While I love the changing leaves of autumn, there are lots of magical things about winter, too. Catching snowflakes, building snowmen, snuggling up under cozy blankets, and drinking hot chocolate topped with big, fluffy, white marshmallows are just a few ways to celebrate the season. With so much time spent indoors, it’s a good opportunity to read together even more often. And what better place to start than with picture books about…what else?…winter!
If you’re looking for some cold-weather tales, here are a few to look for:
The Great Serum Race: Blazing the Iditarod Trail by Debbie Miller – There’s a lot of information in this picture book, making it a good choice for older children. It tells the true story of the trek made by twenty sled dog teams over hundreds of miles of snow to save a town from disease.
Katy and the Big Snow by Virginia Lee Burton – When a winter storm leaves behind so much snow it reaches the second-story windows, Katy the snowplow gets the whole town moving again.
Snow Music by Lynne Rae Perkins – This beautiful book takes the sounds of winter and arranges them in a musical rhythm.
Snowflake Bentley by Jacqueline Briggs Martin – This nonfiction picture book tells the story of Wilson Bentley, whose photographs of snowflakes revealed that no two are alike.
The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats – A classic! A perfect story for younger children about a little boy named Peter playing in the snow.
Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening by Robert Frost, Illustrated by Susan Jeffers. Beautiful pencil drawings illustrate this (my favorite) poem by Robert Frost.
Winter Days in the Big Woods by Laura Ingles Wilder – This picture book adaptation from the Little House Books tells about Laura and her family in their little cabin in the woods in Wisconsin.
Winter on the Farm by Laura Ingles Wilder – Another Little House Adaptation, this story tells of Almanzo’s childhood on the family farm.
What picture books for winter does your family enjoy?
Photo by: LASZLO ILYES