I’m totally a summer girl at heart! But… when it comes to classroom themes, winter is one of my favorites! I love anything and everything that has to do with mittens, snowmen, hot chocolate, winter weather… I love it all! So, of course, I have a list of my favorite books about winter! Here are my top 10 with a short little description of each! (To grab your own copy, just click on the book titles!
[amazon_textlink asin=’0140501827′ text=’The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats’ template=’ProductLink’ store=’mrsasroom-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’1527b680-0466-11e9-b21f-974370d37ba3′]
This book has been around forever, but I absolutely love it! It tells all about a boy named Peter and his adventures on a snowy day. The story and pictures are super simple, but they also open the door to SO many teaching opportunities! Predicting, inferring, retelling, vocabulary, science, movement, opposites… I could go on and on! Just do yourself a favor and get this book if you don’t already have it!
[amazon_textlink asin=’0153524855′ text=’Snowmen at Night by Caralyn Buehner’ template=’ProductLink’ store=’mrsasroom-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’1f1efb87-0466-11e9-beaa-358970c2ba5e’]
I love Snowmen at Night because it’s so creative and playful! It describes all the things that snowmen do at night when all the people are sleeping. It gives your kiddos the opportunity to use their imaginations right along with the author! Plus, it’s a rhyming book! You can never have enough rhyming books! I’ve got a writing freebie in my TPT store that goes with this book! You can go grab a copy HERE!
[amazon_textlink asin=’0439567033′ text=’There Was a Cold Lady Who Swallowed Some Snow by Lucille Colandro’ template=’ProductLink’ store=’mrsasroom-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’2928b679-0466-11e9-8669-c59056bd8eca’]
I love all of the Old Lady books! They are fashioned after the classic, “There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly.” As you go through the book, the old lady keeps eating different things, and the list of what she’s eaten continues to build. But in these books, all of those things come together at the end to make something. They are so much fun, and the kiddos get SO excited trying to figure out what the final result of her crazy eating will be! This one happens to end with a snowman!
[amazon_textlink asin=’1477810544′ text=’Sneezy the Snowman by Maureen Wright’ template=’ProductLink’ store=’mrsasroom-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’30b16c3d-0466-11e9-9889-9faf6a2b5c96′]
Sneezy is an adorable character that I fell in love with the first time I read this book! He is cold and shivering, and enlists the help of some kids to help him. Each attempt to warn him up goes just a little too far, and he melts! So, they build him again and try again! At then end of the story, they do finally get it figured out!
[amazon_textlink asin=’0399231099′ text=’The Mitten by Jan Brett’ template=’ProductLink’ store=’mrsasroom-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’39aa54c9-0466-11e9-bc14-934603842b36′]
This is another classic that should be a staple in any early childhood classroom! Actually, I love all things Jan Brett! In this cute story, Nikki drops a mitten in the snow, and series of animals that progressively get larger climb into it to keep warm. But, it’s a little tiny mouse that causes the bear to sneeze and makes the mitten pop! This is another one that so easily opens the door to a ton of teaching opportunities! I’ve got a set of word cards that go with this story in my TPT store! They are great to use in a writing center or as a sequencing activity! You can get your set HERE!
[amazon_textlink asin=’0688045871′ text=’The Jacket I Wear in the Snow by Shirley Neitzel’ template=’ProductLink’ store=’mrsasroom-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’41413ae2-0466-11e9-a46f-43b62752b945′]
This fun story follows the same pattern at the classic, The House That Jack Built. It goes one by one through all the different things you might have to wear if you’re going to play in the snow. Each page adds to the one before it, so by the end you are reading all the items in the book. The repetitive set up and rhyming pattern will make it easy for your kiddos to chime in and read with you. And, they will love to do just that!
[amazon_textlink asin=’0152020950′ text=’Snowballs by Lois Ehlert’ template=’ProductLink’ store=’mrsasroom-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’4dbf78df-0466-11e9-b39c-9d076f4b46c3′]
Lois Ehlert is another favorite author of mine! This book leads you through building snowmen of all different types and sizes. The illustrations are all amazing photographs that will get your kiddos instantly engaged! Plus, after the first couple of pages, the direction of the text changes, and you have to turn the book on its end to keep reading!
[amazon_textlink asin=’1416902724′ text=’Bear Snores On by Karma Wilson’ template=’ProductLink’ store=’mrsasroom-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’5665fba7-0466-11e9-9a22-fdb5b35627f9′]
This bear is another one of my very favorites! Bear is hibernating, and even though several different animals come into his cave making different noises, he just keeps sleeping! What I really love about this series of books is the rich vocabulary! The pages are full of words like damp, wee, scuttles, slumbering, and blubbers. The kiddos love learning these big words as replacements for the simpler ones they already know!
[amazon_textlink asin=’0152061150′ text=’All You Need for a Snowman by Barbara Lavallee’ template=’ProductLink’ store=’mrsasroom-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’5f69b860-0466-11e9-9a3c-ff09096d1478′]
This fun story lists out things you need for a snowman. It starts off with one small snowflake. That’s all you need for a snowman. EXCEPT… Then you turn the page and it tells you something else you need. The fun cliff hangers will get your kiddos begging you to turn the page so they can see what’s next!
[amazon_textlink asin=’0399231013′ text=’The Hat by Jan Brett’ template=’ProductLink’ store=’mrsasroom-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’679c69e5-0466-11e9-bfb7-6b6a82c35b0e’]
OK… I know I already have a Jan Brett book on my list. But, no list of books about winter is complete without including this one! It has the same amazing style of illustrations as The Mitten does. But, in this book, Lisa loses a sock. The hedgehog gets it stuck on his head. All the other animals laugh at him and his new “hat.” But, he can’t get it off, so he goes off to be alone. Finally, Lisa finds him and takes the sock off his head. But, the best part is when all the animals who had been laughing at him before end up wearing different things on their head because they want to have hats too!
I feel like I could keep listing books all day, but those are the 10 that are my absolute faves! If you’re planning your winter themes, you should definitely go check out my other posts about winter activities!
You also might want to check out these fun busy boxes and circle time games that I’ve got in my TPT store!
I’d love to hear what winter books are your favorites! I might even update my list if you introduce me to a new one that I fall in love with!
Happy Teaching!
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