Snowmen at Work

By Caralyn Buehner, pictures by Mark Buehner

If you are a Frostyphile or if you’re sympatico with snowmen, have I got the book for you this winter!  And if you’re an I Spy fanatic who loves poring with your children over picture book pages looking for the hidden figures an illustrator has hidden carefully here and there, you’re in for a double treat in Snowmen at Work.

Husband wife team of Mark and Caralyn Buehner, New York Times Best Selling creators of Snowmen at Christmas and Snowmen at Night plus Snowmen All Year, have come up with a frozen host of hardworking ice men and women AND hidden a cat, mouse, T-Rex and rabbit in each picture. My husband had a laugh at my expense as he airily pointed out the four figures on each page. To lessen the frustration level, if you’re like me, the Buehners have kindly put a key to the lost rascals on the inside of the book jacket. It can come in mighty handy when the child you’re reading to, is finding everything and all you can say is, “Where is that?”

Now, back to those hardworking snowfolk. First of all, kids are in the know on these things. All snowmen come alive at night when we humans are fast asleep. Personally, I’ve been suspicious for years, as they never look quite the same the next morning after you’ve rolled them into shape on the front lawn. They’ve changed ever so slightly, and why not? According to Snowmen at Work, they’re a busy bunch with a host of jobs, same as we humans. Only difference is, they serve the snowperson community as snow removers, dentists who drill bits of coal to make a smile brighter, snow mechanics whose specialty of the day may include straightening the runners on a sled (while you wait), snow grocers who stock, why natch, frozen peas and Frosty Flakes and ice cream of course, snow pet stores where a snow pup may be had, snow teachers who teach snow kids to spell important words like REFRIGERATE and ANTARCTICA and even snow-librarians who eagerly read stories of brave snow knights fighting those scary dragons. There’s a whole bunch of snow people busy, busy, busy while we’re fast asleep in our beds and kids will revel in the cold, colorful, cuddly and even camouflaged ones in the picture that are happy in their work! 

So next time you’re out at night, cast a glance at the truck delivering frozen foods to town. If the driver has a carrot nose and two eyes made out of coal, it’s only Snowmen at Work! My favorites are the frozen pizza delivery snowman who delivers and the firefighters who rescue snow cats stuck in trees. This book is magical and made for a read aloud!