I was lucky to inherit this book from its previous editor when I joined Simon & Schuster, and forged a wonderful working relationship and friendship with author Bob Eckstein, a talented cartoonist, illustrator and snowman expert. Bob did an incredible amount of research and we worked hard on tightening up the manuscript. I remember looking through piles and piles of images, trying to figure out which should be included in the book. His collection is massive!
I also remember a lively discussion about the need for two distinctive snowflakes on the cover. The argument was that in reality, no two snowflakes are alike. The book’s content was painstakingly researched—why should the cover be generic? That was a fun conversation with the cover designer, but my respect for Bob and his work only grew.
The best part about working with Bob was that his voice needed no tweaking whatsoever. He’s a natural humorist and manages to sound warm and wry at the same time. No snowball is left unturned in his smart, entertaining narrative. And you might be surprised at the dark past of this otherwise jolly winter tradition.
Bob continues to post snowman news and answer pressing snowman questions at Today’s Snowman (where you can also submit photos of your own snow creations). If you’d rather read about snow than shovel it or trudge around in it, I highly recommend this book. Signed copies are for sale at The New Yorker’s Cartoon Bank online.
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