It’s unseasonably warm in Chicago (50 degrees!) right now, but we’re welcoming the season with our favorite cold-weather titles. Snuggle up and enjoy a few, and let us know what you think in the comment section.
Immi’s Gift by Karin Littlewood shows Immi is ice fishing and feeling lonely on the ice alone. One day she pulls up a beautifully colored wooden bird with her pole. She continues to find little colorful treasures while fishing, and decorates her igloo with them, drawing the attention of new friends who visit her often. At the end of the season, she drops her own treasure in the water, later to be discovered by a child living on a colorful island.
A Perfect Day by Carin Berger shows lots of kids enjoying a heavy snow by making tracks, skiing, making snowmen, skating, and so on. At the end of a fun, wintry day, the head home for warm cocoa and hugs. My kids loved reading the names of all the kids and imagining themselves partaking in the activities!
Cold Snap by Eileen Spinelli and illustrated by Marjorie Priceman is the story of Toby Mills, where record-breaking cold temperatures make the townspeople miserable! The colder the temperatures get, the longer the icicle on General Mill’s nose gets, which delighted my kids and the end warms the spirit (and the town!).
Before Morning by Joyce Sidman is absolutely gorgeously illustrated on scratchboard. In it, a kid whose parent is a pilot wishes for snow that will keep her parent’s plane grounded and home for just one more day. It’s sweet and resonant and absolutely visually stunning.
The Tea Party in the Woods by Akiko Miyakoshi is my older kid’s new favorite book. In it, Kiko’s father is bringing food to her grandmother, but forgets the pie. Kiko treks after her father with the pie, accidentally dropping it. When the catches up to him, she follows him to a house she has never seen before, and discovers who she thought was her father is actually a big bear, and the house full of woodland animals gathering for a meal together. They help her to fix the dropped pie, and walk her to her grandmother’s house. The message of kindness and the wonder in the story make it a really wonderful read.
First Snow by Bomi Park is great for my younger kid- no words! In it Park shows a young child awoken by a beautiful snow, and rolls a snowball to a field where lots of children make snowmen. It’s beautiful and simple.