Teamwork Makes The
Dream Work Together
Everyone Achieves More

Nuff woke up full of excitement. Not because he was thinking about how teamwork makes the dream work. But because it was supposed to have snowed overnight. Yeah! The thought of playing in the snow and having a great time filled him with energy. He jumped right out of bed and over to the window to see how much had fallen.

Looking outside, Nuff could see a white blanket of snow across his yard. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to have school canceled, so he shuffled off to get ready for the bus. It was still snowing though and he hoped there would be a lot more snow before the day’s end.

At school, Nuff couldn’t sit still. All day long he would look out the window whenever he could to see if the snow was still coming down. He couldn’t wait for the school day to end and for his snow fun to begin.

Ring, Ring, Ring, rang the bell to let the kids out of school. Nuff gathered his stuff and ran for the bus. On the way home, he watched the snow as it kept coming down. YES! This is going to be great he thought. As the bus wound its way through the streets he started seeing little snowmen scattered throughout the neighborhood. Seems like some of the kids who got home earlier had already started playing and building snowmen. As he saw more snowmen, Nuff couldn’t help but think, “I’m going to build the biggest and best snowman in the entire neighborhood!”

Want To Build A Snowman

When he got home, he quickly finished his homework and before his mom could offer him a snack he was outside ready to build the ultimate snowman. Making a little snowball in his hand, he set it down in front of him and started rolling it around the yard. As he pushed it along it slowly grew until it was about the size of a basketball.  “It needs to be Bigger!” thought Nuff as he kept rolling it around. As it got bigger, it got heavier and harder to push. Undaunted, Nuff kept rolling it until it was so big he couldn’t push it any more.

“One down, two more to go,” thought Nuff. Of course, that’s easier said than done. Nuff started rolling a second snowball and before long it was about half the size of the first one. Even though he wanted it bigger, it was starting to get too heavy to roll, so he decided it was big enough. Now he had to stack it on top of the first snowball. Of course, there was no way he was able to do this, since he was tired and could barely roll it – all of his energy had been spent on making the snowballs. “Man, this is harder than it looks,” thought Nuff.

Unable to lift the second snowball on top of the first, he thought to himself, “There’s no way I can build the ultimate snowman.” Felling like a total failure Nuff sulked back into the house, not even bothering to look at his unfinished, non-proportional, and unrecognizable snowman.

Together Everyone Achieves More

That night Nuff slept like a baby, tossing, turning, and grumbling, as he dreamed of building the coolest snowman ever. By the time he woke-up the next day, even more snow had fallen and school had been canceled. He should have been jumping for joy, but he just wasn’t sure how he was going to build a snowman when he couldn’t even lift the second snowball on top of the first; and lifting a third one on top of those would be out of the question.

Not to be deterred, Nuff, decided to give it another go. After putting on his winter gear, he headed outside. Standing in front of his first snowball, he gets pegged in the back of the head with a snowball from behind. His friends Frank and Irwin had sneaked up behind him and nailed him a good one. It must have knocked some sense in his head as he had an idea. “Hey Frank, Irwin, I need some help. I’m building a snowman and I can’t lift this second snowball onto the first one. Help me stack ’em, will ya?” Sounds like it’s going to take some teamwork to make this dream work.

With a bit of effort, Nuff and his buds were able to lift the second snowball onto the first one. Shortly after accomplishing that feat, Nuff’s neighbor Emily shouted a comment over her fence. Looking at the massive base and the smaller second snowball, Emily said, “Nuff, that doesn’t look appropriate. We will be over immediately to correct your indistinguishable snowman segments.”

Fortunately, Emily had invited Nissa and Rachelle over that morning as well. Joining in on the fun, the girls managed to get the base and mid-section of the snowman proportional. At this point the girls looked at each other and simultaneously shouted, “HE NEEDS A HEAD!” Teamwork was finally making the dream work.

Dreams Do Come True

The boys started rolling the snowman’s head, while the girls put some finishing touches on the base and mid-section of the snowman. Thankfully, Andrew and Sophia came walking down the block just in time to help get the head on top of the mid-section.   Not only was the head snowball heavy, the snowman’s body was now taller than all of them. They all had to lift the snowman’s head above their heads together. Once they got the head on, the gang thought they had a pretty awesome looking snowman. Unfortunately, it was not the coolest snowman that Nuff had dreamed of creating.

As Nuff stood there with a look of failure on his face once again, his friends talked amongst themselves and whispered to each other. Andrew grabbed Sophia’s hand and told Nuff that they’d be right back. Then the rest of Nuff’s friends ran off as well, yelling that they’d be back real soon too. Nuff stood there alone looking at the big ‘lifeless‘ white balls of snow piled on top of each other waiting for his friends to return.

Teamwork Makes The Dream Work

It wasn’t long before Andrew and Sophia came running back with a “Top hat” and some coal for the “Eyes.” Irwin and Frank were the next friends to return. They had some sticks for the “Arms” and some “Mittens” to keep the snowman’s imaginary hands warm. Emily, Nissa, and Rachelle were the last to return and with them they had a “Wool scarf,” an “Overcoat,” and some “Raisins” for the snowman’s mouth.

By the time his friends were done assembling all the components they had brought back, teamwork had nearly made the dream work. Nuff’s snowman had almost come alive and was more incredible than he ever dreamed. Looking at his friends Nuff told them that this snowman was the coolest snowman ever built and that it needed a name. After thinking a bit he finally exclaimed, “Welcome to the world Kringle!” Nuff said.

That night as his dad put him to bed he asked Nuff if the snowman he and his friends built was anything like the one he had dreamed about. As he lay back on his pillow he smiled a told his dad “T-E-A-M-W-O-R-K makes the dream work,” Nuff said.

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Reviews

“Entertaining and Educational. This is an adorable book! It not only offers beautifully coordinated, visually attractive graphics, but is very educational. Most importantly it teaches the value of teamwork. Something that children (and many adults) need to learn. As a retired English and reading teacher I especially liked seeing the use of a higher level of vocabulary in a children’s book. Not only does it expose young readers to SAT/ACT vocabulary but also expands the opportunity for discussions between the reader and the child. This is a well done must have book.” — Kegaspirit

“My kids liked this book. I like this book because it seems like a timely message in 2020, when people seem are isolated due to COVID-19 and it appears that our politicians and media don’t want to seek common ground. Our kids may need this message more than we realize.” — Sara Piercey

“This book is good for kids that are starting school and need a little push on how working together makes things go smother. It is about building the perfect snowman and how making it together makes it better and more fun. Once again the author has done a great job making something that is a foreign concept to kids look easy.” — Carissa Lindsey