Jim Helmore

When Caro and her mother move to a new house in a new town, the young girl wishes for someone to play with, but is too shy to befriend the local children. Then she meets the Snow Lion, and the two enjoy many games together. A wise and thoughtful friend, the Snow Lion encourages Caro to become friends with the neighborhood children, assuring her that he will always be around somewhere, if she still needs him...

A gentle story about a common childhood issue - namely, the difficulty of making friends in new places - is paired with lovely artwork in The Snow Lion, a recent British picture-book import. I appreciated the sympathetic way in which author Jim Helmore depicted Caro's anxieties about engaging with the children in her new neighborhood, while also highlighting, through his story, the importance of doing just that. Richard Jones' artwork is luminous, and really increased my enjoyment of the story. Recommended to anyone looking for children's stories about moving house, making new friends, and imaginative play.… (more)

A little girl uses her imagination to find comfort in her new house. From exercising her imagination, she finds the quiet power so useful in the real world as well. This is the book for every child who notices the faces and creatures visible in walls, ceilings, clouds, or rocks—if only one looks for them. From the moment I saw the Snow Lion peeping out on the title page, I knew that I would like this gently pleasing book.

My copy was provided by the publisher.

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This story is about a little boy, Marvin, who wants to enter in the town contest, the Great Grisly Grow-off. After many people putting Marvin down, he decides he will prove everyone wrong and wins first place in the contest. I found this book to be enjoyable. One of the reasons I enjoyed this book and found it different than other books because it is a fold-out book. I think children would love this story because of the fold-outs. The fold-outs of the giant tomato plant stretch far from the book to create the illusion that the plant is at a very tall height. This feature allows children to really participate with the pictures and fold-outs. The second reason of why I liked this book was the illustrations. Each page has such vibrant colors that bring the reader in. I found these illustrations interesting because the illustrators used digital photography to intertwine realistic pictures with cartoon images. The main idea of this book is to keep trying and never give up on something you believe in.… (more)