Snow Friend: Little Mole's Wish by Sang Keun Kim

It's the first snow of the winter, and Little Mole is waiting for the bus home from school. Lonely, he builds a big snowball to keep him company.

"Can I tell you something?" whispered Little Mole. "I just moved here. I don't have any friends."

But when the Mr. Bear's bus arrives, he tells Little Mole in no uncertain terms that he can't bring a big snowball on board.

"Snow's just snow. It'll melt."

Hmmm. Maybe if he sculpts his snowball into a bear, the next bus driver will let him on. But driver Fox scoffs at the idea of a snow bear on a bus and drives on.

Little Mole tries to make his bear look more like him. He sculpts a snow backpack and puts his own knitted cap on his snow bear's head. As it grows dark, the two stand hopefully together at the bus stop. Little Mole makes a wish on a falling star. Finally a kindly driver stops to pick them up.

"Look at you two! You must be freezing."

On the warm bus, Little Mole falls asleep,and when he wakes, he is alone. The driver says he thinks his friend already got off. Sadly Little Mole walks to his house and tells his grandmother about his friend's disappearance.

"I wish I could help," she says.

But in the morning there is a surprise waiting outside for Little Mole, in Sang Keun Kim's tender and sweet story of a snowy day and friendship lost and found, Little Mole's Wish (Schwartz and Wade, 2019).  Kim's soft, muted, and lovely illustrations offer a touch of the magic that friendship brings.

Definitely share this one with Raymond Briggs' magical snow fantasy story, The Snowman.