A couple of weeks ago, I posted about these melted snowman cookies. The idea came from a tutorial on Stacey's Sweet Shop back in December. Those, of course, were wintery Christmas cookies, but Stacey thought they would be cute as Valentine snowmen. As those of you on the East Coast know, significant snowfall for Valentine's Day is always a possibility!
So the Valentine + snowman combination reminded me of a series of books the kids and I found at our local library. They are A Snowman Named Just Bob, A Snowgirl Named Just Sue, and The Annual Snowman's Ball by Mark Kimball Moulton, illustrated by Karen Hillard Crouch.
Here's a very brief recap of the stories:
One snowy Thanksgiving, a child decides to make a friend out of snow. He comes to life and tells her his name is Bob. He teaches her about friendship.
Come Valentine's Day, Bob starts to melt away and is very sad. The weather is warming, and it appears Bob will soon disappear.
The neighborhood kids get together and wish with all their might for freezing temperatures. Their wishing works, and soon it begins to snow.
But this is no ordinary snow.
It soon begins snowing hearts, and then full-fledged Valentines, complete with doilies and "Be Mine." The kids magically know they need to make a companion for Bob.
They create Snowgirl Sue right next to Bob, and they become instant friends. The next thing the kids know, Sue and Bob are holding hands.
The kids learned much that winter from Bob and Sue, about friendship and love. As the book says, "For Bob and Sue remained with us for many months that year, and as they slowly melted, they grew closer--ever nearer. Their smiles never altered once as winter turned to spring, and eventually we realized we'd seen a wondrous thing."
So here are Sue and Bob, melting and smiling and holding hands. It will be a shame to eat them...but, of course, we will. :)
But don't be sad. Sue and Bob return again each winter, for The Annual Snowman's Ball.
Here are some of their friends, or my practice snowmen. These cookies really were much easier than I anticipated, and definitely do-able as a large batch for a party or gifts, depending on how much time you want to spend decorating them. Oh, and for the sugar cookies, I used Stacy's suggested recipe...it's great!
