GUIDANCE NOTES
Title:
Ref:
Age Guide:
My Summer Snowman (Chester Travis)
Illustrate Your Own Book
6-8 years
Get ready to have FUN. Curved House Kids books are a creative, inclusive,
empowering way to develop visual literacy in children. We recommend the books for
ages 4-8 but they can be used for any age group as they allow interaction at all
levels. Younger children will be able to work with supervision to identify key visual
clues and reinforce a set of vocabulary while older children will be able to work
independently or with supervision to achieve more detail within their illustrations,
identify an overall plot and learn some deeper facts that we’ve incorporated for
advanced learning.
GETTING STARTED
My Summer Snowman is an ‘Illustrate your own’ book, so it has text but no words.
The aim is for the children to use their own creativity to determine how to best
illustrate each page’s part of the story. Depending on age and ability they will be able
to:
•
•
•
Use their own visuals to enhance their understanding of words and
strengthen their vocabulary.
Identify an overall plot/storyline.
Grasp deeper concepts that we have included for advanced learning.
Remove the book planner from the centre spread of the book and use this is a ‘big
picture’ to work through the story with the children.
PAGE-BY-PAGE GUIDE
The page-by-page guide below outlines the plot, vocabulary and visual clues. You
may find other things, too -- this is just a starting point.
Page
No.
2
3
Plot summary (key vocabulary
bolded)
One night when we were fast
asleep, the sky began to snow.
It fluttered down from clouds
above on to the ground below. I
took my hat and scarf and
gloves and running out the
door...
rolled three gigantic snowballs,
each a metre wide or more! I
stacked them up, three great
balls high, to make a man of
snow. Some twigs for arms,
stones for eyes and a carrot for
his nose.
Visual clues
How can a drawing convey that it is
night? How can they show the snow is
falling down instead of up? What is
one way for the illustration to let a
viewer understand the person is
running?
How big is a metre in relation to the
size of the person rolling the
snowballs? How can the drawing show
that the snowballs were gigantic?
My Summer Snowman © The Curved House, 2013
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GUIDANCE NOTES
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
But looking up when I was done, I
scratched my chin and said,
“Something’s missing round his
neck and from his icy head.” A
hat and scarf! Of course, I
thought, his feelings are like
mine. He’s bound to catch a cold
without those things in winter
time!
I ran inside to ask my mum and
dad if they could help. They
handed me a yellow scarf and
top hat made of felt.
“My snowman is complete!” I
said “I think I’ll call you Doug!” My
mum then took a picture of me
giving him a hug.
“Careful now”, my dad began, “I
hope that you’re aware, When
winter ends, the spring will come
and Doug will disappear.”
Springtime came and lambs
appeared, there were goldfish in
the stream, But Doug was still as
frozen as my chocolate-chip ice
cream.
Doug looked a bit unhappy and
his eyes were kind of sad, He’d
lost the sparkling glimmer that
his merry face once had.
The summer came and burnt the
lawn from green to sandy brown,
But Doug was frowning sadly
and his eyes were looking down.
“Be cheerful Doug!” I said to him.
“The summer’s here at last!
School holidays and sports in
shorts and sprinklers on the
grass!”
Autumn came with winds and
rain as leaves blew through the
sky, I thought that Doug was
melting but he’d just begun to
cry.
Then suddenly remembering
his feelings are like mine, Could
it be that Doug had just been
When there are many things going on,
how does a child decide what part of
the story to illustrate?
What color should the scarf be? How
does a “top hat” look different from a
wool knit hat?
What does the mother use to take a
picture? If the snowman is “gigantic,”
will the speaker be able to fit his or her
arms around it?
What kind of expression would the
father have on his face if he is giving
advice?
How are other ways to show that it is
Springtime in a drawing? What might
be growing next to the stream?
How do sad eyes look different from
happy eyes?
What color should the lawn be? Where
should the snowman’s eyes be
looking?
What is the speaker wearing? How is it
different from what is worn in winter?
Why would the snowman’s crying look
like melting snow? How can a drawing
show that it is a windy day?
What does your face look like when
you remember something that you’ve
forgotten?
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GUIDANCE NOTES
14
15
16
lonely all this time?
Winter came around again and
snow covered the land, I built
another snowman and they
started holding hands.
And then I saw Doug’s eyes light
up and watched him start to
smile, I realised then that
friendship is what makes the
years worthwhile.
Through winter, summer, spring
and autumn, both the snowmen
share, All the things each
season brings, once in every
year. Now we’ve reached the
final page, it’s time to write THE
END So what’s your favourite
season and who is your best
friend?
Do you think the new snowman looks
just like the other one? Do some
people look alike?
What does your face look like when
you see a friend that you haven’t seen
in a long time?
What sorts of things can you draw to
show others which season is your
favorite?
Advanced Learning
* There are four seasons in each year. Some things belong in one season, but not in
others. What season do snowmen belong to? Why not other seasons?
* Why is Doug lonely? What is the speaker of the story doing? Why can’t Doug
enjoy those things as well?
* How does your face show what you are feeling? Can you tell what someone else is
feeling based on the expression on their face?
My Summer Snowman © The Curved House, 2013
MAKE YOUR OWN BOOKS!
GUIDANCE NOTES
Why Curved House Kids books? Because they’re…
INCLUSIVE: Some kids are good with words and numbers and others learn visually.
These books offer a way for all kids to learn to read, no matter how their brain works,
what their level of learning is or how confident they are.
EMPOWERING: Some kids are afraid of words or afraid to read aloud. Taking
ownership of a book is just what they need to get them over those hurdles.
CREATIVE: Literacy is a priority in mainstream education, but ‘creative literacy’ (i.e.
encouraging kids to imagine, express themselves freely and explore their artistic
talents) is often undervalued. We want to give creative kids a way to show off their
talents.
FUN AND INTERACTIVE: Many kids associate books with pressure and learning
rather than relaxation and fun. Our books are interesting, interactive and fun!
PERSONAL: The statistics on reading are frightening with, for example, only 40% of
England’s 10-year-olds having a positive attitude toward reading. Giving kids the
chance to draw or write themselves into a real book is a great way to unlock the
pleasure of reading and turns the stats around.
ACCESSIBLE: 14% of children in lower income homes rarely or never read books
for pleasure. We want to change that so by keeping the unit costs down we can
ensure these books are affordable and accessible to every child.
These are the books that keep on giving!
My Summer Snowman © The Curved House, 2013
MAKE YOUR OWN BOOKS!