Winter Books
Sometimes you just need a book to last you all winter long - no holidays attached. Here are a few of our favorites to get you started. Well, as long as you don't live in Buffalo. We may need some more books.
Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats
We have this in the board book version but I've also read it to my kindergarten students in a regular picture book. Either way, you can't go wrong with Snowy Day for your winter. Peter sets off on a winter adventure through his neighborhood and makes tracks in the snow, knocks some snow off a tree with a stick, and even builds a snowman. This was basically Oscar's primer on what it means to have winter and we've enjoyed checking off all the things Peter does in this book.
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We made a snowman! Welcome to Buffalo! |
Snowflake Bentley by Jaqueline Briggs Martin, illustrated by Mary Azarian
Wilson Bentley grew up in Vermont and was fascinated by two important things: photography and snow. This lead to his lifelong passion of photographing snowflakes. In fact, he was the first person to do so! Martin's story is a narrative of his life and what led him to noticing that no two snowflakes are the same. The side bars of the pages give all the important biographical information you might want to know. The cherry on the cake are this gorgeous story. Azarian used wood cutouts and hand painted them. It's no wonder the book won the Caldecott in 1999 for the illustrations.
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Some of Snowflake Bentley's photographs |
The Mitten by Jan Brett
After my Christmas post with Jan Brett's The Gingerbread Baby, someone commented that they also loved The Mitten. Of course! In classic Jan Brett style, her illustrations include gorgeous sidebars that tell parts of the story not necessarily included in the woods. The Mitten is a retelling of a traditional Ukrainian folktale. A little boy drops a mitten while he is out in the snow. One by one, animals try to wiggle their way into the mitten. For your younger readers their brains will love the silliness and the sequencing of the story, something they will definitely act out on their own later.
Little Penguins by Cynthia Rylant, illustrated by Christian Robinson
I read this book last year with my kindergarten students when we did an illustrator study of Christian Robinson's books. Little Penguins is the story of five little penguins getting ready to head out into the snow. Here's what makes this book awesome for your little kiddos. First, there aren't that many words on the pages. For my toddler, that can be the best magic ever. Second, there's the reinforcement of what your little ones need to go outside. It can be a battle to get the mittens, hats, scarves on Oscar. But if he sees five little penguins doing it? Well, then he exclaims, "Just like me!" and is super excited to do something the same as the penguins. Also, for the children's lit experts, can you beat a Cynthia Rylant/Christian Robinson combo? Nope.
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