2022, Juvenile Fiction
WISE Score
Snowmen trading their coal buttons for costumes to host a secret midnight carnival after an early October dusting.
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This is a top-tier seasonal pick. If you've already read Snowmen at Night a hundred times, this 2022 Halloween edition is a no-brainer. It hits that sweet spot of being festive without being over-stimulating or scary.
The 'hidden object' mechanic is the real winner here. It turns a passive reading experience into an active game, which is the best way to keep a three-year-old from squirming away mid-sentence. It's wholesome, beautifully illustrated, and durable enough to survive a juice spill.
Perfect for the 1-to-4-year-old crowd. It's built for little hands to flip and for parents who are going to be asked to read it three times in a row before bed.
It is a gentle, cozy story about community and play. The snowmen are kind to each other, hosting a festival with apple-bobbing and costume contests without a hint of snark or mean-spiritedness.
The central hook—that snowmen have secret lives while we sleep—is a classic imagination-sparker. The 'hidden image' game on every page turns reading into a visual scavenger hunt.
Zero concerns. It is a board book for toddlers. Even the Halloween themes are treated as a neighborhood party rather than anything remotely spooky or threatening.
Great for visual literacy and pre-reading skills. Searching for hidden objects builds focus, and the rhyming structure helps with phonological awareness.
Caralyn and Mark Buehner have been cornering the 'secret life of snowmen' market for years, and for good reason. Their books work because they tap into that universal childhood suspicion that toys—or in this case, frozen yard decorations—come to life the second we close our eyes. Snowmen at Halloween takes that premise and applies it to the most high-energy holiday of the year.
Most board books are a one-and-done experience. You read the words, you look at the picture, you flip the page. By adding hidden silhouettes (usually a cat, a rabbit, or a mouse) into the texture of the oil paintings, the Buehners have created a reason for kids to linger. It builds a different kind of literacy—visual scanning—that helps kids notice details. You'll find yourself squinting at the snow-covered trees just as hard as your toddler does.
Halloween media for the preschool set can be a minefield. Many 'spooky' books still feature ghosts or monsters that can trigger nighttime fears. This book sidesteps that entirely by making the 'monsters' out of snow. It’s a festival, not a haunt. If your kid is the type to get nervous about costumed characters or dark themes, this is a safe, cozy way to celebrate the season.
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