Book excerpt: An Indie Next List Top 10 Pick! With echoes of Raymond Briggs's classic The Snowman, here is a magical, timeless story about the friendship between a lonely little mole and a snowball he molds into a bear that comes to life. Little Mole is new in town, and he's lonely. On his way home from school on a winter day, he rolls a snowball all the way to the bus stop. He tells it his problems and grows very attached. But when Little Mole tries to take the snowball home with him on the bus, the driver refuses and leaves without them. So Little Mole comes up with a plan: mold the snowball into a bear. Surely that will do the trick? After much effort, he finally convinces a bus driver to pick them up. The bus is warm and cozy, and Little Mole falls asleep. But we all know what happens to snowballs when they get warm. . . . Luckily, Grandma is waiting at home, and she finds a way to return her grandson's new friend to him. With a classic, timeless feel and stunning illustrations, this heartwarming story of friendship and love is full of mood, atmosphere, and poignancy.