Max and Sarah Build a Snowman

by Harriet Ziefert, Ekaterina Trukhan (Illustrator)

The books in the ¡Hola, English! series were written both for Spanish-speaking children new to English and English-speaking children whose parents or teachers want to introduce a foreign language early on. Max and Sarah Build a Snowman teaches numbers and counting within the context of the familiar hide-and-seek game.

Genres: Childrens, Spanish Literature

28 pages, Hardcover

First published October 14, 2014

About the author

Harriet Ziefert grew up in North Bergen, New Jersey, where she attended the local schools. She graduated from Smith College, then received a Masters degree in Education from New York University.

For many years, Ziefert was an elementary school teacher. She taught most grades from kindergarten to fifth grade. "I liked it," she said, but she stopped teaching when she had her own sons. When her children were older, Ziefert wanted "a bigger arena" for her work. She went to work at a publishing company, Scholastic in New York City, developing materials for teacher's guides for kindergarten language arts and social studies programs.

"About twelve years ago," says Ziefert in a 1995 interview, "I tried to get a job as an editor, but no one would hire me as a trade editor. So I decided to write my own books." Since then, she has written several hundred books, mostly picture books and easy-to-read books. "I write books very quickly," she says, "in about twelve hours. I rewrite them three times over three days, and then they're done." She writes about twenty books a year.

Reviews

[Amanda Schwind · Rating 3 out of 5]

I LOVE the bilingual aspect of this story, but 2/3 of the story was abiut hide-and-seek instead of buikding a snowman. I wish this book had been split into two: one about hide-and-seek and another about steps to build a snowman.

[Angela De Groot · Rating 3 out of 5]

English-Spanish early reader

[Lauri Meyers · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bilingual book with a light story of two siblings playing. Heavy focus on showing vocabulary. Cute illustrations. Great way to introduce English.

[Elle · Rating 3 out of 5]

A cute wintertime fun story told in two languages. The story uses a hide and seek game and snowman building to expose young readers to English/Spanish vocabulary. Hide and seek - numbers and directional cues; Snowman building - clothing. So many great word learning opportunities that young readers will enjoy learning more with each read. The dual colored text is the perfect aid for readers to differentiate between the languages and the illustrations are adorable. The only thing missing is a glossary or vocabulary list at the end of the text to reinforce learning.

[Samantha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great bilingual (English/Spanish) easy reader/read aloud series. Text reminds me of the Dr. Seuss beginning reader titles and are set against vibrant childlike renderings of action occurring in the story.

This particular story takes a few pages to really get into the sort of action presented on the front cover, though the topic of the build up is still good.

Highly recommended for a bilingual storytime and for PreK-2

[Michelle · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nice repetition and predictable text. The illustrations go well with the text, thus supporting emergent readers.

I don't like the use of guantes/gloves when the illustrations clearly show the children wearing mittons/mitones. Maybe that's just me.

Also, the title not withstanding, the leap from playing hide and seek to playing in the snow isn't smooth. It seems a bit discordant.

Appropriate for emergent readers (K-2) and those learning a second language (K-4).

[Bethe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Controlled vocabulary for learners of Spanish or English? Either way it's an engaging little book, fun pics with hidden clues for careful readers. Only drawback is that the kids spend a lot of the book playing hide and seek before they go outside to do the title activity: snowman. Looks like others in the series will be promising.