A Brand-New Winter Friend

About this drawing

A girl with a snowman is doing what kids have done for hundreds of years. Nobody knows who built the very first one. It probably happened the first time people had snow and free time!

Some of the oldest proof comes from the Middle Ages. A very old book from Europe has a tiny drawing of a snowman in its margin, and it is more than 600 years old. Back then, snow was free for everybody, so it made a great art supply.

One of the best snowman stories comes from Brussels, in Belgium. The winter of 1511 was bitterly cold, and snow piled up everywhere. To cheer themselves up, people filled the city with snow sculptures. It was like a giant outdoor art show!

Want to build one? Roll a snowball across the ground so it picks up more snow. Keep going until it is big. Make a smaller ball for the middle and an even smaller one for the head. A carrot makes a good nose, sticks make arms, and dark stones work for eyes and buttons. Sticky, wet snow works best. In Bethel, Maine, people once built a snowman taller than a ten-story building! When the sun comes out, your snowman will slowly melt. That just means you get to make another one next year.

• winter
• snowmen
• friendship
• kids