Cuddling up in a chair with a good book on a snow day morning is one of my favorite parts of winter. For my final post connected to ice ornaments, I have put together a list of some of my favorite picture books related to winter. Some of these books are recent, some well known and readily available, and some a little older and available second hand or in the library. While winter is a prominent aspect of these books, most of them use winter as a vehicle to explore other themes. In Snowflakes Fall, for example, the author and illustrator honor the memories of victims of the Sandy Hook tragedy, with a message of hope and renewal. The Snowy Day and Snow, celebrate the pleasures of playing in the snow, the beautiful and transient qualities of snow and the comfort of returning indoors into a warm house after playing outside. Big Snow taps into a child's excitement in anticipation of a snowstorm.
First Tomato: A Voyage to the Bunny Planet, uses winter as a counterpoint for the longing for summer. Although not really about winter, Teddy Bears Cure a Cold, is a humorous and quirky book in which sledding plays a strong role. Good at any time of year, The Mitten, is a Ukranian folk tale in which the forest animals all squeeze into a mitten in an effort to keep warm.
Stan the Hot Dog Man is a whimsical story of a man who finally retires from his job and decides to sell hot dogs. A school bus and Stan's hot dog truck get stranded in a blizzard. Stan saves the day when he and the children stay warm and eat hot dogs in the warmth of his hot dog truck. A longer story featuring a winter storm is the Mousehole Cat. Beautifully illustrated, the Mousehole Cat tells the the tale of an English fishing harbor blocked in by a long winter storm that prevents them from fishing. To save the starving town, old Tom braves the storm with his trusty companion, Mowzer. As a cat, only Mowzer can tame the Great Storm Cat.
Snowflakes Fall Written by Patricia Machlachlan, Illustrated by Steve Kellogg, 2013
The Snowy Day Ezra Jack Keats, 1962
Snow Written by Cynthia Rylant Illustrated by Lauren Stringer, 2008
Big Snow Jonathan Bean 2013
First Tomato: A Voyage to the Bunny Planet Rosemary Wells, 1992*
The Mitten Jane Brett, 1996
Teddy Bears Cure a Cold Written by Susanna Gretz, Illustrated by Alison Sage, 1989*
Stan the Hot Dog Man Leonard Kessler, Edith Kessler, I Can Read Book, 1995
The Mousehole Cat Written by Antonia Barber, Illustrated by Nicola Bayley, 1990
*Might be hard to find