As we prepared to leave for my grandma’s house (see HERE), we got our first significant snow fall of the season. Some years we celebrate our first substantial snow by making Snow Ice Cream (recipe HERE) or make Maple Candy (recipe HERE). This year we celebrated by reading our favorite snow books.
I told my boys to pick out their favorite snow books, and they each came back with a huge stack. While a couple of these touch on holidays, most of them do not. None of them are religious in nature, and they all feature snow.
Here are the books they chose:
The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats (somehow I missed this one in the picture – oops!). The classic story of young Peter and his day of adventures in the snow.
Katy and the Big Snow, by Virginia Lee Burton. What happens when the city of Geopolis is hit by a blizzard? It’s Katy the Snowplow to the rescue.
One Snowy Night, by Nick Butterworth. A cold snowy night brings all of Percy the Park Keeper’s animal friends knocking on his door to ask for shelter. How will they all fit in Percy’s snug little bed?
Ollie’s Ski Trip, by Elsa Beskow. Beskow’s sprinkles all of her stories with magic. Ollie’s Ski Trip is no exception. Ollie ventures out into the woods where he meets Jack Frost and tours King Winter’s Castle. Christmas does play into this book, but it’s main focus is a love of winter snow. It ends with the coming of Spring.
Frosty the Snowman, by Jack Rollins and Steve Nelson. This book is an illustrated version of a classic winter song. And while it’s often sung as a holiday song, there are no holidays mention within it. It’s all about what happens when a little bit of magic brings a snowman to life. (I couldn’t find a link with the same cover as ours, but this one sounds similar.)
Snowmen at Night, by Caralyn Buehner. Have you ever wondered why your snowmen look a little battered or worn down the morning after you make them? This book lets you in on the fun secret of what snowmen do at night.
Stranger in the Woods, by Carl R. Sams II & Jean Stoick. Told through a series of wildlife photographs (with words), a group of animals discover a stranger in the woods and enjoy the treats he has for them. In the end, we see that two young children are caring for the animals.
Walking in a Winter Wonderland, illustrated by Tim Hopgood. Another illustrated version of a classic winter song. Again, while this is often sung as a holiday tune, there is no mention of holidays within the song.
Over the River and Through the Wood, by L. Maria Child. This is an illustrated version of a song about the joy of journeying to grandparents’ house for Thanksgiving dinner. It’s illustrations depict a classic New England scene in a time when people still traveled by horse-drawn sleigh.
The First Day of Winter, by Denise Fleming. Celebrates the beginning of winter with a snowman, who receives an additional detail on each successive day.
The Big Snow, by Berta and Elmer Hader. This book shows many woodland animals preparing for winter. Finally, winter arrives. Who comes to the rescue when a big snow comes and it’s hard for the animals to find food?
Snow, by Uri Shulevitz. A simple book with gorgeous illustrations about Boy with Dog, his love of snow, and how he knows a big snow is coming even when everyone else (including the television and radio) dismisses the idea of a significant snow.
Over and Under the Snow, by Kate Messner. This is a wonderful book which depicts two different story lines. One tells of a little girl who is cross-country skiing with her family. This is what happens over the snow. The other tells about all of the animals they pass, a story that often takes place under the snow. This provides a peak into the lives of animals during the winter, and the life that takes place beneath a blanket of snow.
Snowflake Bentley, by Jacqueline Briggs Martin. This is the story of Wilson Bentley, a boy who sees the beauty in snowflakes and dedicates his life to capturing their images. Even when people fail to understand his passion (who needs to document snow in Vermont?), he perseveres. Eventually, his photographs show the world that snowflakes are, indeed, beautiful. And even though he spent his life examining and recording them, Bentley never found two snowflakes that were the same.
What are your favorite picture books about snow?