In order to enter an Egg painting contest, Snowman Paul needs to find an egg to paint. Along with his friend Dan, he asks one of the hens and eventually is able to get an egg. However the egg looks plain and has a small crack in it, but Paul says it is the right egg for the competition. Dan is unsure, but Paul pleads with him for help. Dan thinks on it overnight and realises that it was his turn to help out Paul for all the times Paul has helped out him. So together they paint the egg and enter it into the competition.

This is a delightfully coloured children’s story written in rhyme about a boy and his snowman friend. The plot is initially about the entry into the egg painting contest but touches on themes of both trying to achieve something through effort and helping friends out when they need it. The story is aimed at young children but the themes are still appropriate and valuable lessons to be learned young. The illustrations are excellent, both fitting the story and full of details that make reading the story multiple times a pleasure. The writing tells a simple story and the rhymes are well structured and flow from page to page and are excellent for reading aloud to younger children. The writing is also well placed on the page so that the pictures fit neatly around them instead of overlapping some detail. Where this has occurred, the writing is well highlighted to make it easy to read. The collaboration between author and illustrator should be applauded. As a bonus, there are links to other books about Snowman Paul and some of the other books from the author.

Overall, this is an excellent children’s book, either for them to read or for an adult to read to them. If you enjoy this one, there are several more that are likely to give hours of pleasure for children. The only issue I did have is that the links in the book do not appear to work, but I’m sure they would be easy enough to find online.