Reading

Get Cozy With Winter Books

Winter days, especially snowy days, are great times to cuddle up in bed or on the couch under a blanket to read some wonderful books.  Here are some favorite winter books to read with your child: 

Carl’s Snowy Afternoon (Alexandra Day):  The wordless adventures of a baby and her dog through their town on a snowy day. 

Froggy Gets Dressed (Jonathan London):  A favorite character is called back in the house to put on appropriate clothing for the snow.   

Little Critter: Just a Snowy Day (Mercer Mayer):  A favorite author shows one of our favorite character’s activities on a snowy day. 

The Mitten and The Hat (Jan Brett): Two wonderful books that tell stories about animals in the snow.  The beautiful illustrations include insights into what will come next.   

The Missing Mitten Mystery (Steven Kellogg):  After a day in the snow, a little girl and her dog retrace their activities looking for her missing mitten and imagining what animals could be using it for. 

Owl Moon (Jane Yolen):  The beautiful story of a little girl and her father going out owling on a snowy night.

Snow (Roy McKie): A beginner book written in Dr. Seuss-style showing fun things to do in the snow like snowball fighting, skiing, fort-building, and snowman-making.

Snow (Uri Shulevitz): A book with minimal words that shows a boy and his dog walking through a city transformed by a snowfall in spite of others predicting that the snowfall would not amount to anything.  

Snow Bugs (David A. Carter):  A fun pop-up book showing a variety of bugs taking part in winter activities. 

Snowballs (Lois Ehlert): A simplistic story of snow family made out of various objects which is a great way for children to see how various objects can be used creatively. 

The Snowman (Raymond Briggs): A wordless story of a boy’s adventures with a snowman who comes to life.  There are various versions to choose from along with a magical, almost wordless movie.  

Snowman’s Story (Will Hillenbrand): A wordless book that shows the adventures of a snowman which  enables children to describe the pictures, pick out key points, read facial expressions, make predictions, etc.

Snow Sounds: An Onomatopoeic Story (David A. Johnson): A beautifully illustrated story told through the pictures and sounds of a snowy night.

The Snowy Day (Ezra Jack Keats):  A classic book with simplistic drawings illustrating a child’s wonder on a snowy day.

Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening (Robert Frost):  A beautiful illustration of a well-known poem.

Tacky and the Winter Games (Helen Lester): A great book to read during a year with winter Olympics!  

Carol A. Walck, M.S., CCC-SLP

 

 

 

Our Favorite Holiday Books

Reading aloud to your child is a great way to spend time together, enjoy stories, provide a launching point for discussions, learn about the world, other people, perspectives of others, be exposed to new vocabulary in a natural context, be exposed to grammatical forms, etc. There are so many wonderful holiday books to choose from that we thought we would share some of our favorites.  Enjoy!

The 12 Bugs of Christmas, Jingle Bugs by David A. Carter (2 pop-up books by a favorite author/illustrator)

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens                                             

Baby’s First Christmas by Tomie DePaola (A board book)

Babushka: A Christmas Tale by Dawn Casey

The Bears’ Christmas by Stan and Jan Berenstain

Can You See What I See? By Walter Wick (various versions)

Carl’s Christmas by Alexandra Day (A wordless book) 

Christmas Around the World: A Pop-Up Book by Chuck Fischer (The text is for older students, middle school and above)

Clifford’s Christmas, Clifford’s First Christmas by Norman Bridwell

Harold and the North Pole by Crockett Johnson (Harold draws his way to the North Pole and back home again)

How the Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr. Seuss

If You Take a Mouse to the Movies by Laura Numeroff and Felicia Bond 

I Spy Christmas by Jean Marzollo and Walter Wick (various versions)

Letters From Father Christmas by J.R.R. Tolkien 

Little Tree by e.e. cumings

Madeline’s Christmas by Ludwig Bemelmans 

Marguerite’s Christmas by India Desjardins (melancholy, but good for perspective-taking)

Merry Christmas, Big Hungry Bear! By Don and Audrey Wood

Merry Christmas Mom and Dad (Little Critter) by Mercer Mayer

Merry Christmas, Strega Nona by Tomie de Paola

Mr. Willowby’s Christmas Tree by Robert Barry

National Geographic Kids: Weird but True! Christmas (300 facts about Christmas throughout the world)

The Night Before Christmas by Clement C. Moore (and various illustrators)

Oskar and the Eight Blessings by Tanya Simon and Richard Simon

Pete the Cat Saves Christmas by James Dean and Eric Litwin 

Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg

The Red Wings of Christmas by Wesley Eure (chapter book for preteens)

Snowballs by Lois Ehlert

The Snowman by Raymond Briggs (Various versions including a wordless version)

Spot’s Christmas, Spot’s First Christmas by Eric Hill

Wild Christmas Reindeer, Home for Christmas, Christmas Trolls, by Jan Brett (Jan Brett’s books typically have pictures on each page to give an idea of what is coming next)

Carol Walck, MS, CCC-SLP