Wintry Weather Favorites

{Aw, thanks. You are very sweet. I really appreciate your kind words about our little calendar. We had such fun putting it together...and after a little break from my scanner (or perhaps a scanning lesson for Calvin), I can't wait to see what project we begin next!}   

So...we've had some serious snow around these parts.The word is that this is the most snow we've had this early in the season in something like 40 years. The kids are beside themselves with glee at the outdoor play land we've got going on: cross country skiing, skating, sledding, snowshoeing, and generally rolling around in the powder...and Steve and Calvin are downright giddy about hitting the mountains for some downhill action this year too.For now, and for the most part - I'm rather enjoying all the snow. It's beautiful out there!  And inside is the pleasure of January nesting - we're getting in some serious couch time; drinking lots of cocoa and tea; playing more Animal Yahtzee than I ever thought possible; making lots of everything; and doing lots of reading. The couch and quilts and a pile of books are where it's at right now. In that light, I thought I'd put together a reading list of our favorite books from our Winter basket, and perhaps share a new list as each season begins this year.

Our Favorite Wintry Reads!

(A few that made their way onto the holiday list I did in November that really apply here too: Owl Moon - Jane Yolen; Snow - Uri Shulevitz; The Big Snow - Berta and Elmer Hader; The Story of the Snow Children - Sibylle Von Olfers; Winter - Gerda Muller )

And the rest...

Snowflake Bentley - Jacqueline Briggs Martin
I love this story - I love finding children's books that tell the true story of people following their passions. This story tells the tale of Wilson Bentley, the snowflake guy! This book usually inspired a great flood of snowflake making in this house, which I feel coming on pretty soon. Gotta stock up on my coffee filters. I keep adding Snow Crystals - one of Bentley's books - to my wish list, but it hasn't made it's way in yet. Maybe this winter.

Flannel Kisses - Linda Crotta Brennan
This was a recommend from our last book list, and I'm so glad for it. It's a short, sweet, and simple story featuring so many things we love about winter - snow, quilts, soup, family, and coziness.

The Tomten, and The Tomten and The Fox - Astrid Lindgren
Adelaide has a big Tomten thing going on right now - I can't even imagine how many times I've read these books. I adore everything Astrid Lindgren did, but these are really special, sweet stories. And just the right length for my two year old.

Flower Fairies of the Winter - Cicely Mary Barker
I found this book (along with the others in the collection) on a recent clean-out of the basement. I think I had them before the children were born, and I'm so glad I found them at a time when they can be so enjoyed. The poetry is simple and lovely, and of course, her drawings of the fairies and flowers are stunningly beautiful.

Grandmother Winter - Phyllis Root
I bought this book as a holiday gift after being reminded of it on the last book list. I'm so grateful for that reminder - it's such a sweet tale of the origin of winter, and we've been enjoying it's cozy tone.

The Snowy Day - Ezra Jack Keats
One of the few books I remember so fondly from my childhood. And my little ones love it too - of course, being by "Ezra" and all makes it a whole bunch more fascinating around here to my little guy. I love the simplicity of this story - and the 'blanket' of snow that arrives. Sweet, sweet.

Mr. Snow - Roger Hargreaves
I recently rediscovered these Mr. Men and Little Miss books when Edith & Edna started carrying them. Do you remember them? I remember reading them as a child, and my kids are as in love with them as I remember being. Reading them as a parent, there's a fine line between them irritating me and enjoying the simple stories. But these books have insipired a great deal of my kids' book making of their own characters, so for that I do love them.

Winter Waits - Lynn Plourd
I love this series by Lynn Plourd with of nature's 'family' personified through characters in each season. In this book, "Winter" is a playful young boy who sparkles in the snowy winter. This seems to be out on Amazon, but the Author (a fellow Mainer!) has links to purchase on her own website here.

Brambley Hedge Winter Story - Jill Barklem
Oh, the sweet mice of Brambly Hedge...this one tells the tale of them preparing for a magical snow ball. It appears to not be available on Amazon, or anywhere else I can find, though perhaps I'm just confused by the different editions. Maybe the library is the best place to find this tale - I do think it's worth it, espeically for those who are in between the picture book and chapter book stage.

Winter Tree Finder and Winter Weed Finder - Okay, these I don't have yet, but I just ordered them from my bookstore, and I'm really excited to see them. We have a lot of nature field guides, but I don't have any that are geared towards the landscape of winter. So I'm eagerly anticipating their arrival here for some exploring to begin.

Do you have a Wintry Weather favorite I haven't listed? I'd love to hear in the comments!  It's kind of fun to settle into a long book inside, that reflects what's going on outside, isn't it? We think so. And on that note (and in the interest of exercising your scrolling muscles) - this is what it does look like outside here now - taken over the course of a day.

Have a cozy weekend!

Comments

[The Vintage Magpie]

Your photos of the snow are amazing... very jealous here over the pond, not a sign of it yet. Still its very cold, so at least we can be cosy indoors, with noses pressed against the glass, waiting and waiting for the white stuff to fall from the sky! x

[Susanne]

I love when the snow looks like frosting on the tree. We (michigan) have a lot already too. Makes me nervous about what might come with the rest of the winter.

[Amanda]

I read your blog daily but rarely comment. Your book lists, especially, are a joy to read for me because I work in the children's department of our local library. We LOVE to get reading list ideas, especially old favorites that may have been forgotten over the years. Thank you for inspiring our house and our patrons! I'm reserving books right now for our own winter book basket.

[Brian Matschull]

WOW! Love your photo's we don't have half that amount of snow in Utah... my boys would love it. Thanks for the great book list!
Kim

[Jill]

Fabulous! I was just thinking of seasonal book baskets yesterday and wishing there was a list of suggestions I trust somewhere out there. You read my mind. Thank you!

[SierraMoon]

The snow pictures are so beautiful and I love the new banner. We seldom get snow here where I live (Western France) I miss that !
happy weekend to you - enjoy the snow for me ;)

[jean]

wonderful, wonderful books, Amanda. so many favorites there.

[Amanda]

Oh, almost forgot to mention above some of our winter book basket favorites. At our library, we're doing a storytime week on polar bears, penguins and Arctic animals. We love Ice Bear: in the steps of the polar bear by Nicola Davies and Heart of the Arctic: the story of a polar bear family by Deborah Howland. My son loves the My First Little House series adapted from Laura Ingalls Wilder's wonderful books. This season we're reading Winter on the Farm and Sugar Snow. He also loves Snowballs by Lois Ehlert with her cut-paper and object collages. And Winter: An Alphabet Acrostic has become a part of our word game time. I could go on an on since books are one of my greatest loves, but I'll refrain. :)

[dawna]

beautiful shots, amanda! and i particularly like your new header.

[cheryl]

Oh I wish I could devour all those books. No matter what we do the Monster only wants to read the same dozen, over and over again. When does that change?
Thanks for the list, and the photos!

[Anna]

Your snow images are breathtaking! I wish we would get some snow!

[Bethany]

Your photos are beautiful, as always! One of our favorites around here is Katy and the Big Snow by Virginia Lee Burton. Very cute.

[Jen]

I love your pics! I have been a longtime reader, and never leave a comment (I should, your blog is always fantastic and has inspired me and my family)---but these pictures beg for one to be left. They are so gorgeous!

[Lina]

We have serious snow too here in Montreal. It's only my second winter here and it's been a bit of a shocker already!! I'm with you that "embracing" is the only way to deal with it and we're buying skates for the family this weekend!

[lauren]

Beautiful, breathtaking pictures! We are loving the book White Snow, Bright Snow by Alvin Tresselt in our house this winter. I grew up with this classic. My littlest always gets very concerned about the postman who catches a cold!

[Freefalling]

Errrrr - the heat, the heat.
Here I lie - prostrate in front of the air-conditioner watching the cricket on tele - while outside the temperature soars to 106F, and I look at your photos and imagine myself flying through the internet cable half way round the world and plunging into that icy cold snow.
(ps - thought the calendar was extremely cool!)

[Meredith]

Gorgeous pics and lovely banner!! I will check out all your book suggestions. I love seeing what the Soule family is reading together!! Have a great day!!

[rhea]

The Tomten and the Fox is only the COOLEST book ever! My own dad would read that to me and my brother when we were young. I love how there's just a blush of creepiness about the book, probably because it all happens at night. I can still remember the "voices" my Dad would do.

Great pix. It's hard to miss with the snow being so gorgeous and the late afternoon sun doing it's thing. It's been like that here in the Mills, too. We're so lucky to live here.

Thanks for the memories of all those good books and sharing our little corner of the world with others!

[sarah]

gorgeous gorgeous photo's!!! One of my kids favorite books is "winter picnic" By Robert Welber. It's an old book from the 70's I think, but we love it!

[melanie]

Gorgeous pictures - i'm jealous of your pristine snow. Thanks for the book list- old favorites and some new ones to check out.One of my favorites is Katy and the Big Snow by Virginia Lee Burton, about the snow plow who saves the day after the storm.
enjoy your weekend.

[jessica]

what a great resource! we've been examining the snow crystals on our sleeves-- Bentley is a guy we're going to learn all about this winter for sure!

[lindsey]

breathtaking photos, really. thanks for the book list, so very helpful!

[mindy]

snowmen at night, and snowmen at christmas are some of our favorites. my 3 year old loves to find the hidden pictures on each page.

[Jessica K]

Oh my goodness, the snow on the trees is gorgeous. We never get snow down here.
I still have a few of my Mr. Men and Little Miss books that my mom kept. My kids like them, too. The incorrect grammar drives me up the wall though!
One of my favorite authors is Stephen Cosgrove. If you haven't read him, you ought to check him out. I think you'd really like him!

[Steph]

What beautiful photos! Living in an area that doesn't get snow it's a novelty to me.

[Kelly]

those photos are absolutely beautiful - such a gorgeous contrast of bright blue sky and snowy white branches . . .

[Kelli]

Wow, and I thought we had a lot of snow. The midwest got hit about two weeks ago with ice and snow. I too enjoyed the bird calender. We had some geese land in a field behind our house. There were a lot of them. It was strange. I really should have taken a picture of the look on my four year olds face. Have fun in the snow. I

[peanut]

That blue is incredible.

Thanks for sharing your list. I had the Brambly Hedge winter story when I was little (first one I got) and it is still one of my favourites.

[MIJK]

Snow bears by Martin Waddell is this winters absolute favourite here. My 3 year old and my five year old are completely in love with the drawings and the story and I love it too!

[angela]

Your pictures make me homesick (in a good way...is that possible!?). There's no snow here in Spain...
BUT! We're still gonna cuddle on the couch under a blankie this morning, drink hot cocoa and read one our new books from Christmas... Thanks again for the inspiration! I can't wait to get back to the States and go to a library where I can check out books in English! Be assured I will have your lists under my arm when I do! Thank you!

[asti]

Beautiful pics as usual! Still jealous of the snow. We were meant to have about 3 flakes here and everybody got so excited - never materialised though, just wind and rain :( I got Owl Moon for my girls, love it.

[angie]

beautiful photographs

[QALBALLAH]

Thankyou for the sweet comment you left on my blog the other day.

I think your book list just about covers what we have, but I'm noticing that in our Winter section we have waaaaaaay more books than for any other season! I wonder if this is because we just read more over the winter than in warmer months when we are outside?!

Any chance of some spring reads in advance of spring so I can stock up?! So far only have Root Children and Pelles Suit thing.

Snow looks cool. Am jealous.

[Julie]

I love everything on your website! The calendars really caught my attention because I love to do projects initiated by the children. The calendars show such respect for their artwork and thoughts.

Have you seen Barefoot Books? It is a wonderful company that focuses on beautiful stories and illustrations. My website is: www.mybarefootbooks.com/julielaframboise

[Karen]

Delurking from Germany (after months of silent reading), because I just found out that our all-year-favourite-books are available in English too!!! Do you know Lars Klintings books about a little beaver? All five of us (42, 40, 6, almost 5 and 2 1/2) love Kasimir as a Tailor, Painter, Baker, Gardener or Carpenter. In English the beavers name is Harvey or Bruno. Each book includes an instruction of what the beaver is making (apron, mixing colours, cake recipe, all about beans, tool box) - perfect for homeschoolers?!
Our favourite winter books are only printed in German - so I cannot recommend anything from our actual basket...

I LOVE your blog and I am waiting for your book!!!

[Christi]

No suggestions, but I have ordered two from your list - Grandmother Winder & The Big Snow. Love them both! I'd never thought (until your last post about this) about doing seasonal/holiday book baskets, but now I find that a perfect idea.

Thanks, as always for the inspiration!

[Ellie]

Those photographs are soul-achingly tender and glorious and simply beautiful. Thank you, from the other side of the world - where we are in the middle of Summer (rainy and steamy), and we never ever ever (not a chance) get snow at our house.
Also, I love the calendars. A glimmer of a thought of something similar slipped into my mind only last week, and once again your inspiration has pushed me get it into action.

[Lauren]

We love Snowflake Bentley too! It's one of my favorite books for my daughter. I love how you bring the books out for each season. We seem to do that as well, although with a little less organization -- they end up piled by the bed for quick night time (and day time!) reading. Your blog is such an inspiration. Thank you!

[dianne]

My girls are getting older, but we still love Tacks in the Snow by Herbert Wong Yee and When Winter Comes by Susan Van Laan. Of course we can't go without Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening by Robert Frost and Susan Jeffers. Thanks for the list!

[kat]

those photos are simply beautiful. i love the shade of blue northern skies are in winter. we don't get snow here, but if you'd like a photo of my soggy yard (rain storm last night) you just let me know ;-)

[Katherine]

I've gone off on a Brambly Hedge nostalgia trip now! When I was little I had a poster on my wall, wish I still had it. Just had a quick look on Amazon UK as I thought Brambly Hedge was still popular here (it was a tv series a few years ago) but most of the books are from third party sellers. If you can get hold of The Secret Staircase, it's a gorgeous book about midwinter celebrations and I'm sure would be much loved. There's also a really sweet website that I think I'm going to get lost in for a while - www.bramblyhedge.co.uk, lots of recipes and activities.

[bethany]

beautiful pics. i just relocated to upstate ny and i am hating it, we have snow too, but no sun. arghhhh. here's to loving snow...someday.

[mamae]

Seeing your gorgeous snow pictures made me a little homesick. I can vividly remember how fresh it smells, how the cold air feels on your face and how snow sounds under you feet. No snow here in the Amazon basin but I'm hoping that my kids will be able to experience a good Finnish winter next year!

[Tava]

Maybe we should move to your town! So jealous here in Seattle where we sometimes get a dusting- nothing as beautiful as you have there!

[KievMama]

I keep wondering what the temperature is there. Today it's 5°F here in Kiev.

[KievMama]

I keep wondering what the temperature is there. Today it's 5°F here in Kiev.

Oh, and for Christmas I had my 2 year-old on skis, racing down the mountain with a huge grin on her face. She skied 3 hours a day!

[Caroline]

Oh wow! The blue sky is so stunning against your winter wonderland!!

I wanted to add a book for you!! The Mitten, by Jan Brett!!

[amanda]

KievMama - it's warmed up a bit here this weekend - it's 25 degrees F. ! ;-)

[mamae]

I already commented but forgot to suggest a few winter books...

Moominland Midwinter by Tove Janson (you can see what the Moomins are at www.moomin.fi) and Little Mole in Winter by Zdenek Miler. Both are available at Amazon.

[Deirdre]

I want to thank you for recommending Christmas in Noisy Village in that November post. One of our favorite additions:-)

Doubt you don't already know these but other wintry favorites here are Brigg's The Snowman, Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening, P.D. Eastman's Snow (great for new readers), and can't remember if you had The Mitten by Jan Brett.

My boys are praying for snow daily...very envious!