Through the Looking Glass Children's Book Reviews
Annie and Snowball and the Surprise Day
Illustrator: Sucie Stevenson
Fiction Series
For ages 5 to 7
Simon and Schuster, 2012 ISBN: 978-1416939443
It is a beautiful summer day, and Annie is playing dress-up in the garden with Snowball, her pet rabbit. Then Annie’s father announces that he has a surprise for Annie; they are going to go on a day trip in the car.
Soon Annie, her father, and Snowball are in the family car. They have their sunglasses, a map, and a picnic basket full of treats. The exciting thing is that Annie’s father has no idea where they are going. He tells Annie to choose a road, and with Snowball’s help, Annie makes a choice. Soon they are happily driving along Highway 24, a pretty country road.
Annie and her father roll down the windows, they listen to music on the radio, they wave to people they see, and they stop at a farm stand to buy some sweet berries for themselves and a cabbage for Snowball. It does not really matter if they don’t know where they are going to end up.
In this cheerful and uplifting Annie and Snowball title, Cynthia Rylant shows us that often the simplest pleasures in life are the best. There is nothing like going out for a drive with the people you love on a pretty summer’s day, especially when you don’t have a care in the world.
