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You are here: Home / Books for Kids / 15 Best Winter Picture Books

January 11, 2025 by: Laura

15 Best Winter Picture Books

Last Updated on January 11, 2025 by Laura

Fifteen Best Winter Picture Books

Winter is here, bringing frosty mornings, warm coats, and the perfect opportunity to share winter picture books with your students! Whether your students are bundling up for snowy adventures or dreaming of what snow might feel like for the very first time, winter-themed stories are perfect for your January library lessons. So, it’s time to stock up on some fun winter picture books that will captivate your students, no matter the weather outside!

This post contains Amazon affiliate links for your convenience. This means that if you click a link and make a purchase, I may get a small commission at no extra charge to you. Thank you for your support

The Queen of Winter Picture Books

Jan Brettโ€™s detailed and fun picture books are still some of my favorites to celebrate winter in the library and elementary classroom. Your students will love spending time with the detailed illustrations, noticing many hints, treasures and surprises!

Jan Brett Winter Books

The Snowy Nap Hedgie the hedgehog decides not to hibernate in order to experience winter for the first time. Along the way, he learns about the joys and challenges of the season.

Cozy A lovable musk ox named Cozy provides shelter for a group of animals during a snowstorm, teaching lessons about kindness and cooperation. 

The Mitten In this classic retelling of a Ukrainian folktale, a boy loses his mitten in the snow, only for it to become a cozy refuge for a variety of woodland animals. 

The Hat  Hedgie makes his first appearance in this fun story when he discovers a woolen sock and accidentally starts a fashion trend among the farm animals.

The Three Snow Bears In this beautiful retelling of Goldilocks and the Three Bears, Aloo-ki, a young Inuit girl, stumbles upon an igloo belonging to a polar bear family.

Snowy Nonfiction Books

These snow-themed winter picture books encourage exploration and are great for introducing winter science topics.

Nonfiction Winter Picture Books

The Snow Man, a True Story by Jonah Winter This biography recounts the fascinating life of Wilson Bentley, the man who first photographed snowflakes. It combines history with inspiring messages about curiosity and perseverance. (Pair this with the classic Caldecott winner Snowflake Bentley by Jacqueline Briggs Martin and Mary Azarian.)

Over and Under the Snow by Kate Messner This beautiful book, illustrated by Christopher Silas Neal, explores the winter world from above and below the snow, introducing children to animal habitats during the colder months.

Winter Bees and Other Poems of the Cold by Joyce Sidman This book explores the lives of animals during winter. Each poem captures the unique ways they survive in the cold, with additional facts about the animals and the season.

More Winter Picture Book Fun

Fun Winter Books

The First Day of Winter by Denise Fleming The sweet, repetitive text encourages participation – in fact, you could sing it to the tune of the 12 days of Christmas! showing the changes and surprises of the first day of winter.

Winter is Here by Kevin Henkes Beautiful illustrations celebrate the winter season through the magic of snow, icy lakes, and cozy moments indoors. Kids will delight in the snowman created!

A Polar Bear in the Snow by Mac Barnett Follow a polar bear as it emerges from the snow, over the ice, through the water. What will it do next? Beautiful torn paper illustrations by Shawn Harris

Ten Ways to Hear Snow by Cathy Camper A young girl visits her grandmother on a snowy day and discovers the quiet beauty of winter as she observes 10 ways to pay attention. A celebration of intergenerational connections and mindfulness.

So Much Snow by Kristen Schroeder This fun story explores what happens as snow continues to fall, building up around seven forest animals in a playful and cumulative way.

All Right Already!: A Snowy Story by Jory John Duck is excited about the snow, while Bear prefers to stay cozy inside, leading to funny and relatable situations.

Winter Bookmarks to Color with Jokes

Pair a couple of these winter picture books with these fun bookmarks. Your students will love the winter jokes, winter greetings, and cute characters. Encourage reading and spread some winter fun in your elementary library or classroom!

Winter bookmarks to color with jokes

Save these Winter Picture Books for later!

Pin this article to your favorite Pinterest board so you can come back to it later!

As an elementary librarian, I always look forward to January in the library. Thatโ€™s why I want to recommend these 15 winter picture books for kids for this seasonโ€™s library lessons and classroom read-alouds. Make sure youโ€™ve got plenty of winter books on hand and your library lessons will be fun and engaging! Take a look at  these January picture books on the Trapped Librarian blog today!

Be the light! ~

  • 15 Best Thanksgiving Picture Books
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    thetrappedlibrarian

    ๐Ÿ“š Elementary School Librarian
    ๐ŸŒŸ NBCT 2011
    ๐Ÿ‘ฉ๐Ÿปโ€๐Ÿซ Teacher Author
    Blog: trappedlibrarian.org

    โ˜€๏ธ This summer, Iโ€™m updating my professional โ˜€๏ธ This summer, Iโ€™m updating my professional development series just for school librarians. Whether youโ€™re ready to recharge, reflect, or get inspired for next year, these self-paced trainings are made with YOU in mindโ€”and theyโ€™re coming soon!

โœ… Starting June 1
โœ… Free updates if you already own the bundle
โœ… New modules released weekly

Visit the blog to learn more and join the list so you donโ€™t miss the launch (and the discounts!).
>>>>> https://trappedlibrarian.org/professional-development-school-librarians/
    ๐Ÿ˜Ž Add some fun to your end of the year library ๐Ÿ˜Ž Add some fun to your end of the year library lessons with these Summer Bookmarks! Your students will love the summer jokes, summer greetings, and cute characters. Encourage summer reading and spread some end of the year fun in your elementary library or classroom.

โœ… 12 Summer Jokes
โœ… 8 Summer Slogans
โญ๏ธ All in full color
โญ๏ธ All in black and white

๐Ÿ™Œ Use in a coloring center or print the colored versions for an end of the year gift! 
https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Summer-Bookmarks-Summer-Reading-Bookmarks-9514093?utm_source=Facebook&utm_campaign=TL%20Summer%20Bookmarks%20FB
    Still in school?? โ˜€๏ธ Grab these fun Summer Boo Still in school??
โ˜€๏ธ
Grab these fun Summer Bookmarks to send home with your students!

โญ๏ธ 12 jokes
โญ๏ธ 8 greetings

Full color and black & white options included - great for early finishers or a coloring center! OR print the color version for an end of the year gift!

https://bit.ly/3pvncvB
    National Scavenger Hunt Day is May 24.... It's tim National Scavenger Hunt Day is May 24.... It's time to add some adventure to your library or classroom! ๐Ÿ•ต๏ธโ€โ™‚๏ธ
My FREE School Supplies Scavenger Hunt gets little learners exploring with a purpose.
Perfect after book checkout or anytime you need a quick, meaningful activity!

โžก๏ธ Get it now at the SmartBio link! 

#ElementaryLibrary #LibraryLessons #LibraryActivities #SchoolLibrarian #KindergartenTeacher #FirstGradeTeacher #TeacherFreebies #ActiveLearning #MovementInTheClassroom #ScavengerHuntFun
    โ˜€๏ธ ๐—˜๐—ป๐—ฑ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐˜†๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—ฟ โ˜€๏ธ ๐—˜๐—ป๐—ฑ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐˜†๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—ฟ ๐—ผ๐—ป ๐—ฎ ๐—ต๐—ถ๐—ด๐—ต ๐—ป๐—ผ๐˜๐—ฒโ€”and keep kids reading all summer long! ๐Ÿ“– The latest ๐—Ÿ๐—ถ๐—ฏ๐—ฟ๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐˜† ๐—›๐—ฒ๐—น๐—ฝ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐˜€ ๐—ก๐—ฒ๐˜„๐˜€๐—น๐—ฒ๐˜๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ฟ has tips, freebies, booklists, and resources to make it happen.

๐——๐—ผ๐—ปโ€™๐˜ ๐—บ๐—ถ๐˜€๐˜€: 
 โœ… Scavenger Hunt Day ideas
 โœ… LOTS of recommended books
 โœ… Summer-themed activities
 โœ… PD resources to grow your library game

๐ŸŒž ๐—ง๐—ฎ๐—ฝ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—น๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ธ ๐—ถ๐—ป ๐—ฏ๐—ถ๐—ผ to read it all! 
 #libraryhelpersnewsletter #schoollibrarians #librariansofig #librariansofinstagram #librarymediaspecialist #schoollibrary #schoollibrarian #elementarylibrary #teacherlibrarian #elementarylibrarian
    ๐Ÿ“š Do your library books get lonely sitting on t ๐Ÿ“š Do your library books get lonely sitting on the shelves during the summer break?โฃโฃ

๐Ÿ˜ƒ Why not let your students check out a few to read while school's out?โฃโฃ

โœ… This Summer Book Checkout Contract is part of my Summer Reading Kit. โฃโฃ

โžก Grab it here >>>> https://bit.ly/3GKoK9x
    โญ๏ธ NEW PRODUCT!! โญ๏ธ Half price for 48 hour โญ๏ธ NEW PRODUCT!! โญ๏ธ Half price for 48 hours!
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โœ… Grab it at the lowest price today - link in SmartBio!

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    ๐—•๐—œ๐—ก๐—š๐—ข!! ๐ŸŒŸ This fun Summer BINGO ๐—•๐—œ๐—ก๐—š๐—ข!!

๐ŸŒŸ This fun Summer BINGO challenge is included in my Summer Reading Bulletin Board Activity Kit.

๐Ÿคฉ Grab it and promote summer reading in your classes next week!

โžก๏ธ https://bit.ly/3GKoK9x

 #summerreading #elementarylibrary #librariansofinstagram #teacherlibrarian #librarymediaspecialist #elementarylibrarian #schoollibrary #tpt #schoollibrarian #librariansofig #teacherspayteachers #schoollibrarians
    โ˜€๏ธ ๐—ง๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—Ÿ๐—ถ๐—ฏ๐—ฟ๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐˜† ๐—›๐—ฒ๐—น๐—ฝ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐˜€ ๐—ก๐—ฒ๐˜„๐˜€๐—น๐—ฒ๐˜๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ฟ is a double issue for May AND June, so we've added some ๐—ฒ๐˜…๐˜๐—ฟ๐—ฎ ๐—ด๐—ผ๐—ผ๐—ฑ๐—ป๐—ฒ๐˜€๐˜€ to see you through to the end, and give you a head start on summer!

๐Ÿ’› You'll find lots of ideas for summer reading, end of the year games, motivating ideas for book returns, and more. ๐—ฃ๐—Ÿ๐—จ๐—ฆ 20 โ€œ๐—ป๐—ฎ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ผ๐—ป๐—ฎ๐—น ๐—ฑ๐—ฎ๐˜†โ€ ideas and a yummy recipe for Lunch Lady Brownies! 

This month I'm sharing some of my best ideas for May and June:
โ˜€๏ธ A value-packed ๐—ฆ๐˜‚๐—บ๐—บ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ ๐—ฅ๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—ฑ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐—•๐˜‚๐—ป๐—ฑ๐—น๐—ฒ
โ˜€๏ธ A fun ๐—ผ๐—ฐ๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—ป-๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ๐—บ๐—ฒ๐—ฑ Library Catalog Practice
โ˜€๏ธ My new ๐—™๐—ฅ๐—˜๐—˜ School Supplies Scavenger Hunt
โ˜€๏ธ 3 forthcoming books to add to your purchase list for next year
โ˜€๏ธ AND a sneak peak into my summer project (๐—•๐—ฒ ๐˜€๐˜‚๐—ฟ๐—ฒ ๐˜๐—ผ ๐˜๐˜‚๐—ป๐—ฒ ๐—ถ๐—ป ๐—ถ๐—ณ ๐˜†๐—ผ๐˜‚'๐—ฟ๐—ฒ ๐—ถ๐—ป ๐—ป๐—ฒ๐—ฒ๐—ฑ ๐—ผ๐—ณ ๐—ฃ๐—— ๐˜๐—ต๐—ถ๐˜€ ๐˜€๐˜‚๐—บ๐—บ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ!)

๐——๐—ถ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ ๐—ฟ๐—ถ๐—ด๐—ต๐˜ ๐—ถ๐—ป ๐—ต๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ >>>>> click โ€œ๐—Ÿ๐—ถ๐—ฏ๐—ฟ๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐˜† ๐—›๐—ฒ๐—น๐—ฝ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐˜€ ๐—ก๐—ฒ๐˜„๐˜€๐—น๐—ฒ๐˜๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ฟโ€ at the link in bio.

 #schoollibrarians #librariansofig #schoollibrarian #schoollibrary #librariansofinstagram #libraryhelpersnewsletter #elementarylibrary #teacherlibrarian #librarymediaspecialist #elementarylibrarian
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