Toys Meet Snow

PreS-Gr 2--Converting their wildly successful "Toys" chapter books (Random) into picture book format, Jenkins and Zelinsky have crafted a story ideal for the younger set, ramping up the adorable factor, while retaining the whimsical spirit of the originals. With their owner, the Little Girl, away for winter vacation, plush animals StingRay and Lumphy the buffalo, along with their pal Plastic the bouncy red ball, suit up (Lumphy sports a mitten on his head, and "dry-clean only" StingRay outfits herself in a plastic bag) and head outside for their very first snow day. Naively knowledgeable StingRay confidently offers her own explanations for the world around them ("'[Snow is] a blanket of peace over the world'"), but Plastic gently corrects her ("'No, it's frozen water.... I read it in a book'"). The three friends take part in their own amusingly endearing versions of typical snow day activities--building a snowman and making snow angels--before watching the sunset and returning inside. By turns witty and tender, the digitally rendered, rich, painterly illustrations vividly conjure up a startlingly stunning winter wonderland, conveying its awe-inspiring beauty from the toy's-eye perspective. Zelinsky affectionately imbues these characters with a warmth that never veers toward the cloying, and his use of light and dark as day slowly turns to evening is masterly. The text is soothingly lyrical in its simplicity; relying on only a few lines of dialogue, Jenkins effectively gives each of the characters their own voice. VERDICT Utterly enchanting; a perfect bedtime read.--Mahnaz Dar, School Library Journal

Copyright 2015 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

The buffalo, stingray, and rubber ball from the chapter book trilogy that began with Toys Go Out make their first appearance in a picture book, and they couldn't be more at home. As the toys watch snow fall from the house, ever-curious toy buffalo Lumphy asks why it snows. "Because the clouds are sad and happy at the same time," says StingRay ("She is more poetic than factual," Jenkins writes), while pragmatic Plastic, the red ball, explains that it is simply frozen rain: "I read about it in a book." The toys' personalities--inquisitive, romantic, matter-of-fact--seed the story with quiet humor as the toys venture outdoors (StingRay, who is "dry-clean only," slides into a plastic baggie first). Zelinsky's digitally created illustrations have a gauzy, painterly richness, and he divides several spreads into panels to show how the toys work together to open the front door (it takes "no small amount of effort...") or build a snowman. Just as the snowfall casts a spell over all three friends, this wonderfully understated story enchants from the first page. Ages 3-7. (Sept.)

Copyright 2015 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.

"Utterly enchanting; a perfect bedtime read." —School Library Journal, Starred

"The wonderfully idiosyncratic trio works brilliantly together, playing with equally exciting imaginary and realistic hypotheses about snow, their unique personalities and intellectual strengths jiving all the while... Snow never left you feeling warmer inside." —Kirkus Reviews, Starred

"This wonderfully understated story enchants from the first page." —Publishers Weekly, Starred

"There is perennial pleasure to be had in stories of toys come to life, and fans of Jenkins' Toys Go Out (BCCB 11/06), its sequel, Toy Dance Party, and its prequel, Toys Come Home, already know and love stuffed buffalo Lumphy, plush StingRay, and Plastic (a rubber ball)." —The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, Starred