Recipe for Making a Snowman by Peter Lynas and Rosie Alabaster
| Recipe for Making a Snowman by Peter Lynas and Rosie Alabaster | |
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| Category: For Sharing | |
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Reviewer: Sue Magee
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| Summary: A book where you need to listen to the words and look at the pictures as they tell two completely different stories. The combination is hilarious. | |
| Buy? Yes | Borrow? Yes |
| Pages: 38 | Date: November 2016 |
| Publisher: Made-Up Books | |
| External links: Author's website | |
| ISBN: 978-0993340314 | |
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Who knew it? You can even get a recipe book which tells you how to make a snowman - and there's no cooking involved! Mum, Dad and the two children are absolutely meticulous though: they're going to get everything right, even down to doing some mining to get the coal for the eyes, searching through the bits 'n bobs jar for buttons for the snowman's coat and picking out the perfect piece of headgear. There's quite a choice available, but the family decide on the bobble hat, presumably to keep the snowman warm. The moth-eaten pair of mittens simply won't do and a pair with purple and pink stripes are chosen.
Now obviously you can't just build a snowman in your garden. Where would be the fun in that? You've got to go up to the top of the steep hill (map helpfully provided so that you don't get lost) and you can make a snow ball and roll it down the hill to collect more as it goes. What could go wrong?
What the recipe book didn't mention is 'momentum'. Now I'll give you a warning here: this is not a book to read aloud to a group of children. You really need to be able to look at the pictures while you're listening to the words, as the pictures tell an entirely different story. As the ball for the snowman's body rolls downhill it doesn't just collect more snow. It gathers in a dog on a lead, a turkey, a traffic cone, a string of fairy lights, gift-wrapped presents, carrots and an audience which includes a pensioner and a policeman and woman. It's a delightful book to reread as you'll spot something new each time you go through it. I've just spotted the sprouts...
The story is told in verse and whilst the rhyme is not quite as accomplished as Peter Lynas delivers in The Very Rude Toytoise it's certainly a fun read, particularly if you can keep a straight face as you're reading. Rosie Alabaster's drawings really add an extra dimension: in fact they tell the story. It's the words which make it funny.
There's a gentle lesson that even building a snowman can cause problems and even if you follow the instructions you've still got to think about the consequences of what you're doing. I liked too the introduction to map reading, particularly as you get 'before' and 'after' versions. I imagine the 'after' being the one in the policewoman's notebook and I'd like to thank the publishers for sending a copy of the book to the Bookbag.
Talking of sprouts - someone's been eating too many. You might also enjoy The Really Abominable Snowman by Valentina Mendicino.
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You can read more book reviews or buy Recipe for Making a Snowman by Peter Lynas and Rosie Alabaster at Amazon.co.uk Amazon currently charges £2.99 for standard delivery for orders under £20, over which delivery is free.
You can read more book reviews or buy Recipe for Making a Snowman by Peter Lynas and Rosie Alabaster at Amazon.com.
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