The Big Snowdown was such a cute read! The illustrations really brought the story to life and help portray the character emotions perfectly!

This is the start of winter games for the woodland creatures. The woodland creatures are so cute and fun. It teaches children about sportsmanship and winning/losing.

I received an advance reader copy of this book to read in exchange for an honest review via netgalley and the publishers.

The Big Snowdown is a fun picture book for children about the importance of working hard at what you want instead of just expecting it to be handed to you.
Owl thinks that he is the best at everything and thinks he has the annual Big Showdown competition in the bag. When each even takes place, Owl puts the least effort in expecting to win, only to be disappointed when someone beats him. By the end of the event, Owl wins nothing and retreats to his home, where he contemplates how it went so wrong. He comes to realise that his friends were all deserving of their wins because over the past year, they had practised and worked hard at each event to become better and better. The book then shows Owl working with other animals at each event over the next year to become better ready for the next Big Snowdown.
This is a great story to teach children that even if they are good at something, they can always improve, and by not practising and putting in effort, others can become better than them.

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.