It's no secret that I love books and I LOVE winter, so it's only natural for me to create a list of my favorite children's books about winter. Check them out at your local library and get a stack of books celebrating winter to read with your kids when you're cooped up in the cold!
The Branch
By Mireille Messier, illustrated by Pierre Pratt
Why I love it: A really cute story about a little girl whose favorite tree gets wrecked in an ice storm. My kids (3 and 5) love to follow the story and guess what she's going to make out of her fallen branch and I love the message that everything, even ruined things, has "potential," as well as how to make something positive out of an unfortunate situation.
Best in Snow
By April Pulley Sayre
Why I love it: Probably one of my favorite kids' books I've discovered this year. It features beautiful photographs of wildlife and very minimal text, but that doesn't stop my kids from creating their own stories to go along with the pictures or asking questions about all the animals pictured, which I LOVE.
Toys Meet Snow
By Emily Jenkins, illustrated by Paul Zelinsky
Why I love it: A little girl goes on vacation and her three toys (a very philosophical stingray, a curious buffalo, and a smart, bookish rubber ball) go out into the yard to explore the snow. The prose is beautiful, not just for a kids' book, and the illustrations are perfection.
Snow Sounds: An Onomatopoeic Story
By David A. Johnson
Why I love it: I'll admit this one isn't my personal favorite to read because it has no real text at all, but my kids really do love it. It's an "onomatopoeic story" so the only words in the book are sounds like "whoosh" or "beep." The kids love to mimic the sounds and it really does encourage them to narrate their own story which I can't help but love.
Snowmen at Night
By Caralyn Buehner, illustrated by Mark Buehner
Why I love it: Is this a classic? I don't know if it is, but it's a classic in my house. A really cute rhyming story about what snowmen do when the sun goes down and why they usually wake up in rougher shape than the night before. My kids really do imagine snowmen doing all these crazy things at night now, which is super fun.
Stranger in the Woods
By Carl R. Sams II and Jean Stoick
Why I love it: Another one that features actual photographs, it's a sweet story about a bunch of animals discovering a "stranger" (a snowman) in the woods and trying to figure out how he got there!
Blizzard
By John Rocco
Why I love it: Such beautiful and engaging illustrations in this true story about the author's experience in the blizzard of 1978, where he traversed through the snow drifts to get supplies for his family and neighbors. The kid is a hero, so of course my kids love it!
Those are my favorite winter kids' books! Is anything missing from my list? Tell us about yours! Hashtag MKBOOKS on social media with a picture of your children's favorite kids' books!
Julie Lepore is the publisher of Macaroni Kid Summit Short Hills SOMA, N.J.
