SAMSON IN THE SNOW by Philip C. Stead. New York: Roaring Brook Press, 2016.  ISBN 978-162672-1821 hc. $17.99     K-3     E PIC

Samson, who appears to be a wooly mammoth, will remind readers of "Thudwick the Thick-Hearted Moose" with his ability to plod on through adversity and help others at the same time.  Samson's story begins in a field of flowers where he meets a new friend - a small red bird who then takes to the air and disappears.  The small red bird may be out of sight but not out of mind, as a snowstorm moves in and covers the ground with  cold, wet snow.  Samson worries if the bird will be warm enough.  He soon meets a mouse also looking for his friend in the storm.  Together, they find mouse's friend, who just happens to be the small red bird.  The trio of friends find shelter and tell stories to each other until the sun shines once again.  Stead's story of friendship is illustrated with oil pastels that fill up each page with snowstorm blue, dandelion yellow and cardinal red.  Snowflakes tell the journey of the small red bird without a single word.  Reader's will notice their mood changing as the colors move from warm and bright to cold and stormy and back again.
Lynette Suckow, Superiorland Preview Center, Marquette, MI