Making a Friend

In this irresistible and clever friendship story from popular picture book author Tammi Sauer, Beaver interprets "making a friend" literally. But can the snowman he "makes" be a real friend?

Beaver is good at making just about everything…but not friends. One winter day, Beaver sees some snowflakes in the sky and gets a great idea: He'll make a friend. Yes! A snowman will be a great friend! Raccoon passes by as Beaver sets to work and offers a helping hand. Together, the two work side by side to give their snowman everything a friend needs—including "pizzazz." The young reader will see what the two cannot—that it's not the snowman who will "make" a great friend (he's a snowman, after all!) but Beaver and Raccoon.

Tammi Sauer plays with one of the most common idiomatic expressions children hear: making friends. With well-drawn characters and kid appeal, she makes it easy to laugh along and fall in love with these animal characters with big personalities. Nothing short of splendid, Alison Friend's illustrations are charming and textured, and her characters' expressions and Beaver's hat are priceless.