Snowy Books to Snuggle Under the Covers With...

In South Carolina, we don't get much snow. In fact, I haven't seen snow in my town for three years straight!

What kid doesn't want snow in the winter? My kids always hope for a white Christmas even though they know the chance is almost zero. (It did happen once since we have lived here, so I can't say it will never happen.) If I want to see snow, my best option is to open one of these books. It is a guaranteed way to build a snowman right in my living room.

So place an order on Amazon, grab a blanket and read one of these snowy stories today.

Award Winning Snow Books

1. White Snow Bright Snow -1948 Caldecott Medal Winner This is one of the oldest books on my list. I remember reading it in my school library. It is a beautiful book about how a town goes about its day when the snow comes.

2. The Big Snow -1949 Caldecott Medal Winner The very next year, the Caldecott Medal went to another snowy story. This time we get to see snow from the perspective of the animals in the woods who are preparing for winter.

3. The Snowy Day -1963 Caldecott Medal Winner This was another childhood favorite of mine. I loved the way Ezra Jack Keats made his illustrations with the collage of torn paper and patterned fabrics. I still love sharing this story with my kids today.

4. Owl Moon -1988 Caldecott Medal Winner The year I did my student teaching, I was introduced to this story. The school where I was teaching took an annual field trip for 3rd graders to a local state park. We spent the entire day and stayed through the evening long enough to take our own owl hike. To prepare the kids, we read this story to them. I will never forget their faces when we saw two owls fly into the clearing and call back and forth with our guide. *

5. Snowflake Bentley -1999 Caldecott Medal Winner This is an amazing true story of the man who became famous for photographing snowflakes. If you don't know about him and his photography, you need to read this book today!

Snowman Stories

1. The Snowman - My mother purchased this book along with a plush snowman for my oldest son when he was a preschooler. This is a simple book with no words, only illustrations. My son loved to make up his own stories to go along with the pictures.

2. Snowmen at Night - What child doesn't wonder what his snowman does at night while he is sleeping? This is a beautiful book that explains it all. I fell in love the snowmen from the illustrations in this story.

3. Snowman Magic - A young boy who is stuck at home on a snow day creates a magical friend to help him pass the time. The illustrations really make this snowman come to life.

4. Sneezy the Snowman - This is probably my favorite snowman book. A look at what happens when a snowman has a cold. How can you warm him up without letting him melt? *

5. How to Catch a Snowman - I love the books in the "How to Catch..." story line. If you haven't read one yet, you should grab this one. A group of kids creates all kinds of crazy traps to try and catch a magical snowman. *

Jan Brett Winter Stories

Jan Brett had to have her own category given how many beautiful, winter picture books she has created. If you have never read one of her books, you need to run out and get one today! Make sure you spend time searching the details of the illustrations at the edge of the pages.

1. Trouble with Trolls - This is one of my favorite books by Brett. It tells the story of a young girl going across the mountain to visit her family. Along the way she is attacked by a family of trolls. Read along to see how she escapes and outsmarts the trolls. *

2. The Snowy Nap - I am a sucker for a story about hedgehogs. This delightful tale is about a hedgehog who doesn't want to hibernate because he is afraid that he will miss all the fun of winter.

3. Three Snow Bears - I love books that give a new spin on an old favorite. This one is of course a winter version of Goldilocks and the Three Bears.

4. The Mitten - What will happen when some forest animals find a mitten lost in the snow? In this adorable book, the animals all try to climb inside to get cozy warm. This is a classic Ukrainian folk tale that Brett has retold using her beautiful illustrations. *

5. Cozy - I'll admit at the point of writing this, I have yet to get my copy of this book. Blame it on the slow shipping of 2020. But I am listing it here because I am sure it will be just as wonderful as Brett's other works. I wanted to make sure you knew about it. It is the story of some Alaskan animals trying to stay warm in a young musk ox's fur coat.

Miscellaneous Winter Stories

1. Ten Ways to Hear Snow - I just purchased this book for myself. Lina is going to visit her grandmother to make warat enab but a blizzard has covered the town in snow. As Lina walks to her grandmother's home, she finds different ways to hear the snow. If you like onomatopoeias as much as I do, you'll love this one. *

2. How to Catch a Yeti - This is from the same creators as the How to Catch a Snowman story I listed above. Ot seems like yetis are the new popular thing in movies and literature lately. This book does not fail. It is probably my newest favorite book in this series. *

3. The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe - If you have older kids who are looking to read a chapter book, this is a classic. In Narnia, the White Witch has made it "always winter, but never Christmas". My own son just finished reading it with his 4th-6th grade book club at our co-op. The kids loved it. *

4. Goodbye Autumn, Hello Winter - This is one of a series of books based on the changing seasons. I love the way the children go out to say goodbye to things that they will miss as winter arrives. But soon they are finding winter things to greet. *

5. Share Some Kindness, Bring Some Light - I found this book last year. It is a wonderful story about a girl and a bear who learn that kindness is more important than physical presents when it comes to making friends. *

* If you would like to find some activities to go along with these books, check out my winter literature units on my Teachers Pay Teachers store.

Bonus - If you have younger children, you should check out this cute book, The First Day of Winter. It follows the pattern of the Christmas carol, The Twelve Days of Christmas. As the story goes along, the main character collects the things he needs to build a snowman.

You can download this FREE literature unit to go along with this book by clicking on the image.

What is your favorite snowy book to read?

Place your answers in the comments.