyed having it read to them.

[Kaylynn Johnsen · Rating 5 out of 5]

A lyrical tale of all the things you need to build a snowman and his friend. Alice Schertle brings the recipe and Barbara Lavallee's art mixes all the ingredients for this wonderful book.

[Erica · Rating 5 out of 5]

I actually really love this book

[Katelynne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the illustrations and the storyline. This is a super fun book for winter or a snowman theme.

[Cheryl · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a fun book to read in storytime. The kids loved telling me that we needed more to make a snowman.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

We liked how big the snowman was. I liked the numbers that they used to estimate how much snow was in the snowman.

[Laurie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good for sequencing- shows the steps of building a snowman.

[Latrice Pearl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful depiction of how to build a snowman.

[Heather · Rating 2 out of 5]

This sounded much cuter than it turned out to be. The cover and illustrations looked older once I got the book home.
The writing wasn’t my kind of style either. Short sentence fragments on each page. It’s not pleasant to read:
‘One small snowflake fluttering down—
That’s all you need for a snowman.
EXCEPT
Two more snowflakes…
Three flakes…four…
Five…six…seven thousand…
Eight million more…’

I did like this:
‘(i)But what about clothes?(/i)
Walnut buttons,
Five in a row,
Belt in the middle,
Boots below,
Big wool scarf,
Broom to hold,
Mittens (in case his hands get cold),
Earmuffs,
Fanny pack,
Something to read—
That’s absolutely ALL you need
For a snowman.’

It snows and they build a friend for their snowman.
And then it all starts again:
‘Uh-oh…
Look in the sky again.
One small snowflake falling, then…
Soft white snowflakes
Filling the sky,
Floating down everywhere,
Piling up high…
And THAT’S all you need
For a snowman’s friend.
The end.’
I like it ended with a rhyme.
Wish the writing and illustrations had been better and this could have been really cute, as cute as I was expecting.

[Laurie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Horn Book November/December, 2002

"One small snowflake / fluttering down- / that's all you need / for a snowman," declares Schertle on the first spread in what might be called an accumulative tale. There's one more word at the lower right corner of the page-"EXCEPT..."-setting the pattern to follow: "two more snowflakes...three flakes...four...five...six...seven thousand... eight million more" snowflakes until there are "billions" to form into a ball. "And that's all...EXCEPT..." for two smaller snowballs, followed by eyes and nose, a full set of clothes, a book to read, and "that's absolutely ALL you need," EXCEPT, finally, a second snowman to be friend to the first. Schertle's neatly rhymed and cadenced text keeps the simple story rolling, while Lavallee (who lives in Anchorage) clearly understands the serious joys of making snowmen in superabundant snow. Industrious tots, rotund in rainbow-hued snow gear, radiate vigor as they collaborate on their monumental project, enthusiastically shaping the shadow-dappled snow and boldly scaling their creation to bedeck him. A wonderfully childlike and ebullient addition to the winter repertoire.



Horn Book starred Spring, 2003

Schertle's neatly rhymed and cadenced text keeps this simple story rolling, while Lavallee clearly understands the serious joys of making snowmen in superabundant snow. Industrious tots, rotund in rainbow-hued snow gear, radiate vigor as they collaborate on their monumental project, enthusiastically shaping the snow. A wonderfully childlike and ebullient addition to the winter repertoire.



Kirkus Reviews September 15, 2002

A rollicking combination of poet (Good Night, Hattie, My Dearie, My Dove, p. 345, etc.) and illustrator (The Gift, not reviewed, etc.) will have exuberant toddlers and their families following along as colorfully clad youngsters build a huge feathery snowman. Watercolor and gouache paintings use white space to the fullest advantage, as the snowman becomes larger and larger. So large that it takes a vertical doublespread for the artist to show off the finished product. Light blue, watercolor snowflakes are a background to the lively activities of the many youngsters. Perspective changes from close-ups to full scenes that work with the pace of the poetry. The placement of the text is a seamless part of the design and oftentimes is as rollicking as the picture. "Three hand-packed, / triple-stacked / balls of snow. / Hat on top, / where a hat should go- / that's all you need / for a snowman. / EXCEPT for . . ." The last two words are at the bottom of the right-hand page and beg for it to be turned. The hatted, scarved, and booted toddlers are dwarfed beside their creation and are an integral part of the design. With the snowman finished, there is another snowstorm and the fun begins to make a snowman's friend. One snowman sports a fanny pack and sneakers, the other wears skis and suspenders. A treat in text and pictures to be read again and again. (Picture book. 2-5)



Publishers Weekly November 12, 2007

"While this deceptively simple book starring children building a snowman is ultimately about community... youngsters will find the lilting language and action-filled illustrations to be just plain fun," PW wrote in a starred review. Ages 3-5. (Nov.) Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information.



Publishers Weekly October 21, 2002

While this deceptively simple book starring children building a snowman is ultimately about community-how human beings, no matter how small, can help each other create something bigger than themselves-youngsters will find the lilting language and action-filled illustrations to be just plain fun. Schertle's (How Now, Brown Cow?) text deftly describes what goes into making a snowman: "Billions of snowflakes/ piled in a mound,/ pat them/ and pack them/ and roll them/ around/ into one big ball." Her refrain-"That's all you need for a snowman. Except..."-encourages readers to turn the page for each new component. The watercolors, meanwhile, feature children in padded winter jackets who work together. As in childhood, the snowman looms larger than life. As they roll that "one big ball," for example, the children appear to be hugging the edge of a snow-white planet. They place saucer-size bottle caps on the snowman's face-"Surprise!/ Snowman's eyes!"-and add a broom taller than a house. The completed snowman is so huge that the book needs to be turned sideways to view it. Lavallee's illustrations, in the style of her work in Mama, Do You Love Me?, emphasize the children's profiles, shadowing one half of each face as if each character possessed both light and dark skin. A wintertime treat. Ages 2-5. (Oct.) Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.



School Library Journal December 1, 2002

PreS-Working cooperatively, the children of this snow-clad chalet village build two huge snowmen. In colorful winter clothing, these plump and squat kids, with their two-toned faces, swarm the white pages as step-by-step they create a snowman so big that readers must turn the page sideways for a full view. The text is bouncy and light, and rolls along like hand-packed snow. A heavy use of the word "except" entices children on to the next page. Finally, they see two snowmen of Paul Bunyan proportions. The skill of both the author and the artist gives this book energy. Toddlers will be thoroughly satisfied.-Martha Topol, Traverse Area District Library, Traverse City, MI Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

So cute!