How to Build a Snow Bear: A Picture Book

Thomas & the Bear #2

by Eric Pinder, Stephanie Graegin (Illustrator)

Thomas wants to build the biggest and best snowman ever. Since he can't do it alone, he'll need a helping hand--or a paw. But little bears love to hibernate. How do you wake up a snoozing bear? By tickling it? Singing to it? Maybe making its favorite snack?

How to Build a Snow Bear is a story about two siblings sharing a wondrous wintry day.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Storytime, Fiction, Family, Nature, Friendship

40 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 13, 2016

About the author

Eric Pinder lives in rural New Hampshire, where he enjoys the outdoors and sometimes shares the nearest wild blueberry patch with a foraging bear. His books for children include If All the Animals Came Inside and Cat in the Clouds. He teaches creative writing at the new Hampshire Institute of Art and earned his M.F.A. in writing for children and young adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts.

Reviews

[Mischenko · Rating 5 out of 5]

How to Build a Snowbear by Eric Pinder is a story about Thomas, a young boy, and how he can't wait to get home from school so he can build a snowman.

Once home, he realizes he needs help and so he tries to wake his little sibling "the bear." As the story progresses, it becomes a fun filled day as they spend the day together building a snowbear.

The story is so cute and heartwarming because of the love he has for his younger sibling. The illustrations are adorable and it sends a wonderful message of the importance of being kind and patient. We loved it.

5*****

[Abigail · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thomas and his little-bear-brother return in this charming follow-up to How to Share with a Bear . Eager to build a snowman, Thomas rushes home in the snow, gathers what he needs and gets going. He soon discovers however, that he needs the help of his little brother. Unfortunately, bears like to hibernate on cold days, and it takes some doing to get his ursine brother going. When he does though, it turns into a wonderful winter-time experience...

Despite the fact that the surprise ending of the previous book was known to me, going in to How to Build a Snow Bear, and I knew that the "bear" was really Thomas' little brother in a bear suit, I found this every bit as delightful as its predecessor. The story is sweet and warmhearted, with a cozy conclusion sure to satisfy on a cold, wintry day, and the artwork is adorable, capturing Thomas and the bear's many amusing interactions. Recommended to anyone who enjoyed the first story about these two brothers, as well as to those searching for engaging winter-time picture-books.

[Darshana Khiani]

cute artwork and story about sibling relationship
however, I felt mislead by the title.

[Sadie-Jane Huff · Rating 3 out of 5]

Makes me wish we had snow...

[Alex Baugh · Rating 3 out of 5]

When Thomas discovers that he can’t build a snowman by himself, he decides to try to wake up the ‘hibernating bear’ in the upstair bedroom. But bears don’t like winter and neither does this little one. After trying all kinds of ways to wake up the ‘hibernating bear’ Thomas finally gets him downstairs with a favorite snack. Together, they finish the snowman, go sledding, build a snow cave, and at the end of the day, they share a favorite story. I found this to be a wonderful story about siblings learning to play together and enjoy each other’s company. My kids did wonder why the younger brother was sleeping when Thomas left for school and still sleeping the he got home from school. I explained he was probably taking an afternoon nap, but that wasn’t in the story. I have to admit I didn’t like the fact that Thomas has such a hard time waking up his brother, it felt like something was wrong and one of the kids asked if he was sick. My readers had no problem with him dressed up a in bear suit, telling me it was pretend, and probably warm. Overall, they liked this story especially since most of them are older and/or younger siblings.

[Buku Arutala · Rating 5 out of 5]

The relationship between brothers is usually full of rivalry. They argue each other and sometimes they fight for the same toys. But, in this book, I find something a new perspective of sibling relationship that was shown by Thomas and Bear. Thomas loved his little brother Bear, so he usually asked Bear to play together. When he wanted to build a snowman, he asked him to join and help. He knew that it would be fun and finished fast if they did it together. Finally, they succeeded to build snow bear, the snowman with cookie ears that was Bear's creation.

[Kylie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thomas and his little brother, the bear, return, this time to make a snowman. Thomas sees all the different snowmen and other creations, so he tries to build one too. But he realizes it is too hard to do by himself, so he needs to wake the bear and have him help. Waking a bear is no easy task, but once it is done, the siblings have fun in the snow together. This is a charming book with a simple story and adorable illustrations.

[Jared White · Rating 3 out of 5]

A cozy book about a big brother who slowly coaxes his little brother "bear" out to play in the snow. I like that the big brother lets his little brother take his time, allowing his brother to wake up and slowly get ready to go outside. It's also nice that the big brother made his little brother cookies to help wake him up from "hibernation." It's also nice that he lets his little brother decide to turn the snowman into a snow bear instead.

[Clare Rossetter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Delightful tale of two brothers who love each other. Amusing twist of calling the little brother a bear as the older one engages him in building a snowman and having fun in the winter weather. Illustrations are simple with just enough detail to make them seem real. As a librarian and book lover the ending is particularly fitting as Thomas and his brother enjoy a favorite book by the fire.

[Robyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved it. A delightful story. It could be called 'How to Wake a Hibernating Bear'. It flowed beautifully, from beginning to end, with a clever touch in transforming the snowman to a snow bear. I found the relationship with 'bear' to be very heartwarming.

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

A cute story about a brother who needs help building the best, biggest snowman. He tries waking up his little "bear" brother, but it takes him multiple tries until they both finally get outside. Siblings would really love this story and then want to build a snowbear!! Great for story-time.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thomas wants to build the best snowman ever, but determines that he needs help. So, he attempts to enlist the help of the hibernating bear (little brother in a costume) in his house. A sweet story about siblings.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought this one was cute - brotherly affection and snow - but nothing standout here for me.

[Robin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sweet family story. Recommended for ages 3-6.

[Karla · Rating 5 out of 5]

kids loved this
endearing
heartwarming
repetitive
predictable
rich words
A+

[Haysmith Angel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is such a cute story. You can grow with the character and understand their emotions. The illustrations are simple but effective. I love the meaning behind the "snow bear."

[Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute.

[DiAnne Warfield · Rating 4 out of 5]

Holt-Delhi library PJ story time 12-11-2024

[Debbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I always try to read a picture book without looking at the illustrations, then with the pictures. That way I feel I can judge the text and illustrations separately. In this case I found the text slighty confusing in a couple places: "Bears are tall and good at climbing.."' is one example. The "bear" is quite short. Good at climbing is great. But tall doesn't work for me.
All in all, it is a cute book and the illustrations are very kid-oriented. I would recommend it.

[Cindy Mitchell *Kiss the Book* · Rating 2 out of 5]

Pinder, Eric How to Build a Snow Bear, illustrated by Stephanie Graegin. PICTURE BOOK. Farrar Straus Giroux (Macmillan), $17.

Thomas wants to build a snowman, but he needs a little help from his younger brother(?) who is dressed as and acts like a hibernating bear. If he is very careful in waking and enticing the sleeping bear, however, they could have a fun afternoon in the snow together.

I have not seen the first book about Thomas and his “bear”, but all I could think of was whether the “bear” had some kind of illness. The “bear” doesn’t seem to be so young that it would need to nap so much and the little kids I know usually race out of the bed after nap time.

Pre-K, EL (K-3) – OPTIONAL. Cindy, Library Teacher
http://kissthebook.blogspot.com/2016/...

[Viviane Elbee · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story is really about two brothers who must work together to make a snowbear. I loved the way the younger brother is depicted as a hibernating bear... and also thought the big brother's various efforts to get the little brother to come play were very funny.

The artwork is perfect for this sweet, funny sibling story.

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thomas is eager to build his own snowman after seeing all the other figures his neighbors have fashioned. Although he assumes that he can do this by himself, he quickly realizes that he needs help with the top part of the snowman. After deciding to enlist the assistance of his younger sibling--a little boy or it could be a girl dressed in a bear suit--he must awaken the child. Nothing works--not even opening the blinds or tickling the bear--and he resorts to bribery with some warm, fresh-baked cookies. Once the youngsters finally venture back outside, they are able to put finishing touches on their snow creation, even using two cookies as ears, and building a snow cave as well. The bonding doesn't stop since the two siblings spend the rest of the evening by the fire, reading a book and sipping hot cocoa. The illustrations are filled with muted colors appropriate for a wintry day, and the relationship evolves over the course of the book, changing from avoidance to using someone to real friendship and mutual respect. This picture book would be a good one to read to a family with a big brother or big sister as a gentle reminder about how to treat the younger sibling. I liked the creative use of the cookies as ears, something that most youngsters would never have thought about doing. I also liked how the little child wasn't interested in leaving that warm bed. The story and experience are similar to those many youngsters will have had.

[Jillian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute book - reminds me of trying to get my husband to do literally *anything* in the mornings. :-p

My only quibble (and it's a small one) (and could have been addressed had I read the previous book) is that I started to question, about halfway through, whether the bear in question was actually a bear with a human-ish face to be accessible to kids. And then the narration started talking about being a big brother, so then I figured no, it's just a small human in a bear suit. Kind of odd, I guess, but it didn't lessen my enjoyment of the story.

[Pat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thomas looks forward to building a snowman, but can't get the snowman's head to stay on top. He attempts to wake his little brother(who is dressed as a bear) and finally cajoles him to help make the snow bear. As the twosome work together, they are able to put the snow bear's head on, along with cookie ears, and they sled, build a snow fort together, and finally go home, drink cocoa and read a book. A sweet book about siblings and the winter fun they share together.
.

[pati · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent second book about sharing, caring and getting along with a bear.

[Edward Sullivan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Two siblings enjoying a winter day.

[Brindi Michele · Rating 4 out of 5]

cute, but a bit too long for PSST. might work well for a Kindergarten or early elementary program

[Suzanne Snead · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cute winter story!

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute big brother story

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

A blizzard has attacked Thomas’ street and snow sculptures of all types have popped up and down the road. He can barely contain himself as he gathers materials and heads outside after school to create one of his own! When he realizes he needs help he heads inside to “wake the bear,” his little brother, which took almost as much effort as building the snow creature outside. A cute story about siblings and working together, fun to add to a library in need of these topics.
Reading Level: PS-2
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