Here in Central Florida we do not have snow. If it did snow people would think the world was ending. 😉 I have always wanted to live where it snows, and then I see pictures of blizzards and remember why I love sunny, warm, and non-snow Florida. Regardless of where you live there’s something a bit magic about snow, and it’s fun for kids to learn about snow and snowflakes during winter theme activities. For that reason we have a book list full of snow books for preschoolers and kindergarteners who want to learn more about snow and snowflakes. Whether you live where you are shoveling snow or sand, this list is perfect for winter. I’ve even included a free printable list of the titles for you to use as you gather your snow books, AND a writing activity sheet for kids to draw and write about their Perfect Snow Day after you’ve done a bit of reading together.
Books About Snow and Snowflakes
Fiction Snow Books for Kids
A Perfect Day by Carin Berger
A Perfect Day is a beautiful book that celebrates all the ways you can play in the snow. The illustrations are whimsical and look like they were made with craft paper. This is a perfect book to read when thinking of a perfect day in the snow.
Snow by Uri Shulevitz
Snow is story of the day it begins to snow in a town. A boy and his dog are so excited but all the grown-ups say that a few snowflakes do not make snow. As more snowflakes fall, the town turns from gray to white. The text is simple and the illustrations are a bit quirky.
If It’s Snowy and You Know It, Clap Your Paws! By Kim Norman
This is a snowy twist on the song, “If you’re happy and you know it”. The illustrations show animals found in cold climates sledding, skiing and enjoying many other snowy activities.
Snowflakes Fall by Patricia MacLachlan
In Snowflakes Fall, children play as snow falls and creates a winter wonderland. This is another fun book for showing all the ways you can play in the snow and how melted snow helps spring flowers grow.
Perfect Snow by Barbara Reid
In Perfect Snow, Jim and Scott wake to fresh snow and can’t wait to play. During recess, all the students rush to the school yard to play in the snow. Scott is making a snowman and Jim a doom fort. The illustrations are a mix of black and white cartoon strips and clay pictures.
Big Snow by Jonathan Bean
Big Snow is the story of David who is waiting for snow. Throughout the day, he helps his mom clean and continues to check for big snow. When David naps, he dreams of big snow in his house and the mess it makes. This is a fun story of a boy who can’t wait for snow.
You Make Me Smile by Layn Marlow
You Make Me Smile is the story of a little girl that builds a simple snowman on the first snow day. The story ends so sweetly, after the snow melts and a year has passed the friends meet again.
Snowboy 1, 2, 3 by Joe Wahman
Snowboy 1, 2, 3 is a counting book that counts from 1 to 10 and back down to 1. Each page features snowmen, forest animals and various items that readers can count. The illustrations are bright and colorful.
Winter is for Snow by Robert Neubecker
In Winter is for Snow, a little boy list all the ways winter is wonderful. His sister lists how winter is cold and not wonderful (this would be me.) The book begins by focusing on snow and then shows all the other parts of winter that are amazing, of course snow is the best part.
Stella, Queen of the Snow by Marie-Louise Gay
Stella, Queen of the Snow is a story of Stella and Sam as they watch snow fall. This is Sam’s first snow and he has lots of questions for his sisters, luckily she knows the answers. As they explore the snow, readers learn interesting and silly facts.
Snow Day! by Lester L. Laminack
In Snow Day, the meteorologist predicts a big snow and the narrator imagines all the ways they can spend the day. The book is great for teaching point of view because you are not sure who the narrator is.
When It Snows by Richard Collingridge
When It Snows is a magical journey a boy and his teddy bear go on when snow falls. The book does not mention Santa or Christmas but it does have a magical Christmas feel. The illustrations use shadows and a dream-like look to create a wonderful story with an unexpected ending.
Snow by Cynthia Rylant
Snow is a beautiful book that features dream like illustrations. The author explains different types of snow and shows all the happy emotions that can come with snow.
Snowzilla by Janet Lawler
This is a late addition to our snow books list, because we just discovered it at our local library. In this story the main character builds a giant Snowzilla in her front yard. Unfortunately the neighbors don’t approve and launch a protest. Luckily a compromise that works for everyone is found. We especially love the rich vocabulary used in the book and the rhyming. My kids were also tickled to see that blogging was included in the story…some days they aren’t sure “blogging” is something other people really do. 😉
Nonfiction Snow Books for Kids
Snowflakes in Photographs by W. A. Bentley
This is a wordless book that features black pages with photographs of white snowflakes. Different styles of snowflakes throughout the book show all the amazing ways water can freeze to become a tiny snowflake.
The Secret Life of a Snowflake: An Up-Close Look at the Art and Science of Snowflakes by Kenneth Libbrecht
The Secret Life of a Snowflake is full of colorful photographs of snowflakes and complete description of the life cycle of a snowflake. The book includes a glossary and picture comparisons to different items such as a penny.
The Story of Snow: The Science of Winter’s Wonder by Mark Cassino
The Story of Snow is a great book for teaching kids all about snowflakes. The book features photographs of real snowflakes and explains the science of how snowflakes are made.
Snow by Erin Edison
Snow is a great book for little learners who are curious about snow. The book includes information about how snow is made, blizzards, avalanches, types of snow and melted snow. This book is available in English and in a split English/Spanish version.
Snowflakes: A Pop-Up Book by Jennifer Preston Chushcoff
Snowflakes is a pop-up book perfect for snow lovers. Each page features paper snowflakes that seem to come to life. The book also includes information about snowflakes.
What are Blizzards? by Mari Schuh
In What are Blizzards? kids learn about the characteristics of blizzards. They’ll also learn how to stay safe and be preapred for blizzards.
Recess at 20 Below by Cindy Lou Aillaud
Unless you live in the far north your children probably have no idea what it would be like to have recess when the temperature is 20 below. That’s just part of what makes this book a winner for kids. It’s also told from a kid’s perspective, further enhancing the appeal. Kids get a firsthand account of what feels like, sounds like, even smells like to be outdoors in such weather. The new revised edition also includes some great questions from readers answered by the auther about life and school in Alaska.
GET YOUR COPY OF THE SNOW BOOKS LIST AND ACTIVITY SHEET
Complete the form below to get a free printable copy of the titles referenced in this book list and a writing activity sheet. Use the snow books list as you gather your snow books, and use the writing activity with preschoolers and kindergarteners after you’ve read some of the book suggestions.
Preschoolers can draw a picture about what they would like to do on a perfect snow day and dictate a response for adults to write.
Kindergarterners can draw their pictures and then phonetically spell what they would do on the perfect snow day.
Send the pages home or compile them into a class book for kids to read over and over again in the library center.
Get a Full Week of Snowflake Fun and Learning
Save time and get right to the playful learning with our printable lesson plan sets. Each set includes over 30 playful learning activities related to the theme, and we’ve provided different versions for home preschool families and classroom teachers so all activities are geared directly toward your needs.
Get Your Copy
Home Preschool Snowflake Theme Lesson Plans
Preschool Classroom Snowflake Theme Lesson Plans
More Resources for Little Book Lovers
The best way to encourage a love of reading is to provide kids with many opportunities to engage with a wide variety of books that are of interest to them. That’s why we share so many books lists on Fantastic Fun and Learning. We want to make it easy for you to find great books your kids will love. Over the years we’ve also discovered some helpful tools for connecting kids and books.
Digital libraries are one very handy way to do this. Epic! is one of our favorite online libraries. It’s full of over 25,000 books, learning videos, quizzes and more for kids 12 and under…and it’s free for educators. Click here to learn more and sign up.
Book Boxes are another fun way to get kids excited about reading. What kid doesn’t love to get a special delivery in the mail?! The crew over at Bookroo finds the best little known books that you won’t already have in your library, and they send them to you each month. Take a peak inside a Bookroo Box here.
Book-Based Activities are also a lot of fun for kids. Jodie over at Growing Book by Book has saved us all a ton of time and created a full year of Book-Based Activity Calendars so that you can extend the fun with a special book each week.
Originally Published January 5, 2015.
Last Updated December 30, 2018.
Amy @ Sunlit Pages
Oh, and as a companion to Snowflakes in Photographs, I would definitely recommend Snowflake Bentley (a picture book biography about the man who took those photographs).
Amy @ Sunlit Pages
Wow, this is perhaps the most comprehensive snow book list I’ve seen! There are many on this list that we haven’t read but will now read soon! 🙂