Kids Winter Book Roundup

I work as a Nurse Anesthetist 2 days a week and then am home the rest of the time with the kids. The days I work they go to daycare and the days I am off we spend a lot of time at home because #homebody #introvert !  To keep things more interesting for the kids, we occasionally rotate their toys and books around that we keep in the living room. It’s really just shuffling some stuff from their rooms or the basement play area to the main living area to get toys back out they haven’t played with as much recently, but it adds interest. 

One of my favorite things to do is get seasonally relevant books that come and go throughout the year and its been fun to see the kids get excited as seasons pass and old books come back out again. This has been especially helpful during the sometimes long and repetitive winter days when it’s hard to get outside much. 

My favorite books for them focus on the spiritual aspect of an upcoming holiday and what’s going on outside in nature during the changing seasons. When they can read a book and then see the same thing unfolding outside before them it really fuels their interest in what we have read.  

I thought I would share some of the winter books that we have and are enjoying! This doesn’t mean anyone needs to buy a bunch of books each season either – a trip to the library could accomplish this same thing just as easily. 

The Snowy Nap – This is about a hedgehog who has heard great tales about wintertime from the other animals and decides not to hibernate this winter so as to not miss out. The artwork is so sweet and Jan Brett has several books out that are equally as endearing.

Over and Under the snow – as a child skis over the snow you get to learn about the different critters that are sleeping the winter away and living their wintery lives underneath them.

Mice Skating – A sweet little mouse who just loves winter so much! Her mouse friends don’t quite agree and prefer to stay warm and cozy until she finally convinces them to give skating a try.

Sleep Tight Farm – Fall has come to an end and the farm must prepare for the cold days of winter.

The Mitten – Another sweet book by Jan Brett about a boy who asks his grandmother to knit him white mittens, one gets lost and goes through quite the adventure before it is found again.

All Creation Waits – This is for slightly older kids, my 4 year old likes it and so do I. It’s my favorite book find of the year. Gayle Boss wrote this as an Advent book for her kids after she was unable to find a nature based advent calendar for them. It has short stories for each day of advent about different animals and what they do during the winter months and has a wonderful spiritual aspect to it. So technically this is a Christmas book but can be enjoyed after the fact. Also, She lives in Grand Rapids, Michigan which is were we live also! Makes this find even sweeter. We may try to use it as an advent book this coming Christmas.