Making a Friend

Written by Alison McGhee

Narrated by Susie Berneis

Clean, cold, white snow! Snow for sledding. Snow for catching on your tongue. Snow for making a SNOWMAN! Is there anything as wonderful as SNOW? Is there any better friend than a SNOWMAN? Snow isn't forever, though. The wind shifts, the weather warms and snow melts into spring. The Snowman has become something else - the fog, the rain. But, how can this boy forget his good friend? He doesn't…and he doesn't have to.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Dreamscape Media Audio
• Release date: Nov 25, 2014
• ISBN: 9781633794986

Alison McGhee

Alison McGhee is the New York Times bestselling author of Someday, as well as Dear Sister, What I Leave Behind, Pablo and Birdy, Where We Are, Maybe a Fox with Kathi Appelt, Firefly Hollow, Little Boy, So Many Days, Star Bright, A Very Brave Witch, Dear Brother, and the Bink and Gollie books. Her other children’s books include All Rivers Flow to the Sea, Countdown to Kindergarten, and Snap!. She lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and Laguna Beach, California. You can visit her at AlisonMcGhee.com.

Reviews for Making a Friend

[matthewbloome · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

An extremely simple text about a boy who build a snowman, bonds with it, misses it when it melts, and comes to understand that the snowman is all around him as water. At the end, he rebuilds the snowman the next winter. Beautiful book. Younger readers.

[khendr4 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

In my opinion, "Making a Friend," by Alison McGhee is a good book overall. While the plot is not very involved, I really liked the lesson and the way the book was organized. In the beginning, the story was introduced and the main character created a snowman friend. Next, the story only contains illustrations for about 4 pages, allowing the reader to just focus on the illustrations and filling in the story for themselves before the words continue again. I also think the fact the the story has "step by step" illustrations really helps young readers understand the story. For example, when the main character is building his snowman, the illustrations show him step by step putting it together. Since some students, depending on the region, may not have experienced building a snowman, the pictures really show the experience in a complete and detailed way. In terms of the text, I liked how one phrase that the child had written on a photo of him and the snowman is repeated toward the end of the book. This phrase "what you love will always be with you," is shown after he thinks about where his snowman could be now that he has melted, again when the leaves change for the fall and he misses his snowman, and again when winter comes again and he builds another snowman the same way. This shows the true love the boy had for the snowman and emphasizes the way he feels by repeating this phrase. This is also a story that could happen today so many children may be able to relate. The big idea of this story was to value friendship while you can, as times and seasons change.

[germuth · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I really enjoyed reading this book. The first reason why I liked reading this book was because of the illustrations. I liked how the illustrations connected with the writing. I already knew what was occurring on each page due to looking at the pictures before I read the writing. There were also wordless pages contained in the book. I liked how the book incorporated this because I was able to construct meaning on my own. The second reason why I liked the book was because it pushed readers to think about tough times in life when they have lost a family member, friend, pet, etc. during childhood or adult life. It is hard to imagine life without a family member, friend, or pet, but their memories will always live in your heart. Even though they may be gone from the physical world, you can be reminded of them from your memories. In the book a snowman melted and the little boy asked where did he go? He then realized that he was in the falling water and the rain upon the ocean. Then main message of the story was that what you love will always be with you through life even if it is gone.

[sullywriter_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Charming, gentle story that makes you want to build a snowman.

[cassandraquigley · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This was not the best book, but did have a few features that I liked. One of these things being that the beginning and end of the book has repetition, such as when the author writes, “dream of winter,” in both the beginning and end of this story. The repetition of this line allows the reader to understand that winter is again approaching, and the little boy again will have his friend the “snowman.” Another feature of this book that I liked was that a few pages in the middle of the book had now words only illustrations, and as the reader I was able to come up with my own meaning for this section of the book that went along with the illustrations. The main message of this book was as the book stated, “what you love will always be with you,” even if it is not physically there.