Little Bear, Small Fox and Fluff Bunny work together to create a happy, smiling snowman in this cute wintry picture-book, which features a glittery element in the artwork. When they return on the following day, they are dismayed to discover their smiley snowman looking rather down, and thinking that he is cold, they bundle him up. This leads to predictably poor results, and they must work hard to rebuild the snowman, after he starts to melt. Fortunately, they discover that he is cold on the inside, rather than the outside, and remedy the situation with some hugs...

Having enjoyed many of the titles in British author/illustrator team M. Christine Butler and Tina Macnaughton's Little Hedgehog series, I have recently been seeking out other picture-books by this pair, and The Smiley Snowman is the latest. It pairs a sweet story with cute artwork, and has that little extra, in the form of glitter on the page, that characterizes many of the Little Hedgehog books as well. I wouldn't say that this is destined to become a favorite of mine - if anything, it is a little too sweet for my taste - but it is cute enough, and I was happy to read it, as the snow currently swirls outside my house. Recommended to picture-book readers looking for cute, wintry tales featuring anthropomorphized animal characters. ( )

Seasons, Science 2nd Grade ( )