Publishers WeeklyIn a chirpy story of mild civil strife, a girl named Cami Lou constructs a humungous snowman (helpfully, her parents own a snowplow and a bulldozer) that attracts thousands of visitors. When angry neighbors protest ("A lady warned everyone,/ 'Make no mistake—/ when temperatures rise,/ he'll turn into a lake!'"), Cami and her brother work to have the snowman relocated. Working in acrylic and colored pencil, Haley portrays a playfully lopsided town, but Lawler's rhymes are often labored ("So Cami used e-mail and texting and blogging/ to save all their effort spent packing and slogging") and the ending feels pat. Ages 4–8. (Oct.)
Children's Literature
- Mary Hynes-Berry
After a mammoth snowstorm, Cami Lou bundles up her little brother and ventures out to build a huge snowman.
