10 Delightful Children's Books About Winter (+ Video Read Aloud)
Updated: Jan 14
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These picture books about winter are perfect for cuddling up and reading together. This list features books about snow, books about new beginnings, and books about the Winter Solstice too!
Grab a cup of cocoa or some warm peppermint tea and enjoy these diverse children's books featuring characters from various backgrounds exploring all the things we love and don't love about winter. (Complete with publisher's descriptions) BONUS: A Free video read aloud is included at the end of this post.
Did you know that the winter solstice marks the beginning of the season of winter, lasting until the vernal equinox/spring (March 20 or 21 in the Northern Hemisphere, or September 22 or 23 in the Southern Hemisphere). After the solstice, the days get longer. Winter solstice is celebrated as a time of rebirth in many cultures. (Britannica.com)
A Geisel Honor-winning series! Author Kelly Starling Lyons selected as the 2021 Piedmont Laureate!
Join Ty on his imaginative adventures in Ty's Travels: Winter Wonderland, a My First I Can Read book by acclaimed author and illustrator team Kelly Starling Lyons and Nina Mata. Imagination and play are highlighted in this festive Winter story, perfect for sharing with children 3 to 6.
Ty's big imagination takes him and Momma on a trip to the North Pole. Everything is wonderful! A Christmas tree sparkles, a snowman waves, and a polar bear sings. Will Ty's wish to see Santa come true? He wishes and wishes.
Ty's Travels: Winter Wonderland fills an important need for inclusive Christmas stories with diverse characters.
With simple, rhythmic text and joyful, bright art, this My First series and Guided Reading Level I is perfect for shared reading with a child. Books at this level feature basic language, word repetition, and whimsical illustrations, ideal for sharing with emergent readers. The active, engaging stories have appealing plots and lovable characters, encouraging children to continue their reading journey.
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Melissa Iwai's Soup Day celebrates the importance of making a nutritious meal and sharing in the process as a family.
On a cold, snowy day, a young girl and her mother shop to buy ingredients for vegetable soup. At home, they work together--step by step--to prepare the meal.
While the soup is cooking, they spend the time playing games and reading. Before long, Daddy's home and the family sits down to enjoy a homemade dinner.
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The science, history, and cultural significance of the shortest day of the year: The Winter Solstice!
The beginning of winter is marked by the solstice, the shortest day of the year. Long ago, people grew afraid when each day had fewer hours of sunshine than the day before. Over time, they realized that one day each year the sun started moving toward them again.
In lyrical prose and cozy illustrations, this book explains what the winter solstice is and how it has been observed by various cultures throughout history. Many contemporary holiday traditions were borrowed from ancient solstice celebrations.
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A snowy day, a trip to Grandma's, time spent cooking with one another, and space to pause and discover the world around you come together in this perfect book for reading and sharing on a cozy winter day.
One winter morning, Lina wakes up to silence. It's the sound of snow -- the kind that looks soft and glows bright in the winter sun. But as she walks to her grandmother's house to help make the family recipe for warak enab, she continues to listen. As Lina walks past snowmen and across icy sidewalks, she discovers ten ways to pay attention to what might have otherwise gone unnoticed.
With stunning illustrations by Kenard Pak and thoughtful representation of a modern Arab American family from Cathy Camper, Ten Ways to Hear Snow is a layered exploration of mindfulness, empathy, and what we realize when the world gets quiet.
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Bilingual English/Spanish. In their final collection of seasonal poetry, poet Francisco X. Alarcón and artist Maya Christina Gonzalez invite us to celebrate winter-by the seashore, in the magic city of San Francisco, and in the ancient redwood forests of the Sierras.
In their final collection of seasonal poetry, poet Francisco X. Alarcón and artist Maya Christina Gonzalez invite us to celebrate winter-by the seashore, in the magic city of San Francisco, and in the ancient redwood forests of the Sierras.
We see a city where people are bridges to each other, and children sing poetry in two languages. A family frolic in the snow reminds the poet of the iguanas playing by his grandmother's house in Mexico. We are dazzled by the promise of seedling redwoods-like all children-destined to be the ancestors of tomorrow.
Artist Maya Christina Gonzalez has once again created a spirited family of children and adults who swing their way through colorful pages. Collages of old maps of Mexico and California provide intriguing backgrounds, and fun-loving iguanas peek out at us from the most surprising places.
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From renown picture book author Denise Fleming, a cozy, cumulative book to warm a cold winter day
Alive with swirling snow and lots of outdoor fun, the first ten days of winter bring special gifts for a special friend.
This cumulative tale will have children chanting along as they discover all the trimmings needed for the most perfect snowman ever!
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As leaves fall from their trees, animals huddle against the cold, and frost creeps across windows, everyone knows--winter is on its way!
Join a brother and sister as they explore nature and take a stroll through their twinkling town, greeting all the signs of the coming season.
In a series of conversations with everything from the setting sun to curious deer, they say goodbye to autumn and welcome the glorious first snow of winter in Kenar Pak's Goodbye Autumn, Hello Winter.
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In 1962, a little boy named Peter put on his snowsuit and stepped out of his house and into the hearts of millions of readers.
Universal in its appeal, this story beautifully depicts a child's wonder at a new world, and the hope of capturing and keeping that wonder forever.
The quiet fun and sweetness of Peter's small adventures in the deep, deep snow is perfect for reading together on a cozy winter day.
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Just outside my window, There are tracks in the snow. Who made the tracks? Where do they go?
A little girl follows tracks outside her window after a fresh snowfall, only to realize that the tracks in the snow are her own from the day before--and that they lead her home. This diminutive and sweet picture book is as cozy as a cup of hot chocolate.
Like Ezra Jack Keats' The Snowy Day, this lovely celebration of snow and winter is just right for the littlest readers.
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In this seasonal treasure, Newbery Medalist Susan Cooper's beloved poem heralds the winter solstice, illuminated by Caldecott Honoree Carson Ellis's strikingly resonant illustrations.
So the shortest day came,
and the year died . . .
As the sun set on the shortest day of the year, early people would gather to prepare for the long night ahead. They built fires and lit candles. They played music, bringing their own light to the darkness, while wondering if the sun would ever rise again.
Written for a theatrical production that has become a ritual in itself, Susan Cooper's poem "The Shortest Day" captures the magic behind the returning of the light, the yearning for traditions that connect us with generations that have gone before -- and the hope for peace that we carry into the future. Richly illustrated by Carson Ellis with a universality that spans the centuries, this beautiful book evokes the joy and community found in the ongoing mystery of life when we celebrate light, thankfulness, and festivity at a time of rebirth. Welcome Yule!
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Your turn! Which books would you add to this list? Let us know.
VIDEO READ ALONG
Ezra Jack Keats's classic story, with animation by Jay Boucher and narration and sound by Napoleon Maddox.
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