Thank you Netgalley for an eARC!

Loved so many aspects of this book! The illustrations are whimsical and fun for the reader to look at, and find cute things hidden. The writing style flowed and was easy, not too long on each pace. This is Important for young readers to keep interest! My toddler caught on to the “moral” of the story quickly and it was a great time to talk about the concept for confidence vs. arrogant.
I think this is a concept that I don’t see often in children’s books and I enjoyed that.
This book could be read any time of year although Greta for a winter theme.

Will be buying when released!!

You will laugh out loud watching Owl try to wing her way through a serious of Winter sports - this will have a spot on our Favorites shelf! The illustrations and the text are equally wonderful!

Thanks to NetGalley for the free eARC.

This is a cute one with a worthwhile lesson - basically perfect for preschool storytime! Owl has always been the best at everything, so she opts NOT to practice for all of the snowdown competitions. But she ends up having the worst day ever! It's so unfair that Owl is good at everything, but the other animals keep winning instead. Maybe...she needs to practice too!

I loved the owl illustrations here - the horns of feathers that look like perfectly bratty pigtails!

The Big Snowdown was such a cute read!! I was so invested in the outcome. The characters were so wholesome. I enjoyed reading about Owls journey through failure, their acceptance of their friend’s victories, and the realisation that hard work pays off.

The illustrations were so well done too! I loved exploring each page and what it had to offer.

I received a free ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was a cute book. I loved the illustrations. The message that you need to work hard to accomplish things is important for kids to hear. A very cute storytime read!

I absolutely loved this book! First, when you live in a place that has at least 6 months of winter like Maine, a story about doing fun things outdoors with with friends in the snow is something we can all relate to. Second, the illustrations are absolutely fabulous, so colorful and creative with lots of interesting details that beg a closer look, which is great for older children (and adults!) but also very appealing to younger children. Names like owl, mouse and frog are mostly neutral in terms of gender, race and culture allowing the reader to focus on the story and the lesson to be learned! I look forward to reading this book to toddlers as well as sharing it with early elementary school children.

I CANNOT WAIT to get this for our Library this Fall!

Owl is the Apex Predator, the Number 1 in the woods and rightfully so… or so she thinks. The Big Snowdown is a series of competitions among the woodland creatures. Owl knows she’s going to come out on top, right? A great lesson in humility and friendship.

I have been such a fan of Katy Hudson’s books. They are funny and witty and always a laugh out loud. I also enjoy the “hidden details” in the backdrops of each page.

Preorder it now ! Perfect addition to your winter picture book collection.

Thanks to NetGalley and Capstone for this ARC. All opinions are my own.

#TheBigSnowdown #NetGalley

Lovely illustrations and a very powerful and important message. This is a great choice for teaching children about humility—something we can all use a refresher on every now and then.

I am seriously impressed with what the animals in this book got up to. They set up an entire stage, did an entire competition show, and so much more. I did end this book on a sad note, as the main character (SPOILER ALERT: they dont end up happy), and so I want another book immediately to see the ending of them winning.

This is such a wonderful, adorable book. I did do my best to not share any spoilers. Apologies if I did!

Thank you for allowing me to read this eARC, this was such a treat. I am leaving this feedback voluntarily.

Thank you so much to Capstone and Netgalley for the ebook to read and review.

Owl is the top of the food chain and thinks she’s the best at everything, so she enters the big snowdown event with all her friends, but soon finds she isn’t able to win anything.

Owl was so confident and determined to win, at first when it starts you think she will win everything, but as you go through it you soon see she doesn’t. I really liked the contrast of how owl entered the events versus the other animals, they all completed the tasks so differently.

This story offers great advice to young readers about not giving up, things not always going their way and that with practise and a group of good kind friends you can do anything. I really enjoyed that though it was a really fun story to read it also offered valuable lessons for readers.

The illustrations were wonderful to look at, so big and detailed, seeing every little thing on each page, seeing everyone’s entries, seeing the animals competing. It was really wonderful to look at.

Owl believes that he is naturally the best, but his friends have all practiced for their events at the Snowdown, and surprise him with their performances. Owl decides that practice and training are worth the effort. This is a humorous book with a message that is obvious, but not too heavy handed. The woodland animals strike the right balance between realistic and cute. Katy Hudson continues to be a solid author for entertaining books with a message.

I really enjoyed this one! The forest critters are adorable and will be sure to capture children’s attention right away. When you add how loveable most of them are? They’re sure to be a hit.

I especially enjoyed the overall theme that success comes after you apply yourself. To work hard is to give of yourself and your time and energy. That working hard IS worth it. Sometimes you can skate through life and apply minimal effort and still do well but I really am glad that this story pointed out so clearly what it is like to lose due to your own hubris. I feel like the story really nailed what it *feels* like to fail. Not every kid will know what it feels like to lose — this might be their first introduction to it — and learning how to bounce back after failure is so key.

Thank you NetGalley for the chance to read this one!

I received an ARC of this children's book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is an adorable book. The pictures are really cute and the story is wonderful!

This winter themed story has gorgeous illustrations. The animals are competent in events and the owl must learn that hard work goes into everything. This has a great message for my students and I would definitely read this during the winter months. They would also enjoy the detailed illustrations and animal characters.

This was an excellent picture book! There are all sorts of little details in the illustrations that make Owl's home come to life. This book also does a great job teaching about the dangers of feeling superior to others (especially feeling superior when it comes to privileges you are born with). The story is easy to follow, the message is presented well, and Owl as a protagonist is drawn with a lot of character and charm.

This book left us wanting, but in a way that gave room for a lot of discussion. My daughter (5) really enjoyed this book, but really wanted to see if Owl would win something in the second round of games. The illustrations in this book are very cute and funny, and help to show the different attitudes of the animals well. The 'training montage' showed how much more fun could be had by working together than by thinking you're better than everyone else. My daughter had an emotional reaction to Owl continuing to lose and really wanted to see him win. We've had some imagination discussions about it and whether or not Owl would win on his own or choose to be a team with someone and work together. A very cute book with a good meaning and lesson. We read this e-book through NetGalley.

I really enjoyed this book. It's beautifully illustrated and has an excellent message for young children and adults. It is one of my favorite children's book reads of the year. Hard work pays off, and friendship is the most important of all. A great read for at home and in the classroom.

Thank you to Netgalley for the chance to review this ARC in exchange for an honest review. I would actually give this a 3.75/5. The visuals are fantastic. They have a soft and soothing feel that still held my kiddos attention. As the narrator they were my favourite part and allowed me to make the story feel “bigger” for him. The story itself was very front end heavy. It felt like the lesson of the story was rushed after a somewhat bulky first three quarters. And the idea of a “part 2” was not appealing to me. I think it would be a more successful idea if Owl had books based on different challenges vs the “parts 1,2” etc choice. Overall we enjoyed it!

The Big Snowdown by Katy Hudson is a fantastic book with a great life lesson for children. Owl has learned a lesson of hard work paying off. Owl hadn’t worked on anything for the year, but the friends had. Owl was able to see that it worked out for them.

Thank you NetGalley for giving me an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!

An owl learns that she can't just wing it and needs to practice if she wants to win competitions with her friends.

The illustrations are great. I love how some scenes take up small or very large portions of the spread.

The text could be better, but it was fine, and kids will get the point.

Thank you for the ARC. This is a nice winter story about persistence.