From School Library Journal
PreSchool-Grade 3-Martin dreams of building a snowman, but the weather refuses to cooperate. As the winter months pass with hardly a flake, he tries to use available resources to fulfill his creative needs. He dumps a bag of flour over his syrup-sticky sister to make a snow baby, and glues cotton balls to his pet to fashion a snow dog. Then he turns himself into a snow boy during a bubble bath; he just manages to greet his mother's book club before his foam covering unexpectedly slips away to reveal "Martin in his nothingness." After this series of misguided ideas, an April blizzard finally closes school and provides him with the opportunity to build to his heart's content. In May, a bathing-suit-clad Martin stares out at the rain, daydreaming about swimming and sand castles. Repeated plot elements and refrains give the story an evenly measured pace, allowing the humor to build with each passing month. McCauley's crisp mixed-media illustrations are irresistible. From the tartan endpapers (a pattern repeated on Martin's wool hat) to the breed of his dog (a Scottish terrier) to the snowflake patterns that are subtly incorporated into the scenery, amusing details reflect and extend the story. With irregularly shaped heads and elongated necks, the characters have a stylized appearance, and Martin's perfectly round eyes are punctuated by thick eyebrows that change their angle according to his mood. A fun choice for snow dreamers.
Joy Fleishhacker, formerly at School Library JournalCopyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
K-Gr. 2. Snow-loving kids everywhere will relate to Martin's dilemma: he wants to build a snowman, but there's no snow. Throughout the long, snowless winter he looks for ways to relieve his snowman-making itch. He pours flour over his syrupy baby sister, glues cotton balls on the family dog, and shocks the ladies from his mom's book club by coming downstairs covered in nothing but frothy, white bubble-bath foam. He's just about ready to give up, when he awakens, on April Fool's Day, to a winter wonderland: "School was canceled for three whole days, and Martin made a snowman, a snow lady, a snow boy . . ." First-time author Cook narrates Martin's antics with a sly wit and offbeat humor that is nicely matched by McCauley's wacky cartoon illustrations on heavy watercolor paper. Martin's expressive face, with eyebrows that seem to have a life of their own, reveals his despair, his creative bursts, and ultimately, his sheer joy. A clever, funny debut.
Lauren PetersonCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
