Stranger in the Woods: A Photographic Fantasy

I really liked this book, mainly because of how the author created suspense or curiosity with the title. Once I read the title, I began thinking that there may be a scary element to the story, which made me want to read on and find out. During reading, I started to realize that my prediction was changing. For example, once the author revealed that the snowman was the "stranger", there was almost a silly aspect introduced, rather than a scary aspect. This technique really draws readers in, so I thought that was interesting. The main idea of this book is centered around trust/curiosity for unknown things.

At the beginning of this book I was a little bored but ended up loving it due to the twist ending. I thought that the illustrations were very interesting. The use of photography made the story come alive and seem believable (even thought it was fantasy). The use of literary techniques in the writing also made the story come alive. The onomatopoeia (like who-hoo) and play on sounds (like chickadee-dee-dee) gave life to the characters and story. The message of the story was that it's all about perspective. Something that we recognize as commonplace, like a snowman in a snowy field, could seem like an intruder with someone/thing in another culture.

In my opinion this picture book is wonderful because of the real life pictures and the different perspective of the stranger in the woods. The story is about the woodland animals after a snowfall finding a stranger in the woods. The animals become curious and investigate the new member. Eventually the reader finds out the stranger is a snowman that feeds the animals in the woods with his carroty nose and the left over seeds on the ground. At the end the children who created the snowman vow to continue to come back and watch the animals investigate the snowman after each snowfall. The fact that the book is from the perspective of the animals in the language used and the pictures are from the perspective of the children watching them show more allows the reader to feel like he or she is there as well. The big idea of this picture book is to help readers see what animals think of new things in their homes. show less

I did and did not like this book for a few different reasons. I did like the story line and how the everything was described. For example, "the munching muskrat" was very descriptive and helps you picture the animals better. And I really liked how it was actual real life pictures instead of illustrations. It gave a much more real factor to the book. But I did not like the set up of the story. I found it very boring and strange that the animals would act the way that they did. Such as eating the food off of the stranger. And the fact that they didn't even hear the children that were clearly near by. Wouldn't an animals senses be on guard if there is a stranger in the woods and you have no idea how the stranger got there? I didn't think show more the characters were very believable. show less

This is really a lovely book in many ways. It introduces youngsters to the winter season, to the animals that are out in the woods, and to the kindness of children. The story is a cute one of animals noticing a stranger in their midst and discovering the stranger to be a source of treats and food. The photographs are fabulous.

My 2 1/2-year-old grandson and I find lots to talk about when looking through the pages of this book. We always laugh when we see the deer eat the snowman's carrot nose. This is a book which delights me when he selects it for our story time together.

I like a Stranger on the Woods for a couple reasons. The largest being the amazing pictures that go with it. The shots that were captured for this novel are amazing and are extremely helpful for keeping readers interested. Young readers I feel will especially like the reality of the photographs. Their realness I feel truly make it seem like the animals are having these conversations together. You add that to a child's already massive imagination, I feel that they would very much enjoy this book. I also like the simplicity of the story as well. Aside from the conversations between the animals the overall plot of the story is very realistic. Two kids hiding in bushes watching as animals come and eat the vegetables off of the snowman is show more incredibly relateable. It's something I could easily see kids picturing, comparing it to something they have done, or maybe trying out themselves afterwards on a snow day. The big idea of this story is to tell a story from pictures. While it's not a full picture only book, the photographs are the center of the story and the text I feel is created to fit the photo that is there. While there is no real climactic plot arc to this story, the low key realism I actually feel is a strength of this book. Used in the right place, it could spark a lot of great conversations and activities among the kids. show less

I loved listening to this book and viewing its illustrations. The plot of this story was very sweet. The naïve animals in the woods are startled by the presence of a stranger, who turns out to be a snowman. After conquering their fears, they realize that the snowman is actually made of food for them. I thought this was really cute how the book was told from the perspective of the animals. I also thought the photography was beautiful. The vivid colors, like the snowman's red hat, really add to the story. I think the message of this story is not to be judgmental before really knowing the situation. The animals initially feared the snowman until they really knew who (what) he was.