The Biggest, Best Snowman [Hardcover]

Margery Cuyler (Author), Will Hillenbrand (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 4 and up | Grade Level: P and up

Esther finds a baby baboon with clingy arms and big, scared brown eyes. He cries and clings tightly to her because he's lost his mother. Esther wants to protect the baby, but baboons steal the maize the village needs to survive. Can she look after the helpless creature and protect her village?

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

A little girl accomplishes big things in this winning picture book. "Big Mama, Big Sarah, and Big Lizzie" tell Little Nell she's too small to be of help, so Little Nell spends her days in the snow playing with her forest friends. When Reindeer, Hare and Bear Cub urge her to make a snowman, she thinks she's too small. But prodded by their encouraging words and offer of help, Little Nell constructs a splendiferous snowman that makes her family realize she's not so small or helpless after all. As crisp and delicately patterned as a snowflake, Cuyler's (That's Good, That's Bad!) tale brims with rhyming words ("She carefully patted and matted and batted the snow into a tiny ball") and recurring phrases ("She rolled it and rolled it and rolled it to Reindeer") with which children will gleefully chime in. She explores larger themes such as a child's yearning to feel significant and the value of cooperation within the cozy context of family and friendship. Hillenbrand (Traveling to Tondo) matches the jaunty prose with puckish style. Readers will relish the transformation of Little Nell's mother and siblings?who first appear as fairy-tale wicked stepmother and stepsister types with their wildly sprouting hair?into compassionate gentlefolk (except Big Lizzie, who still says "Hmmmph!"). The artist makes the most of the snowy setting: eye-popping colors, from the cardinal perched upon the snowman's twiggy arm to Big Mama's bright fuschia overcoat, show up with perfect clarity against the tranquil, wintry backdrop. Frustrated youngsters will find a champion in Little Nell. Ages 4-7.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

PreSchool-Grade 2-A slight story with a few engaging winter scenes and a tiny girl who's happy to prove her worth. Little Nell lives with BIG Mama (who wears bunny slippers), BIG Sarah (who has Christmas ornaments dangling from her ears), and BIG Lizzie (who sports tricolored hair). When Little Nell asks if she can help, all three of them say, "No, you can't...You're too small." Disappointed, the child goes off to the "BIG snowy woods" to play with her friends, Reindeer, Hare, and Bear Cub. With their help, she makes the "biggest, best snowman that ever was" and then invites her astounded family to view it. The mixed-media paintings, done with oils, watercolors, and pencil, are filled with droll whimsy. The use of repetitive phrases and a large, clear typeface make the text relatively easy for beginning readers to follow. While not an essential purchase, this title might find a place in collections needing one more wintry picture book.
Harriett Fargnoli, Great Neck Library, NY
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Scholastic Press (November 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0590139223
• ISBN-13: 978-0590139229
• Product Dimensions: 11.4 x 9.4 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,055,684 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars You are Never too Small to Do Big Things, November 8, 2007

By 

Snowman Fan - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Biggest, Best Snowman (Paperback)

Little Nell wants to do big things like BIG Mama and her older sisters do. "No you can't" they tell her, "You're just too small". In this story The Biggest, Best Snowman, Little Nell learns that she can do big things, despite what her family says. This delightful tale teaches children that they, like Little Nell, are never too small to do big things when they really try. This message is conveyed through repetition and symbolism. The captivating illustrations and fairy-tale elements in this story keep a child interested, while reinforcing the message of the book. I recommend this book as a great read for children ages 2-8 and their parents, or anyone who wants a little boost of confidence and self worth.

REPETITION: At the beginning of this story, repetition is used to emphasize the seemingly huge difference between Little Nell and almost everything around her. "Little Nell lived with BIG Mama, BIG Sarah and BIG Lizzie in a BIG house in a BIG snowy woods". The word "BIG" in all caps appears over and over again throughout the book and is associated with almost everything but Little Nell. Finally, when Nell shows her family that she has built the "Biggest, best Snowman that ever was" ,they ask her to help make a "BIG yummy lunch" and give her "BIG" hugs and kisses. Although Little Nell is still small, this repetition of the word "BIG" involves her in the "BIG" things too by the end of the story.

While Nell and her friends build the snowman repetition is used to emphasize the hard work they put in to do a big thing. Little Nell "patted and matted and batted the snow into a ball", then "rolled and rolled it and rolled it" to Reindeer who "nudged it and nudged it and nudged it" to Hare. Each of the 4 friends (Little Nell, Reindeer, Hare and Bear Cub) perform a similar repeated motion for each of the three pieces of the snowman. The effort the friends put into the building of this big snowman becomes clearer with each repetition.

SYMBOLISM: The symbolism in The Biggest, Best Snowman is simple enough that a child can easily understand. A child reading this book can learn that not only could they build a snowman like Little Nell, but that they could do any other big thing, if they will just try. Nell is a symbol for every child who has ever been told they are "too small". Most children can relate to this feeling, which helps them see themselves symbolically represented in Little Nell. The Snowman itself will symbolize something different for every reader- perhaps learning to ride a bike, playing an instrument, or even learning to read. These are big things that big people do to a child. The Snowman is symbolic of a big thing the child wants to achieve through hard work and determination. Little Nell has animal friends who help her build the snowman. These friends represent a parent, a teacher or sibling that can help to do the big thing. It is through the symbols in The Biggest, Best Snowman that a child can relate and learn from the story.

ILLUSTRATIONS: Will Hillenbrand provides the beautiful and interesting illustrations in The Biggest, Best Snowman. These illustrations serve to entertain while drawing out certain elements of the story that reinforce the message that someone small can do big things. The illustrations powerfully emphasize the difference between little Nell and her surroundings. Young children who cannot read will still get the idea by looking at the pictures. In one illustration near the beginning of the book, we find Little Nell, shorter than the table, surrounded by BIG Mama, BIG Lizzie, and BIG Sarah. This enhances Little Nell's diminutive appearance. BIG Mama wears a bright pink polka dotted dress, and an apron. BIG Sarah is portrayed wearing a lot of jewelry (including a pair of Christmas ornament earrings) and elaborately styled hair. BIG Lizzie is portrayed with multiple colors in her hair, and multiple ponytails. Little Nell, by contrast, wears no jewelry or ornaments of any kind. She wears a simple red sweater, with her straight black hair pulled back into a single ponytail. In an illustration near the end of the book, however, Little Nell is lifted up in an embrace to the BIG level of BIG Mama and BIG Sarah. In the final illustration, we see a triumphant Little Nell high in the air, perched upon her creation- "the biggest best snowman that ever was". The difference in how Little Nell is portrayed at the beginning of the book and how she is portrayed at the end show that little Nell has proven that she can achieve something big, and gained confidence.

FAIRY-TALE ELEMENTS: The main function of the fairy-tale elements included in The Biggest Best Snowman is to entertain and interest the child. Little Nell has three anthropomorphic friends: Reindeer, Hare, and Bear Cub. Children know that animals can't talk, so this non-realistic element provides a "magic" or "fairy-tale" quality to the tale. Besides, what child hasn't wished that his or her pet could talk? These unrealistic characters let the child slip into a fantasy realm where their wish can come true. Reindeer, Hare, and Bear Cub encourage Little Nell to teach them how to build a snowman, and then help her do it. These characters are the only ones who believe in Little Nell, and, being animals who do not know how to make a snowman, let Little Nell take the lead in doing her big thing.

This delightful winter tale conveys a positive message to children, and is entertaining at the same time. The children who hear or read this story will learn through repetition, symbolism, illustrations, and personified characters to say with Little Nell: "Yes I can."

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The power of determination., October 8, 1999

By 

Emily Vaill Pfaff (Ipswich, MA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Biggest, Best Snowman (Hardcover)

The power of determination rings clear as Nell defies her elder sisters' and mother's low expectations of how much she is capable. Nell wants to help, to be involved, to be part of things. But her mama and sisters think she can't help because she's too small. So Nell retreats to the woods where her comforting friendships with Reindeer, Hare, and Bear Cub give her the support to do what she aspires to: those things she has been told she can't because she is "too small."

The animal friends want to learn to build a snowman and Nell tells them how. However, she can't do it without their help so as a winning team, they build the Biggest, Best Snowman. Not only does Nell realize her potential, but her family realizes too and is suitably apologetic, except for the ornery sister who remains unwilling to acknowledge that Nell is, indeed, Big Enough. This story is an important reminder for parents how great an impact our words have on small lives.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Cute Winter Tale, March 19, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: The Biggest, Best Snowman (Hardcover)

This is a story about a very little girl named Nell and she lives with her BIG Mama, BIG Sarah and BIG Lizzie. Well her family would never let Nell do anything because she was too small. One day when Nell was playing with her friends Reindeer, Hare and Bear Cub they asked if she could show them how to build a snowman. Nell replied that it was impossible because she was too small. Well her friends' answer to that was how would you know unless you try it. So, with the help of her friends Nell built the biggest, best snowman ever. The excited little girl ran home to get her family so that they could see what she had done. At first her mother and sisters did not believe her, but they soon saw Nell's wonderful snowman. Nell proved to her family that she was not too small anymore. And Nell went back into the house to help her mother make lunch.
The authors point I believe was that no matter how little you are you can do whatever you want no matter the size as long as you try.
I thought that this was a cute little story. The little girl accomplished big things with a little support from her friends and belief in her self. I loved the illustrations in the book. The pictures were so well balanced that the illustrations easily carried your eyes around and through the pages.