Let's Read Winter: Literacy Mom's Winter Book List

November 18, 2025 Krista Conway

No matter your readers age, these timeless winter-themed books will entice your readers to snuggle up on your lap or in their favorite spot and read.

Winter Sleep: A Hibernation Story — A gentle, educational book that shows how animals hibernate through winter using cutaway illustrations; great for early elementary.
Over and Under the Snow — Explores both what happens above the snow (skiing, walking) and the hidden world below the snow (animals in tunnels).
Snow — Very simple text + clean illustrations — perfect for very young readers just noticing winter.
The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats — A classic about a boy’s first snowfall, capturing the wonder of snow and childhood play.
The Snowy Nap by Jan Brett — Hedgie is thinking about hibernating, but a snowy farm night changes things; great for picture book fans.
Animals in Winter — Nonfiction, explains how real animals survive winter: through hibernation, migration, or adaptation.
Winter (wordless) — A wordless board book by Gerda Müller that beautifully captures winter scenes (sledding, snowmen, ice-skating).
The Snow Bear — A touching story of a polar bear cub who builds a snow bear as a friend while waiting for his mother.
Fox Versus Winter — An “I Can Read” book where Fox humorously tries to battle winter because all his friends are gone.
Winter Is Here by Kevin Henkes — Beautifully illustrated, talks about snow, animals burrowing, and the feel of winter.
The Snow Knows — A poetic, hide-and-seek book about winter animals; lyrical and atmospheric.
The Very Hungry Caterpillar’s First Winter — For little fans of the Very Hungry Caterpillar, this explores what winter is like from his perspective.
Spot’s Snowy Day — Simple board book; Spot plays in the snow, builds a snowman, skates — great for toddlers.
Snow Friends — Little Bear wakes from hibernation to a snowy world, makes a snowman with friends, and plays.
The Berenstain Bears' Winter Wonderland — A lift-the-flap book, fun for younger readers; full of winter activities in Bear Country.

Other Great Winter / Snow Books

Here are some additional recommendations — especially for older kids / tween / middle grade:

Moominland Midwinter by Tove Jansson — A Moomin novel for older children / middle grade. Moomintroll wakes up early in winter when the rest of his family is hibernating.
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis — A classic fantasy; Narnia is under the spell of the White Witch and it's “always winter, but never Christmas.”
Frederick by Leo Lionni — A thoughtful picture book about a mouse who stores up sunshine, words, and colors in his mind for the long winter.
Sleepy Bears by Mem Fox — A cozy rhyming book about a bear getting ready to hibernate with her cubs.
Hiders, Seekers, Finders, Keepers by Jessica Kulekjian — Nonfiction / poetic story about how different animals survive winter (hibernators, migrators, adaptors).