The Snow Thief
Alice Hemming and Nicola Slater
Scholastic

Squirrel receives another practical lesson on the changing seasons with the help of his friend Bird. It begins as the bushy tailed rodent looks out onto – shock horror – no grass. Bird is on hand to explain all about snow and invites Squirrel to participate in a fun exploration beyond the tree, an invitation that receives a firm “No, thank you”. Later however into Squirrel’s home comes a snowball thrown by Bird in an attempt to get Squirrel to enjoy the possibilities snow offers.

Down comes Squirrel enthusiastically, over-reacting as you might expect as Bird explains that every snowflake is different. Squirrel’s next misguided response to the cold concerns “smoke coming out of my mouth”. As for ice-skating – let’s say a showy-offy performance results in

and so the concatenation of dramatic reactions continues with reference to missing hazelnuts, culminating in the disappearance of most of the snow –

surely the work of the titular snow thief, who has left one thing behind.

Farcical fun thanks to one character’s absurd pronouncements, comical facial expressions and body language in Nicola Slater’s boldly hued portrayal of Squirrel’s theatricality, and the clever use of different type faces. (In a final spread after her story, Alice Hemming gives explanations of a more scientific kind relating to snow and some of its effects.)