Other editions of book The Friendly Snowflake: A Fable of Faith, Love, and Family

For his first foray into children's book writing, bestselling author Peck ( The Road Less Traveled ) has concocted a slender, self-conscious story. A snowflake lands on young Jenny's nose and she names it Harry. This seemingly insignificant happening causes the reflective child to ponder the concepts of chance, the soul and the interrelatedness of all things. In what often seems like a Sunday school tableau, Jenny's parents are endlessly didactic. (Her father, for instance, says, "Some questions are so big you shouldn't take anyone else's answer for them.") The reader is left with the final image of a small stream leading to a river leading to the ocean; Jenny wonders if this is like veins leading to a human heart. Don't expect youngsters to sit through this prattle more than once. Similar universal themes have been more thoughtfully hidden--and/or revealed--to better effect in other works. In his illustrative debut, Christopher Peck's delicately attractive pictures are sprinkled throughout the text. All ages.

Before going out of print in 1997, The Friendly Snowflake sold more than 155,000 copies as a children's fable. But the book's message is universal - about love and friendship and families - and inherently suitable for adults, too. That's why we're reissuing it as a gift edition, with four new full-page drawings. Written by best-selling author M. Scott Peck and illustrated by his son Christopher, The Friendly Snowflake chronicles the discoveries of the delightful young Jenny in a story that will resonate with everyone who cherishes the important things in life.