Reviewed by Jetana Mutter
*This book was provided for an honest review
Snowman Amuck by Cindy Samul is a great children’s book that shows how active a child’s imagination can be… or could it be more to it than that? In this story, we follow the main character, Jack, who is at home on a Friday night with his older sister while his parents are out for the night. As he is about to fall asleep, Jack remembers that he hasn’t put his sled away like his parents told him to- so he gets dressed and goes outside to put it where it belongs. While he is outside, he hears the back door slam shut; when he tries to open it, he finds himself locked out. Thinking that it is Ally (his sister), Jack bangs on the door to get her attention but she doesn’t answer. He climbs a tree to get to her window, where he sees her sitting at her desk with headphones on… but she’s not alone. A scary snowman is behind her. Jack gets Ally’s attention but when the two of them look, there’s no sign of the snowman in the house. Convinced that Jack is playing a trick, Ally doesn’t believe him and goes back to what she was doing. Will Jack be able to find the mysterious snowman roaming the house? Will he be able to convince Ally of the snowman’s existence before he can get the kids in the house? Pick up a copy of Snowman Amuck today for an enjoyable read with the kids… just in time for winter!
Snowman Amuck was written and illustrated by Cindy Samul. The illustrations are very colorful to draw kids’ attention but also muted to fit with the winter setting. It looks like a comic book in the way it is laid out and my kids absolutely love it! I have a 3 and a 4 year old, so getting both of them to sit and look at the same book from beginning to end is a challenge sometimes but we didn’t have any issues with that when we read Snowman Amuck. This is the first story by Cindy that we have read, although it surely won’t be the last. My kids and I will look forward to seeing what adventures Samul’s characters go on- both past and future!
