In need of a cozy read to snuggle up with and warm your heart during the upcoming dark and chilly months? Look no further than The Snowman Code by Simon Stephenson!
It’s the longest winter ever, and with the shorter, darker days, the gloomy snow-filled skies, and the seemingly endless chill lingering deep into March, it truly feels like winter will never end, especially for Blessing, who’s facing some even darker struggles than just cold weather. Between the bullies she’s been avoiding by not going to school and her mom’s seasonal depression that’s weighing her down worse than ever, Blessing is feeling the weight of it all.
In this cozy winter story, a six-hundred-year-old snowman and a ten-and-a-half-year-old girl strike up an unlikely friendship as they try to bring an end to the longest winter ever.
Article II of the Snowman Code: A snowman always helps a child in need.
It’s March, but the ground is still covered in snow, the lake in the park is still frozen over, and ten-and-a-half-year-old Blessing has three problems:
Problem #1: Blessing hasn’t gone to school in months. She just can’t stand those bullies, the Driplet Triplets, so her only solution to avoiding them is to pretend she and her mom moved to Australia.
Problem #2: Blessing’s mom gets sad in the winter. So sad she doesn’t go to work and sometimes doesn’t get out of bed.
Problem #3: The city is experiencing its longest ever winter, with no end in sight. And the longer it goes on, the longer her mom’s sadness does too. If spring doesn’t come soon and other grown-ups find out her mom is too sad, they’ll be separated again.
Just as Blessing starts to lose hope, she meets an unexpected new friend: Albert Framlington, a six-hundred-year-old snowman who just might hold the key to solving all three of her problems. But Albert has a problem of his own he may need a human’s help to solve.
Can this unlikely duo find a way to defeat Blessing’s bullies, win back Albert’s long-lost love, and overcome the never-ending winter before it’s too late? They have to try—that’s the Snowman Code after all.
The Snowman Code
AUTHOR: Simon Stephenson
PUBLISHER: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
DATE: Dec 16, 2025
But with snow comes snowmen, and according to Article II of The Snowman Code, a snowman must always help a child in need. And right now, Blessing could use a little help, a spark of hope, and a friend who makes everything feel okay. Enter Albert Framlington, a six-hundred-year-old snowman who could also use a little hope (and a little help) himself.
The result? The unlikeliest friendship that makes The Snowman Code a story that’s sure to warm you through to your core even more than a mug of hot chocolate.
This wonderfully wintery read doesn’t hit shelves until December 16th, but you can get to know Blessing and Albert right now! Author Simon Stephenson is taking readers beyond the pages of The Snowman Code with six fun facts about the story.
Author Simon Stephenson Shares 6 Fun Facts About The Snowman Code:
Blessing has stopped going to school
When we first meet Blessing, she has stopped going to school because she is getting bullied. Instead, Blessing goes to the big museum in town, sneaks into the cinema and sometimes plays on the swings in the park. It is while swinging in the empty park that she notices a snowman stand up and yawn.
If you talk to a snowman five times, he has to answer you
Certain of what she has seen, Blessing walks across and demands to know the snowman’s name. When she asks him for a fifth time, the snowman suddenly comes alive and tells her that his name is Albert Framlington. Perhaps you are reading this and thinking ‘Well, that isn’t true because snowmen aren’t alive’. But if you have never asked a a snowman his name five times, then how would you know whether they were alive or not?
Snowmen go north in the summer
Humans who do not know any better believe that when snowmen melt they die. But that is not what happens at all. The great thing about planet Earth is that it is always snowing somewhere. And so when a snowman melts, he or she simply wakes up somewhere else in the world in another fresh snow-body a child has just made for him or her. This means that snowmen measure time not as years, but as winters. Albert is 623 winters old, which is about 200 or so human years.
Snowmen think being born in summertime is the silliest thing in the world
Albert’s favorite way to insult someone is to ask someone if they were born in summertime. And it is true that, if you were a snowman, then being born in summer would not be a very good idea.
Snowmen celebrate the end of winter with a great big party
Because they are not melting forever, snowmen do not fear the coming of spring. In fact, they look forward to it and celebrate with a great big party. In London, this party takes place at the Flower Market. (Snowmen love flowers, because going from winter to winter means that they don’t get to see many flowers.)
A snowman always helps a child in need
The most important rule of the Snowman Code is the one that says ‘A Snowman always helps a child in need‘. When Albert hears of Blessing’s predicament, he resolves to help her. But she will help him just as much along the way….
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