Ages 4-7. Joyce, whose wacky concepts morph into unforgettable art, here revels in the artistic capabilities of the computer. Rolie Polie Olie, the little round robot (now also a Disney TV star), returns in a story of snowmen and Santa (the high-tech Klanky Klaus). On the day Rolie's snowless planet blows a bulb and experiences a snowstorm, he builds a snowman, Mr. Snowie. But the sun gets a new bulb and Snowie begins to melt, so it's off to Chillsville, where, after a tussle with the North Wind, Rolie and friends eat some snowball pie, dance a chilly cha-cha, and leave Snowie safe with Santa. The story is slim and told in an uncomplicated text whose only real allure comes from hanging on to the fantastic pictures. Joyce's pictures are computer-generated with 3-D imaging that makes the rows of snowmen, bedecked in candy-cane-striped scarves, Santa in his rocket-powered sleigh, and the planet-hopping Rolie all seem as if they're about to zoom off the pages into the reader's lap.

WILLIAM JOYCE Lives in Shreveport,Louisiana,with his Lovely wife,Elizabeth,and their chileren,Jack and Mary Katherne.
They also have a dachshund named Rose.