Cultivating picture books for the season brings me so much joy. We love returning to old favorites year after year, and it really helps us connect with and understand the season we are in. I update the book wall in our playroom every month along with a basket to include any overflow books that do not fit on our bookshelves. These are the shelves we use; we’ve used them for years and have even moved houses with them and they’ve held up well. Most of the books come from our local library, but occasionally we’ll purchase a favorite or two to add to our collection.
These are the books gracing our bookshelves this year!
1. Snowmen at Night by Carolyn Buehner - Have you ever wondered what snowmen do at night while everyone is sleeping? Imagine if they came to life to play baseball and drink hot cocoa in the park. This story tells of all the shenanigans these snowmen get up to at night!
2. Harriet Gets Carried Away by Jessie Sima - Harriett loves to wear costumes everywhere. On the day of her birthday party, she gets a little carried away with her penguin costume and ends up in Antartica with real penguins!
3. Over and Under the Snow by Kate Messner - This lovely book follows a girl and her father as they cross country ski through the woods, learning what animals are doing in winter over and under the snow.
4. It’s Winter by Renee Kurilla - A celebration of the season - this story tells of the fun to be had and joy to be found in winter.
5. The Snow Thief by Alice Hemming - The follow up to The Leaf Thief, this hilarious story follows a squirrel that does not understand the changing of seasons and peppers Bird with many questions.
6. Here Comes Jack Frost by Kazuno Kohara - This is a whimsical story of a lonely boy that meets a new magical friend to keep him company through the winter.
7. Trouble with Trolls by Jan Brett - Follow Treva as she outsmarts five greedy trolls that try to steal her dog, Tuffi, while she travels over the mountain to her cousin’s house on the other side.
8. The Snowflake by Benji Davies - A beautifully illustrated, magical story of a girl wishing for the perfect Christmas tree and a snowflake looking for the perfect place to land.
9. The Snow Fox by Rosemary Shojaie - Nico the fox wakes up one morning to find winter has arrived and all of his friends are asleep. He wonders if anyone in the forest is still awake and ends up making a new friend.
10. Sleep Tight Farm by Eugenie Doyle - Follow a family as they work together to prepare their farm for the winter.
11. The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis and Tudor Humphries - This condensed, illustrated version of the The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe makes the perfect introduction to the classic story for younger readers.
12. Winter Sleep by Sean Taylor and Alex Morss - Come along with a child and his grandma through the woods as she teaches him where all of the insects and animals have disappeared for the winter.
13. The Mitten by Jan Brett - Based on a Ukrainian folk tale, find out what happens when many animals try to all squeeze into the same mitten to keep warm.
14. Little Fox in the Snow by Jonathan London - Follow a young red fox through its day of hunting and exploring in a snowy winter landscape.
15. The Snow Lion by Jim Helmore and Richard Jones - A young girl moves to a new home and is too shy to make new friends. She instead befriends an imaginary snow lion that gives her the courage to make real friends.
16. The Three Snow Bears by Jan Brett - A snowy twist on the classic tale of Golidlocks and the Three Bears. Find out what happens when Aloo-ki’s dog sled team floats out to sea on an ice block and she stumbles upon an unoccupied igloo.
17. Extra Yarn by Mac Barnett - A cozy story of a girl with a box of magical never-ending yarn.
18. Seeking an Aurora by Elizabeth Pufford - A father and son take a nighttime adventure to the top of a hill to see the aurora.
19. The Storm Whale in Winter by Benji Davies - A boy who once saved a whale finds himself now being saved by the same whale during a big winter storm.
20. Sneezy the Snowman by Maureen Wright - This rhyming, repetitive story of a snowman that keeps melting after encountering things that are hot will have your little ones laughing and reading along.
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