Snow

Poems and Stories

• Andersen, Hans Christian. The Snow Queen, New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1972.

  This classic fairy tale recounts a young girl's quest to break an icy curse and help a companion remember the joys of friendship. Grades 3 and up.

• Aragon, Jane Chelsea. Winter Harvest, Boston: Little Brown and Company, 1988.

  On a snowy evening, a girl and her father feed apples to woodland deer. Vibrant watercolor paintings by Leslie Baker illustrate this story. Kindergarten and up.

• Barklem, Jill. Winter Story, New York: Philomel Books, 1980.

  In this winsome tale, the mouse community of Brambly Hedge celebrates a winter snowfall. Kindergarten and up.

• Brett, Jan. The Mitten, New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1989.

  Never before has a mitten accommodated so many creatures! A lost mitten becomes the haven for a mole, rabbit, hedgehog, owl, badger, fox, bear and mouse in this handsomely illustrated story. Kindergarten and up.

• Carlstrom, Nancy White. Northern Lullaby, New York: Philomel Books, 1992.

  Artists Leo and Diane Dillon create beautiful images of the frozen north in this lullaby to arctic creatures and children everywhere.

• Cooper, Susan. The Dark Is Rising, New York: MacMillan, 1973.

  This award winning fantasy of time travel and a midwinter battle between good and evil takes place in the snowy English countryside. Grades 3 and up.

• Keats, Ezra Jack. The Snowy Day, New York: Puffin Books, 1962.

  Keats delightful illustrations depict the adventures of a small boy on a winter day.

• Paulsen, Gary. Woodsong, New York: Viking Penguin, 1991.

  The brutality of the wilderness challenges author Paulsen and his fearless team of sleddogs as they race across the Arctic. This is the true story of Paulsen's journey in the Alaskan Iditarod. Grades 4 and up.

• Prelutsky, Jack. The Random House Book of Poetry for Children, New York: Random House, 1983.

  This anthology includes poems on just about every subject of interest to a child-- from basketball to country barnyards. Poems by poets such as A.A. Milne, Robert Frost and Walter de la Mare describe snowcovered winter worlds.

• Radin, Ruth Yaffe. A Winter Place, Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1982.

  Jewel-like folk art paintings by Mattie Lou O'Keeley accent Radin's verse in this description of a winter place of fun and frolic. Kindergarten and up.

• Reynolds, Jan. Far North, San Diego: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1992.

  With colorful photographs Reynolds illustrates the migration of two Sami children and their family through Lapland. Reynolds presents fascinating images of their traditional customs, including travelling by sledge, living in birch bark lavvos, cooking over an open fire, tending the reindeer herds and celebrating in beautiful handmade clothing.

• Silverstein, Shel. "Snowman," Where the Sidewalk Ends, New York: HarperCollins, 1974.

  If you were a snowman how would you greet spring? Silverstein's humorous verse captures the snowman's predicament. Kindergarten and up.

• Wilder, Laura Ingalls. The Long Winter, New York: Harper and Row, 1940.

  This tale describes Wilder's adventures as a fourteen year old in the Dakota Territory. Her family, heeding an Indian warning of a harsh winter, moves from their country homestead into town. With typical courage and ingenuity, they survive blizzards, starvation and the bleak days of the cold northern winter. Grades 3 and up.

Books of Activities for Snowy Days

• Milord, Susan. The Kid's Nature Book, Charlotte: Williamson Publishing Company, 1989.

  This creative handbook suggests a project for each day of the year with January's activities devoted to snow.

• Sheehan, Kathryn, and Mary Waidner, Ph.D. Earth Child, Tulsa: Council Oaks Books, 1991.

  This resource book lists ideas for cooking, stitching, candlemaking, reading, playing in the snow and celebrating the coming of winter. Its references to children's literature supplement an imaginative selection of year-round activities in the natural sciences. Kindergarten and up.