This heartfelt and beautifully illustrated picture book follows the special friendship between a scarecrow and a snowman throughout the seasons. Being a scarecrow can be lonely. Spending his day keeping birds away doesn’t leave Crow with many options for friends. Then one snowy day, the children on the farm build a snowman. Crow and Snow are fast friends and winter passes happily in each other’s company. Then Snow goes away. Crow misses his friend and thinks of Snow during the warm seasons until they can be reunited again. Being apart can be hard, but the very truest of friends never lose each other.

The Snow Crow By: Keith Crow From the book: Intro: It was on a cold December night but little light or warmth came from the dying embers.

Charlie the crow loves his home. But things don't stay perfect for long as the leaves drop off his tree and the water in his stream turns to glass. And then white flakes start to fall from the sky! Whatever is going on? Maybe a new friend can help Charlie find out . . . A funny, snowy story with a heartwarming message of friendship and a striking foil finish -- the perfect gift for Christmas!

The long, bitter winters are getting worse, and a state of emergency has been declared across Europe. In Poland, where fifteen-year-old Magda lives, there are frequent power cuts and fuel shortages. After the death of her grandmother and the evacuation of her village, Magda joins forces with the arrogant, handsome Ivan and smuggles her way on to a truck bound for London, where she hopes to find her mother. But London, when they reach it, is a nightmarish and far-from-welcoming world. Riots are commonplace, and the growing chaos is exploited by criminals and terrorists alike. Magda's mother is nowhere be found, and as the lost girl struggles to come to terms with her changing situation, she is befriended by a ragtag group of travellers planning a new home and future. Together they will need all the cunning they possess to survive in the frozen wilderness of Britain, which has become just as lawless as the city.

The oceans stopped working before Willo was born, so the world of ice and snow is all he's ever known. He lives with his family deep in the wilderness, far from the government's controlling grasp. Willo's survival skills are put to the test when he arrives home one day to find his family gone. It could be the government; it could be scavengers--all Willo knows is he has to find refuge and his family. It is a journey that will take him into the city he's always avoided, with a girl who needs his help more than he knows. S.D. Crockett on narrative voice and an especially cold winter: What was your inspiration for After the Snow? Well, apart from the unbelievably cold winter during which I was writing—in an unheated house, chopping logs and digging my car out of the snow; I think much of the inspiration for the settings in After the Snow came from my various travels. In my twenties I worked as a timber buyer in the Caucasus Mountains of southern Russia, and that work led to travels in Eastern Europe and Armenia. As soon as I step off the plane in those places it smells like home. It may sound strange to say, when After the Snow is set in Wales, but really the practical dilemmas in the book come directly from places I've been, people I've lived with, and the hardships I've seen endured with grace and capability. I was in Russia not long after the Soviet Union collapsed and I've seen society in freefall. Without realizing it at the time I think those experiences led me to dive into After the Snow with real passion. What would western civilization look like with a few tumbles under its belt? What would happen if the things we took for granted disappeared? I wanted to write a gripping story about that scenario, but hardly felt that I was straying into fantasy in the detail. What do you want readers to most remember about After the Snow? We all have the capacity to survive, but in what manner? What do we turn to in those times of trouble? Those are the questions I would like people to contemplate after reading After the Snow. How did Willo's unique voice come to you? Willo's voice appeared in those crucial first few paragraphs. After that it just grew along with his world and the terrible situations that arise. I think his voice is in all of us. We don't understand, we try to make good—maybe we find ourselves. How did you stay warm while writing this novel? I banked up the fire—and was warmed by hopes of spring.

Try, try again is the lesson Crow teaches beginning readers in this picture book reader. Crow was all alone. But like all crows, he was very clever. Using autumn leaves for wings, sticks for the body and a crab apple for the head, Crow made a friend! But winter winds blew in, destroying his creation. Undaunted, Crow fashioned another bird friend out of snow but could not prevent it from melting in the warm spring sun. Alone again, Crow heard the caw, caw, caw of a real, live bird. Together they built a nest and by summer, Crow had a family. This warm, satisfying story celebrates perseverance and ingenuity. An I Like to Read® book. Guided Reading Level D.