Classics, Nonfiction, and Children's Literature
The Long Winter by Laura Ingalls Wilder (published 1940) is a great tale of endurance and survival for the Ingalls family, pioneers in the brand new city of De Smet in the Dakota territory. During this historic winter, frequent blizzards lasting 3 or 4 days crippled towns and halted railway traffic, which means that De
Just One Flake by Travis Jonker (Abrams, October 2023) is a short and cute picture book featuring one kid who desperately wants to catch a snowflake on his tongue — just one! It’s finally snowing. But catching a snowflake on his tongue turns out to be more difficult than he expected. My daughter was so
Ice Cycle by Maria Gianferrari, illustrated by Jieting Chen (Millbrook Press, 2022) is subtitled “Poems about the Life of Ice,” and I must say that, just as I had never considered the variety of animals living near icebergs, I had never considered varieties of ice on which those animals live! Yes, as Gianferrari shows in
No Two Alike by Keith Baker (Beach Lane Books, 2011) celebrates the uniqueness of winter with gorgeous digital paintings of two birds enjoying nature. The text is rhythmic and rhyming, and provides a gentle framework for the how nothing is completely alike – snowflakes, fences, trees. The ultimate conclusion is that the birds are similar
Lemonade in Winter by Emily Jenkins, illustrated by G. Brian Karas (Schwartz and Wade, 2012) is a clever story to teach about money. A brother and a sister have decided to have a neighborhood lemonade stand, despite the fact that it is the middle of winter and snow covers the ground. Their parents suggest they won’t have
Over and Under the Snow by Kate Messner (Chronicle, 2011) captures the fascinating natural worlds below the snow. As a child cross-country skis with her father, she learns about the animals hiding underneath her feet. In beautiful illustrations, the over and under natural worlds are revealed. Raisin loved finding the mice, bears, bullfrogs, and so forth in
The Big Snuggle-Up by Brian Patten (illustrated by Nicola Bayley; Kane Miller, 2011) is a story of a young child inviting a scarecrow in from the cold on a snowy evening. After the scarecrow comes in, the other animals outside want to come in and get warm too. As the evening settles, a crowd of animals,
Brownie Groundhog and the February Fox by Susan Blackaby and illustrated by Carmen Segovia (Sterling, January 2011) is partly a Groundhog Day book and partly a most unusual story about a groundhog and a fox becoming friends. When Brownie appears on February 2, she’s welcomed by a deep snow. She’s of course bothered by the residual winter,
Perfect Soup by Lisa Moser and illustrated by Ben Mantle (Random House, October 2010) tells the simple story of Murray the mouse that wants to make “perfect soup.” When he finds himself short a carrot, he tries to borrow one from someone else but the farmer wants him to help in order to “earn” the carrot. One thing
Willow and the Snow Day Dance by Denise Brennan-Nelson and illustrated by Cyd Moore (Sleeping Bear Press, November 2010) tells of a bright and pleasant girl who organizes community events to bring people together, including the grouchy Mr. Larch. When Willow dreams about snow, Mr. Larch tells her how to do a snow day dance. When it
I certainly hope there is not snow in the coming 48 hours, but in honor of one last crazy storm this winter-ish season, here’s one more “snow day” book that Raisin and I enjoyed. It’s one that would be fun any time of year. Zoo Flakes ABC by Will Howell is a fabulous ABC art
Snow Day Dance by Will Hubbell (published 2005) is not the most exciting story, but it captures the magic of a realistic snowy world. In the beginning, children watch the snow falling from their classroom in school, all secretly hoping that the snow will cause school to be canceled. Their teacher encourages them, saying that they
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