My grandkids love to have me read books about snow and winter to them since they don’t get to experience it where they live. They love to play in the snow when they come to visit us in the winter. I have some books to share with you that capture the magic and beauty of winter and snow.
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Four imaginative snow and winter books
A Loud Winter’s Nap by Katy Hudson
I love Katy Hudson’s books! In A Loud Winter’s Nap Tortoise is trying to find a quiet place to hibernate for the winter. Just as he settles in to sleep one of his animal friends invites him to join them in a winter activity. Tortoise hates winter and the cold. Why would anyone want to stay awake for winter? When he finally finds a quiet place to sleep, his bed, which is a sled, starts to slide down the mountain. He finds he likes the fast ride down the hill. Maybe winter isn’t that bad!
The Mitten by Jan Brett
The Mitten by Jan Brett is a classic you may have read with your children when they were young. Nicki goes out to play in the snow and drops one of the white mittens his grandmother knit for him. Soon different woodland animals find it one by one and crawl inside to stay warm. The knitting holds tight and the mitten grows bigger and bigger to accommodate all the animals. Jan Brett’s illustrations are always delightful with the border illustrations telling a story inside the story.
Snow Globe Wishes by Erin Dealey
When a fierce winter storm comes it causes the power to go out and forces a family to stay indoors. They build a blanket fort and eat dinner by candlelight. The next morning they wake up to a beautiful snow day and go outside to play. The snow brings the whole community together as they enjoy the activities that come with a snow globe day. Snow Globe Wishes is written in a gentle rhyming verse.
The Forest Keepers by Mary Lundquist
The Little Forest Keepers is a sweet story about Ash and Pudd, who take care of everyone in the woods including the trees. They knit hats and scarves to keep all their furry and feathered friends warm.
One day they discover something, or someone, new in the forest. They investigate and discover a lonely snowman. They hurry home and return with a knit hat and scarf to help him feel welcome and loved. Part of the fun of this story is to see if the children you are reading to can tell it’s a snowman. Will they guess what it is by looking carefully at the visual clues in the book?
Two non-fiction snow and winter books
Blizzard written and illustrated by John Rocco
Blizzard by John Rocco is based on a true story that happened to the author when he was a young boy. In 1978 there was a blizzard that covered John Rocco’s Rhode Island home town with forty inches of snow. Strong winds caused snow drifts. Some were almost fifteen feet high. It took over a week for the snow plows to get to his street.
John’s family and their neighbors were running low on supplies. Ten year old John pulled his sleigh for over a mile to the store to get things his family and others needed. Once the snowplows cleared the roads schools opened and people returned to work.
Snowflake Bentley by Jacqueline Briggs Martin
This Caldecott Medal book is the true story of Wilson Bentley and his fascination with snow. Wilson was born on a farm in 1865. Even as a young boy he loved snow and wanted to know more about it. His parents saved until they could give him a camera and a microscope. He studied snowflakes and took hundreds of pictures. His work became the basis for what we know about snowflakes today.
If you enjoyed these picture book biographies here are a few more you might want to read.
Do you need more great books or fun read aloud ideas?
I have lots of books and great ideas to share with you here!
To help you get started I have a list of 15 great read-aloud picture books you can download for free.
