Surviving the cold winter months with small children can feel exhausting and stressful. Our children have little bodies that want to move, get outside, and crave adventure. It can feel like we’re at war with them for an entire season when we spend much of it inside due to chilly temps, snow and ice. I love to be outside with my kids for several hours each day, but when weather dictates that we can’t do that, I embrace cozy winter picture books to keep everyone calm, happy, engaged and connected! Keep reading to find out out how we utilize this habit during the winter months and what books we absolutely love during winter!
Table of Contents
- Reasons to snuggle up and read through winter
- Keeping little hands busy during a read aloud
- The best winter picture books recommendations
Reasons to Snuggle Up and Read Through Winter
- Reading aloud with your children promotes connection and bonding
- Reading aloud builds empathy and the ability to understand others’ feelings
- Reading aloud gives your children something to focus on when they are not properly regulated from lack of movement options available indoors – they might not be able to run and jump at the present moment, and something else to focus on can bring their behavior back to calm
- Reading aloud helps your children feel a sense of adventure, even when they are unable to strike out on one themselves
- Reading aloud can ease transitions that might otherwise be difficult – when it’s time to take down the blanket fort they’ve had up all day, pause and read a few books in it beforehand and see how this helps them clean it up with less fuss
Keeping Little Hands Busy While Reading the Best Winter Books for Kids
- Bring out the legos, magnet tiles or other building toys and let them build quietly
- Read while they eat a snack or meal
- Let older children finger knit, crochet or knit
- Provide crayons and paper and let them color or draw as they listen
- Have older children fold laundry while you read – bonus, a chore is getting done too!
- Offer your children play doh or kinetic sand and a few tools to play with as you read
The Best Winter Picture Books For Kids
Snow by P.D. Eastman – This book is an excellent choice for a winter themed book for a younger reader to practice new reading skills.
Snow Birds by Kirsten Hall – a sweet collection of little poems about birds you often see in winter
A Day So Gray by Marie Lamba – a delightful little tale of two friends who see winter differently
Bear Snores On by Karma Wilson – a fun winter picture book about friends trying to wake a hibernating bear
Counting Winter by Nancy White Carlstrom – a winter themed counting book – wonderful for pre-schoolers!
Winter is Here by Kevin Henkes – a beautifully descriptive picture book about many aspects of winter
Ten Ways to Hear Snow by Cathy Camper – a lovely book about things you may hear on a snowy day
Blizzard by John Rocco – a very fun story about a boy helping his family and neighbors during a blizzard
White Snow Bright Snow by Alvin Tresselt – a story about the coming and going of a winter snow from different perspectives
The Snowy Nap by Jan Brett – a sweet story of a little hedgehog who tries to stay awake to see winter and the little girl who saves him
Winter Sleep by Sean Taylor – a story of a grandmother and grandson exploring outdoors and discussing hibernation, the end of the book shares facts about many hibernating animals
The Mitten by Jan Brett – a child looses a mitten and many animals burrow into it for warmth
The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats – a sweet little tale of a young boy enjoying a snow day
The Hat by Jan Brett – a curious hedgehog and all his friends borrow a little girl’s woolens for hats
The Three Snow Bears by Jan Brett – a winter rendition of a Goldilocks and the Three Bears story
During winter we also love to snuggle up with Valentine’s Day themed books – check out our Valentine’s Day Traditions post for a short list of our favorites!
Which books are you interested in adding to your collection or checking out from your local library?
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