Winter Books for Your Kid's Bookshelf

Making the transition from Christmas to Winter can be a little sad, but it definitely doesn't have to be that way!

Transitioning your kiddo's bookshelf from Christmas books to Winter books is a special way that you can keep your home warm and cozy during the start of the new year. It also helps you teach important topics like hibernation, weather (how do clouds make snow?), and the change of seasons.

There are a lot of great books out there, but sometimes it can feel like finding a needle in a haystack. Don't you worry, I've done the work for you! As an avid reader and lover of winter, I consider it my civic duty to provide you with the best Winter Books for kids. In this post, I'm sharing my favorite winter books along with a brief description and personal rating.

If you're interested in growing your library, don't worry, I have you covered. HERE is the link to shop all of the books I'm about to cover, but I will also encourage you to shop from a second hand bookstore if you're able. There's just something so special about having a book that's not in perfect condition and has been loved well by another family.

Alright, let's get to the good part! Let's talk books!

WINTER BOOKS FOR YOUR KID'S BOOKSHELF

Over and Under the Snow: This is one of my favorite books and there's actually a bunch of books like this in the series that we cover in other seasons etc. It starts with a dad and his daughter skiing through the forest and talking about the hidden world under the snow. It depicts lots of different types of animals living underground during the winter and briefly touches on hibernation. I rate this a 10/10 and it will always be my first recommendation for winter.

Shh! Bears Sleeping: Join a small bear family as they end the season of spring and step into the hibernation in winter. The illustrations on this one are beautiful and the story helps your kids to better understand what hibernation is and what it looks like. We follow the bears through their hibernation and then as they wake up again in the spring, hungry and ready to get out of their cave. It's a great book and one I recommend often which means it's earned a personal rating of 9/10.

The Hat: I personally LOVE Jan Brett books and they will always have a home on our bookshelf. Her illustrations are stunning and there's so much intricate detail on every single page. This story is just as sweet and it really draws you in as a little hedgehog finds a wool hat in the forest. The hat blew off a clothesline from a nearby home and as the hedgehog walks around wearing the hat, it encourages other animals from the farm to grab something from the clothesline to wear. This deserves a 10/10.

The Mitten: Again, another great book by Jan Brett! The illustrations are very similar to the one I mentioned above, but the story is a little different. In this story, a mitten is lost in the woods and a bunch of the forest animals take turns trying to fit inside the mitten in order to stay warm from the snow. The mitten stretches to fit all of the animals until it can stretch no more. Another great book with a score of 10/10.

10 Ways to Hear Snow: This book is layered and woven with a lot of perspectives and lessons. It starts with a young girl who wakes up one morning to find that it's silently snowing outside. As her family makes their way through the snow to her grandmother's house, she begins to look at the scenery with new eyes as she listens for new ways to hear snow-- the crunch under boots, someone shoveling, skis, stomping, melting icicles, etc. It's a really beautiful book and will encourage your kiddos to think about all of the ways they hear snow. We like this one and give it an 8/10.

It's Snowing!: I can't tell you how this book came to be in our possession, but I'm glad it did because we absolutely love it. This book is a great way to teach your kids about the weather aspect of winter, including how clouds make snow, what snowflakes look like, how they're made differently, how snow falls in different ways, how much fun snow can be, and so on. This book holds a lot of really great information for kids and the illustrations really help guide the story. We give it a 10/10!

Wild Weather: This is a fascinating book with a bunch of interactive flaps for kids to lift and read. It's not winter specific, but more so weather specific. It covers all the different extremes of weather including tornados, hurricanes, dry/desert weather, snow storms, and more. The snow page specifically is really great and shows how snow is created and what it looks like when parts of our world experience big snow storms. This is a book that can grow with your kids and sit on your shelf for a long time and because of the longevity of it, I rate it 10/10.

Snowman Magic: This adorable book reminds me of the nostalgic Campbell's winter soup commercial where the little boy comes inside as a snowman and warms up as he eats the soup. It starts with a little boy waking up to see that it's a snow day and then follows him on his journey to go play in the snow and create a special snowman friend to play with during the day. It's super cute and we give it an 8/10.

Winter in the Forest (Flap Board Book): This is a really cute book and is definitely geared more towards young readers seeing as it's board book. However, our boys have loved it well up until 3-3.5 years of age. The illustrations are whimsy and very cute as they follow the story of looking through the forest in the winter. It talks about what certain animals do in the snow and how they live during the winter. I love this book, it's short, sweet, and to the point!

The Snowy Day: This is a well known book (and TV series!) and if you haven't heard about it, I would be shocked. It's a very sweet, simple story of a little boy who wakes up to see that it's snowing and then invites his friend from down the hall to go out and play. The story follows them as they play in the snow and explore all there is to do in the winter wonderland before returning home for a good night's sleep. They wake up the next day to see more snow has fallen, inviting them to come back out and explore. We enjoy this one and rate it a 9/10.

A Tree for All Seasons: This is another book that isn't winter specific, but more so weather and seasonal specific. I will always recommend this book because it's just so good and for whatever reason, it keeps kids really engaged. This one was super popular when I worked in the preschool and now the same holds true in our home, our boys love it! Instead of illustrations, the pictures are actual photographs from National Geographic and it takes you through the life of a tree during different seasons. I love the winter pages as they talk about what happens to the tree, animals, and bugs during the winter. This is a solid 10/10.

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I hope this gives you a solid place to start as you create an intentional book nook for your kiddos this Winter. Doing this for my kids is one of my favorite things and it's also really nice to be able to switch out the books as needed.

The Importance of Switching Out Books

Whether you have a seasonal shelf in your playroom or in each of your kid's rooms, there are SO many benefits to switching out your books with the changing seasons. First of all, it helps your kids to have a better understanding of the structure of the year and the different things you get to do or experience within that time. Second of all, it really helps to keep your books fresh and lively versus reading the same books all of the time.

How We Store Our Seasonal Books

I have a bunch of small buckets (which I'll link HERE) that house our seasonal books and I store them in our game closet, but you could also store them in the garage. I have a bucket for each big season or holiday- Spring, Easter, Summer, Fall, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and so on. I store everything I need for the seasonal shelf in the bucket and each bucket is labeled so it's easy to find. You could also use large ziplock bags depending on how many books you have (you don't need a lot of books in order for this to feel special).

When it Comes to Buying Books

Let's state the obvious- books can be really expensive. That's why I always try to link new books that are $10 or less (when or where I can) because I know how crazy expensive it can be. This is also why I encourage you to shop at a used bookstore or consignment sale when possible! Many of our books are not new and have been purchased second hand, so don't forget to look for seasonal books the next time you go thrifting! Sometimes you can find them for as low as $1 each.

Setting Up the Book Nook

Our current Book Nook is located on a wall in our playroom. It was super easy to put together, but I also want you to know that it didn't start out this way. Our seasonal books started out as a simple basket in the boy's room with the right books for the season or holiday. As they got older and we moved to a new house, I decided to make a more permanent space which is where we are today.

I found the baskets on Amazon and this was probably the most important part because you want to make sure you're finding baskets that are sturdy enough to hold a lot of books. The baskets I use and would recommend are linked with the books and come in a set of four.

Once I have those in place, I add a few simple things to make it a little more festive. A seasonal banner, from the one and only Hunny Prints, hangs above the books and I usually try to add another element for the season like a garland, etc.

This is a super easy thing you can do to magnify the magic of each holiday or season and once you fall into a routine, it may just become your new favorite thing. As always, if you have any questions, please don't hesitate to reach out to me.

Stay tuned because I'll be sharing our Valentine Book Nook next and you don't want to miss it! Thanks for stopping by and I'll see ya again real soon.

SB