30 Winter Read-Aloud Books

Winter is the perfect time to snuggle up on the couch and dive deep into a good book with the kids. Here is a comprehensive list of winter read-aloud books to entertain, educate, and inform your children today. From picture books to chapter books, this list of winter read-aloud books will make you feel like a kid all over again. Even if you do not live in an area that receives a large amount of snowfall, your children can live vicariously through the characters within these pages. With classic authors such as Jan Brett, Steven Kellog, and Arnold Lobel, you will get lost in the wonder of the season in these books. Looking at this list makes me want to revisit my childhood days growing up in Upstate New York. Snow days home from school filled with sledding, ice skating, and igloo making. These activities were not just what stories were made of; they were reality! When the snow was so deep that the plows couldn’t make it down the road and icicles were glistening among the treetops, we truly would crowd around the radio or television set to hear if school was canceled. Some days our district would disappoint us, requiring us to come in regardless of ice, snow, or sleet. Other days were filled with pure joy. Days of snow, snow, and more snow. Kids love snow and the anticipation of it. Be sure to grab some of these books and take your children on a snow-filled winter journey regardless of the weather outdoors!

1. The Long Winter by Laura Ingalls Wilder

2. Winter on the Farm: My First Little House Books by Laura Ingalls Wilder

3. Winter Days in the Big Woods: My First Little House Books by Laura Ingalls Wilder

4. Little Penguins by Cynthia Rylant

5. First Snow by Bomi Park

6. When the Snow Falls by Linda Booth Sweeney

7. The Snowbear by Sean Taylor

8. Mice Skating by Annie Silvestro

9. Claudia and Moth by Jennifer Hanson Roli

10. Shelter by Celine Claire

11. Blizzard by John Rocco

12. Sleep Tight Farm: A Farm Prepares for Winter by Eugenie Doyle

13. Over and Under the Snow by Kate Messner

14. The Missing Mitten Mystery by Steven Kellog

15. Before Morning by Joyce Sidman

16. Owl Moon by Jane Yolen

17. Brave Irene by William Steig

18. The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats

19. It’s Snowing! by Gail Gibbons

20. Winter Pony by Jean Slaughter Doty

21. The Three Snow Bears by Jan Brett

22. Snowflake Bentley by Jaqueline Briggs Martin

23. The Mitten by Jan Brett

24. Sneezy the Snowman by Maureen Wright

25. Elsie’s Winter Trip by Martha Finley

26. There Was a Cold Lady Who Swallowed Some Snow by Lucille Colandro

27. Snowmen at Night by Caralyn Buehner

28. Curious George in the Snow by Margret and H.A. Rey

29. Frog and Toad All Year by Arnold Lobel

30. An Orange in January by Dianna Hutts Aston

If you are looking for good, quality winter read-alouds, this list is perfect for the homeschooling family. Most of the books found in this list are picture books with a few chapter books sprinkled in. Pick and choose a dozen from your favorite authors or ones with titles that jump out at you. If you have little ones with older siblings, have older siblings do a few activities based on each book. No siblings? No problem! Work on these activities together for some family bonding time with mom and dad. Here are some ideas to get you started.

• Find a recipe online that would pair well with the book.
• Pick your favorite page and recreate it with watercolors or markers on a canvas.
• Create an acrostic poem based on the main character’s name.
• Create an alternate ending to the story.
• Act out the story.
• Create a diorama based on your favorite scene.
• Pick your favorite line of the story and write it out in calligraphy.
• Write a letter to the main character with advice on how to solve a problem in the story.
• Read the book again, changing out the names with your family members’ names.
• Write a sequel to the story.

Adding these activities to your winter read-aloud makes it a well-rounded experience. Add them in and make it a unit study. Block out a full week, or even two, to dedicate to a single book. Sit back, relax, and enjoy the winter months with your kids. Stretch each book out, reading them several days in the week while adding these activities. When you find the right book, kids will ask you to read it over and over. When that happens, you will now be prepared!