Here are some wonderful picture books to read aloud during the winter. Most are classics—many Caldecott winners—so they’re readily available in your library or in many bookstores as well as on Amazon. It’s amazing how many Caldecott winners have been about winter!!
Two of these books have mice in them! So here’s a mouse reading a book!!
White Snow, Bright Snow by Alvin Tresselt, 1948 Caldecott medal. While adults work to shovel or continue their work through the snow, the children build snowmen and taste snowflakes on their tongues.
White Snow, Bright Snow by Alvin Tresselt,, wikimedia fair use
The Big Snow by Berta and Elmer Hader, 1949 Caldecott medal. Forest animals prepare for a big snow.
The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats, 1963 Caldecott medal. A young boy enjoys the first snowfall in the city.
The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats, Wikimedia fair use
Frederick by Leo Lionni, 1967 Caldecott Honor book. While the other mice gather food for winter, Frederick, a mouse artist and poet, gathers beautiful colors and stories for long, bleak winter days.
Owl Moon by Jane Yolen, 1988 Caldecott medal. A little girl and her father take a late night walk to see and hear an owl. Other forest creatures appear in the illustrations.
Snowflake Bentley by Jacqueline Briggs Martin, 1999 Caldecott medal. A nonfiction picture book about a Vermont farmer at the turn of the century who loved nature and with great patience and determination, learned how to photograph individual snowflakes.
Here’s a brand new picture book about winter that younger children will really enjoy.
Once Upon a Winter Day by Liza Woodruff, 2020. A little boy wants his mother to read a story. When she’s too busy, she suggests he take a walk. At first he grumbles, but soon is caught up in following a mouse’s tracks through the snow. He finds feathers, acorns, and other tracks that make him wonder what happened.
In beautifully illustrated 2-page spreads, the reader sees what happened—a flock of birds taking off, a herd of deer feeding, etc. Children will enjoy finding the mouse in each of these illustrations and following the boy and the mouse to their homes. When he gets home the boy tells his mother he has stories to tell!
Once Upon a Winter Day and The Snowy Day provide a nice contrast between a winter walk in the city and one in the country.
Make some winter memories! Go for a walk or build a snowman with your children or grandchildren, then come in to share one or all of these books around a fire while sipping hot cocoa!
Does your family have a favorite book about winter? Let me know in the comment section below!
Writing News: I have 7 devotions in the Spring 2021 (March-May) quarterly of The Quiet Hour devotional available from David C. Cook. If you’re interested, you can enjoy 3 months of short, daily devotions by a number of authors.
Looking Ahead: This month we’ll be looking at a painting by Henry Ossawa Tanner, The Banjo Lesson. It shows a man, perhaps a grandfather, teaching a young boy how to play the banjo. Tanner was well-known for his realistic and compelling religious paintings, which I love, and I showed two in my Christmas blog—The Annunciation and The Angels Appearing to the Shepherds.
1st post will tell a little more about Tanner and The Banjo Lesson painting, as well as include a short kid-friendly devotion.
2nd post will have a related art activity highlighting the importance of family.
3rd post will be an interview with a children’s author whose work also highlights family and passing down traditions!
Molly and I hope you’ll join us for a great month of engaging hearts and hands to discover God in art!
Kathy, The Picture Lady 