Non-Fiction Winter Selections

Animals in Winter (ages 4-7)
Written by Henrietta Bancroft with Richard G. Van Gelder; illustrated by Helen K. Davie

Find out how various animals prepare for winter's cold in this simple, yet scientifically accurate picture book. Geared toward beginning readers, story tracks everything from migrating birds to hibernating bats.

Snow Is Falling (ages 4-7)
Written by Franklyn Mansfield Branley; illustrated by Holly Keller

Yet another title in the Let's-Read-and-Find-Out science series, this book tells what snow is like and what effects it has on people, animals and nature.

Lights of Winter: Winter Celebrations Around the World (Ages 4-8)
Written by Heather Conrad; illustrated by deForest Walker

Around the world, children and adults alike celebrate the changing seasons. But do they all celebrate in the same way? No! In this beautifully-illustrated hardcover, author and mother Heather Conrad introduces young readers to traditions people from Africa to Asia to America hold dear. Featured holidays include Solstice, Yule, Christmas, Kwanza, Hanukkah, Teng Chieh, Diwali, Soyal, Las Posadas, Zagmuk, and Saturnalia.

When Winter Comes (ages 4-8)
Written by Nancy Van Laan; illustrated by Susan Gaber

What happens to fish, flowers, field mice, and other living things when ponds freeze and the air turns blustery? Walk with a curious child and his parents as winter's first snow falls and find out in this nicely-illustrated rhyming tale.

The Winter at Valley Forge: Survival and Victory (ages 8-12),
Written by James E. Knight; illustrated by George Guzzi

Part of the Adventures in Colonial America series, this brief work chronicles a few of the hardships Colonial forces faced as they prepared to fight America's War for Independence. Find out how the worst in nature helped bring out the best in men and turn a rag-tag bunch of farmers into an army that could conquer the king's best men.

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Winter Fiction for Young Children

I Like Winter (ages 4-8)
Written and illustrated by Lois Lenski

Yet another timeless work from Lois Lenski, this book was first published in 1950. Now re-printed for the modern reader, it reflects the simple pleasures of a bygone era, from sledding and snowball fights to waiting for Santa Claus.

Jan Brett's Christmas Treasury (Ages 4-8)
Written and illustrated by Jan Brett

Keepsake hardback edition provides complete text for seven of Brett's classic winter tales, including The Mitten, The Wild Christmas Reindeer, Trouble with Trolls, The Twelve Days of Christmas, The Hat, Christmas Trolls, and The Night Before Christmas. A worthwhile addition to the library of any teacher or child. (For a host of free related activities including printable crafts and coloring pages, see Brett's site at http://www.janbrett.com/.

Winter Days in the Big Woods (ages 3-6)
Based on the writings of Laura Ingalls Wilder; illustrated by Garth Williams and Renee Graef

Created to be read aloud or to be read by the very youngest of readers, this simple picture book retells a portion of Laura Ingalls Wilder's classic Little House in the Big Woods.

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Winter Fiction for Older Children

The Long Winter (Ages 8-12)
By Laura Ingalls Wilder

If you haven't already introduced your child or students to the writings of Laura Ingalls Wilder, there's no better opportunity than the dead of winter. Use this book, which portrays one of the Dakota Territory's harsher winters, as a springboard for comparing past to present and reflecting on what it must have been like to battle the elements before the days of well-insulated homes and gas or electric heat.

Winter Poetry

It's Snowing! It's Snowing! (ages 6 and up)
Written by Jack Prelutsky; illustrated by Jeanne Titherington

Written in classic Jack Prelutsky style, this collection of 17 winter poems will captivate elementary and middle school students alike. Its hardback-only format makes it a bit pricey, but Prelutsky fans will agree it's well worth the cost.

Winter Poems (ages 8 and up)
Compiled by Barbara Rogasky; illustrated by Trina Schart Hyman

Geared toward older elementary students, but suitable for reading aloud even to younger students, this beautifully-illustrated work captures the essence of the season with an assortment of classic verse. Authors feautred in the work range from Shakespeare to Ogden Nash.

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Winter Teaching Resources