Toys Meet Snow: Emily Jenkins and Paul O. Zelinsky

Book: Toys Meet Snow: Being the Wintertime Adventures of a Curious Stuffed Buffalo, a Sensitive Plush Stingray, and a Book-loving Rubber Ball 
Author: Emily Jenkins
Illustrator: Paul O. Zelinsky
Pages: 40
Age Range: 3-7

Toys Meet Snow brings the world of Toys Go Out and sequels (chapter books by Emily Jenkins and Paul O. Zelinsky) to picture book format. The result is a treat for picture book readers of all ages. In this simple celebration of winter, three toys are left at home while Little Girl is away on vacation. Curious about the snow they see outside the window, Lumphy, StingRay, and Plastic venture out of doors. They make a snowman and snow angels and have a fun-filled day, before heading inside at sunset. 

It is not necessary to have read the Toys Go Out books to appreciate Toys Meet Snow. The personalities of the three toys are crystal clear, without any previous context. Lumphy (a stuffed buffalo) is the one asking questions like "Why does it decide to snow." StingRay (a plush stingray) "is more poetic than factual", coming up with answers like "Because the clouds are sad and happy at the same time". Plastic (a round rubber ball, inaccurately named) stays focused on the facts (most of the time).  

The events of the story strike a nice balance between being toy-specific and being universal to child readers. The snow angels that they make reflect their unique shapes (Plastic's is especially humorous, a grouping of circles where she has bounced around). And the page in which the three toys have to work together to open the outside door, shown in a series of panels, is hilarious. 

The details of the story are also well-balanced, between factual ("it's what rain becomes when the temperature is freezing" and poetic (sunset is "strawberry syrup pouring over the world to make it sweet before nightfall." In the end, the more poetic side wins out, and even pragmatic Plastic is taken by the strawberry syrup sunset. 

Zelinsky's digitally rendered illustrations draw the reader completely into the story, somehow managing to give us a toy's sense of perspective on the big, snowy world. The sunset images are particularly lovely and warm. Jenkins' text is spare, leaving the pictures to convey much of the story. It could have been a tricky transition, from the more text-dense chapter book format to a picture book, but she handles it beautifully. 

Toys Meet Snow is the perfect book with which to curl up with a child on a cold winter's night. It's also a nice introduction for younger readers to this kid-friendly series. Highly recommended. This book was my nomination for the 2015 Cybils Awards in Fiction Picture Books.  

Publisher: Schwartz & Wade (@RandomHouseKids)  
Publication Date: September 22, 2015
Source of Book: Review copy from the publisher

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