The Big Snuggle-Up by Brian Patten (illustrated by Nicola Bayley; Kane Miller, 2011) is a story of a young child inviting a scarecrow in from the cold on a snowy evening. After the scarecrow comes in, the other animals outside want to come in and get warm too. As the evening settles, a crowd of animals, from a dog and cat to a mouse, bird, rabbit, and donkey, sit around the fire drinking hot chocolate and enjoying one another’s company.
The effect of the snuggle-up concept, as well as the soft and detailed illustrations of animals, makes it fun evening story for a cold and snowy winter evening. I received a review copy of this book from the publisher for consideration for the Cybils award.
