Snow Job: Olivia Builds a Snowlady by Farrah McDoogle

"Something very special is happening this weekend," said Mrs. Hoggenmuller."What is it?"

Harold raised his hand. "My mother is taking me to get long underwear!"

"Not THAT! It's the Maywood Winter Festival!" said Olivia.

And the highlight of the Winter Festival is the Snowman Contest, and that means there is a chance for Olivia to take charge!

Right away she brainstorms an idea--not a boring old snowman, but this year a snowLADY! Olivia deputizes her classmates and they roll up three huge snowballs. But how can they lift the enormous second and third snowballs on top of the first? Olivia borrows an idea from the pyramid builders and comes up with the idea of a snow ramp to roll the frozen orbs up, and soon their creation takes shape. The team is proud of their work. Now all they have to do is wait for the beginning of the Festival the next day and get ready to take their bows for their work!

"Beautiful!" said Francine.

The next day dawns bright and sunny. A good thing, right? Well, not really. Sunshine and snowladies aren't exactly made for each other, and when Olivia's classmates arrive, they are disconsolate.

"She melted," said Olivia.

"What will we do?" moaned Harold.

Once more it's Olivia's fertile brain to the rescue. Suffice it to say that her idea involves huge balls of pink cotton candy from the concession stand and a very large pink snowlady stand-in, and the warmest Winter Festival yet is saved.

Farrah McDoogle, standing in for Ian Falconer, has another sunny winter tale in her paperback series of Olivia adventures in her latest, OLIVIA Builds a Snowlady (Simon Spotlight, 2011). This latest one shows that there's no time like snow time, even when the thermometer doesn't cooperate with our plans.