PreS-K-One cold winter, snow drifts down for an entire month, covering the land, trees, and buildings in piles of the white stuff. Sammy climbs to the roof of his house and imagines what might be happening under the frigid mounds, conjuring up fanciful scenarios. Beginning with more realistic daydreams, including bears hibernating and seals swimming, his imagination expands to more far-fetched scenes that include moles drinking soda and tea, Santa creating in his workshop, and elves mining rubies and emeralds. As the season warms and the snow melts, the boy's thoughts turn to spring. The artwork outshines the quiet story. Pleasant watercolor-and-ink illustrations, with charcoal and some oil-stick accents, deftly reveal the various possibilities that Sammy ponders. The variety of techniques used, including a style that resembles scratchboard, creates texture and interest. An additional purchase.-Maryann H. Owen, Racine Public Library, WI (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

It has been snowing continuously for a whole month. When it finally stops, "trees and houses disappeared / shovelers and plows appeared." Sammy emerges from his house, climbs a snow mountain and imagines what could be beneath the white peaks and cliffs. From a big black bear and her cubs in a cave, to a wooly mammoth, to ruby- and emerald-mining dwarves and elves, to moles drinking ice-cream sodas, Sammy climbs and conjures a new dream each day. When the warm sunshine finally melts all but a small island of snow, Sammy imagines a new vision of grass. Mixed-media watercolor-ink-oil-charcoal paintings in soft wintry blues illuminate a lackluster story of a young child's playful fantasy and way of coping with a long dormant frosty season. (Picture book. 3-5) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.