Kids can identify with the likable protagonists and adults can enjoy reliving the snow day zeitgeist of their youths in ...
921350
If this was a Christmas movie, instead of a plain old winter day movie, it would be a beloved classic reaching toward the heights of A Christmas Story and on par with Home Alone. Kids can identify with the likable protagonists and adults can enjoy reliving the snow day zeitgeist of their youths in this tale of mayhem, misadventure, and the magic of an unanticipated day off.  Younger kids will marvel at the freedom these kids experienced, in the age of bubble-wrapped children and helicopter parents. Anyone with a sense of humor will love this--anyone who doesn't love it never felt the magic of an old-fashioned snow day for him- or herself.
1263067
It is not easy to find these themes for children, so I was delighted for them to see a favorite character embracing this culture.
1988559
Entertaining and insightful.  Children will identify with the characters and enjoy pulling for the "little guy."
3961759
Fun for young kids but older kids and parents can also enjoy it
547217
Kids. Just like adults, kids can be so fickle. They'll focus on the trivial things and get emotional over what seems like a trifle. When they get bored, don't know what to do, or how to play, they imitate, compete, and may even get a little bit nasty. In David McKee's I Hate My Teddy Bear, this is exactly the kind of behavior the two cute, chunky youngsters fall into. When the kids are busy trying to outdo each other in falsely advertising the capabilities of their teddy bears, they become entirely oblivious to their surroundings. And what surroundings they are!! McKee's watercolor illustrations are captivating. There's an element of surrealism in the drawings with brilliantly rendered, distinct characters who immediately attract the eye. Despite a simple and concise narrative, the images and activities on each page invoke the imagination and give the story an extra special touch. This book is a creative exercise for the mind and can teach both kids and adults to view things from a new perspective.
3455065
This is a unique and fun story about a ball of yarn, Edmund, who grapples with something that many teenagers face: a desire to adventure outside the comfort of home to see what the world has to offer. This is a coming-of-age story with plenty of string puns to go around.

I wasn't expecting a story about a ball of yarn to be so sweet. The illustrations are bright, bold, geometric, and cheerful. The story is simple enough for children to understand, but Edmunds conflict is one that most (if not all) adults can relate to. As he learns, Of course Edmund continued to journey, but now he was sure to visit home before completely unraveling.

Of course being a childrens book, the younger crowd is sure to enjoy it- but I think it would be well appreciated by teens as well, given the message. I can see this being a cute thinking of you gift for the college-bound offspring as a not-so-subtle reminder to visit home. Highly recommended
4163932
I read this through three times before handing it over begrudgingly to my niece and her cousin. She's 4 and the cousin is 5. Most of it went right over her head, but the 5-year old seemed to pick up on the plot a little. It really grows with re-reads, so if your child really likes to hear the same story over and over again, there's enough detail and complexity to not bore you to death. A cute idea of regenerating a inner city building in disrepair, and coming out of the depression with hope and love. I think it reads well on both levels - there's a surface story that kids can get into and more interesting elements for adults.
173269
Our Kindergarten and First Grade students really enjoyed the snowball fights they had.  The balls feel like the real deal minus the cold.
646856
A young adult book an adult can enjoy because of Pratchett was one fine writer who could make characters kids can understand and adults can enjoy.
2152303
Maybe not a perfect fit for younger students (some passengers "don't make it")  They did enjoy being able to be interactive during the story.
4216398
There are a number of things that make this book (and probably the whole Striker Jones series) an attractive book that adults might want to buy for children.  The tone is upbeat, the setting is small-town/ suburban, the kids are all basically decent, the fun is innocent, the narrative is engaging. It evokes the good old days, when modesty was a virtue, drugs and guns were non-topics and boys only had 60 cents in their pocket.

The book is also cleverly designed to impart wisdom on multiple levels. It claims to teach economic principles through short episodic chapters, principles such as rare goods tend to have higher value or businesses have to charge for their services. Besides guiding young readers on the path to business school, the narrative provides a hero and role model in the person of Striker Jones, who is fair and decent as a friend, clever and observant as a detective, but also endearingly fallible as a 10-year-old boy who is sorely tempted at the sight of wet concrete.

Having thought all the above, I still couldn't help entertaining a couple of nagging doubts while reading. First of all, I sometimes wondered about the language.

 Man, I just love egg hunts,  Every year the competition gets fiercer, but
  this year Im ready.

Do boys really talk like that? Second, I wondered how Striker learned to derive economic principles from simple everyday situations when I cant?  However, Hercule Poirot has many admirers despite resorting to the same overly clever deductions; such super-abilities are typical of the detective genre, and Striker is a detective of socio-economic motives and principles. Finally, I wondered if the situations would be as interesting to the intended audience as they were to me? Im a bit skeptical about the wide audience age-range of 8 to 12 years. The book is probably best for precocious 10-year-olds who can identify with Striker.
2847967
Yossi Lapid tells a heart-warming tale about friendship with lovely child-friendly drawings by Joanna Pasek, a perfect joint venture that children will enjoy. It is a good, humorous story, written in rhyme, with lots of drawings without dialogue that picture the action in the tale. The story has a good message about friendship.
Dans friend is a snowman named Paul (with a carrot for a nose) who hopes to have fun with Dan. It all began when Dan went out to play in the snow and was mocked for doing so by his neighbor Bill. Dan ignores Bill and builds a snowman. He begins to go home when he hears the snowman suggesting that they have fun together. Dan is hesitant because he does not want to be mocked again by Bill. Dan agrees to play with Snowman Paul and they have a great time together.
And, then, we raced and hugged and all.
And, now, my new best friend is Paul.
3490461
Last autumn, I met the author of "The Everlasting Snowman" at the Rag Apple Lassie winery in North Carolina and bought the book. I'm always looking for enchanting picture books about the Yuletide season, love, and service to read as part of my holiday meditations. What first drew me in were the watercolor illustrations, washed in shades of blue, lavender, pink and white that recalled Michigan winters, but also reminded me that I had entered a fantasy world where snowmen talk and share their view of the world. The story follows the life of a snowman family throughout the year and shares the advice a snow child's parents give when faced with the little one's sadness about the brief span of a snowman's life.

The story works on several levels. At its base is a charming story of talking snowmen that children can enjoy. Taken on a spiritual level, the story may open up discussions for both children and adults. First, the snowman tale illustrates one form of everlasting life, a common theme in Christian theology. From a Buddhist perspective, the story might foster discussion about the impermanence of life and how we humans cope with that reality as well as the rhythms and circles of life that we all experience. Finally, the book presents a way to introduce natural science to children by showing how a natural substance, water, is preserved in several forms on earth and is essential to life on our planet.

I thought I had purchased a simple tale of talking snowmen and got a small treasure of wisdom. "The Everlasting Snowman" is worth adding to your winter reading list.
3480078
In language that shimmers, like the ice storm so beautifully described in it, this book brings to life some very real boys, aged 11 and 17, who live on a farm in Vermont, and grow up by doing tangible things like cleaning out the barn, playing basketball, making maple syrup, doing homework, and by having relationships with the people around them that are rich, warm, but often painful. Dad is difficult, Mom is distant(read that gone), and you can just about cut the tension created in this little world of thinking adolescents. These are people who are living and growing by doing and thinking, not standing and watching.
The best things about this book are the fact that the writer treats both her characters and readers with the greatest of respect, never talking down to them, the plot really charges to a climax, and the writing is just so..good. A great book either to read yourself(parent) or get for that child who you'd like to get interested in good writing.
1604133
Though Winter Rescue is aimed for early readers, it's well illustrated and can be read to children before they can read it themselves. Our 3 1/2 year-old enjoys it. The School Library Journal review describes the plot well.  It's a moral learning story but not heavy handed.  The characters are real and the story is well told.  Great for a cold winter day.
2106661
Cookies at Nana's House is an interesting and "attention-holding" book for young people. The animals and their realtionships are real. The children can relate to their experiences. The lessons of tolerance and understanding of others is gently presented in an easily acceptable way so that children will remember and make appropriate personal decisions in their daily experiences with others.  A wonderful read for children and grown-ups also!
909115
Why yes, I know it's a children's book and show. That doesn't stop me from getting it to enjoy, and to perhaps read to my niece and nephew when wintertime comes. I have a warmth of nostalgia for The Snowman as I remember the short animation from when I was a child. It was so beautiful in it soft pastel textures and the instrumental music. I always felt saddened at that one's end. But in a way it teaches a child that things are temporary in this world even with magical things. Needless to say Mr. Cumberbatch adds a soothing narrative to the story, and the background sound and music gives it that hauntingly beautiful feeling as The Snowman animation had done years back. This one pulls at the heartstrings too, but has an interesting surprise at the end
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(SPOILER: think of The Velveteen Rabbit).