The Snowbear

After an overnight snowfall, siblings Iggy and Martina head out into the snow and build a towering snowbear. “He looks happy to be made,” Martina remarks. “And it was true.” When the children ignore their mother’s advice and sled down the hill, they go faster and farther than they planned, winding up deep in the forest where a wolf awaits. Just in time, though, the snowbear springs to life, scares away the wolf, and brings them back home. Alexander gives the children big round heads and expressive dot eyes colored in scribbly black crayon—there’s a childlike looseness to her scenes that, along with the tension built into Taylor’s understated narration, brings a sense of wonder and magic to the story. Ages 3–5. Illustrator’s agent: Jodie Hodges, United Agents. (Oct.)