Heart of a Snowman

On Christmas Eve, a boy named Owen wonders how to keep his snowman from melting; when a mysterious vessel beams up his snowman, he grabs hold. They're taken to a factory where snowmen are confiscated and disassembled for research purposes: rabbits oversee a snowman-dissecting machine, carrot noses are eaten, scarves shredded and a polar bear picks apart snowflakes with tweezers. In the end, Owen learns “[w]hen a boy makes a snowman, he gives it a heart,” and that's why snowmen really melt. Though kids may have as much difficulty as Owen does figuring out exactly what's going on, they will grasp the bittersweet message. Ages 4–8. (Oct.)