Children's Books About Snow & Sleighs

Playing in the Snow

• Choose one of these cheerful, simple stories to delight your toddlers and preschoolers with snow-themed stories. Youngsters learning to count might enjoy "Millions of Snowflakes," by Mary McKenna Siddals and Elizabeth Sayles. This simple, rhyming story of a little girl playing in the snow helps young children learn their numbers, as she tries to count snowflakes. Playing in the snow is also the theme of Ezra Jack Keats' classic "The Snowy Day." Little Peter is shown enjoying the snowy outdoors as he runs, plays and frolics in the cold, white stuff. And the familiar rhyming story "Snow," by Roy McKie, shows small children and their dog enjoying traditional snow activities, including sledding on a modern-day sleigh.

Early Readers

• Beginning readers might enjoy these books about snowmen and animals living in snowy environments. "Waiting for Winter," by Sebastian Meschenmoser, introduces readers to three goofy, raggedy animals waiting for the first snowfall, but not quite sure what snow really is. When real snow begins to fall, they romp, play and build snowmen, just like young children do. Originally written in German, "Lisa And The Snowman," by Coby Hol, features a young girl who builds a snowman, then is concerned because she can't make him happy. She decides to try a bunch of different hats on her snowman until she finds just the right one to bring a smile to his face.

Snowy Adventures

• Mixing real-life stories and fictional characters, these winter adventure books both teach and entertain. "Building an Igloo," by Ulli Steltzer, describes an Inuit father and son building igloos when they go hunting in the frozen winter. It provides some history about igloos and shows how these interesting ice houses are made. The classic "Race to Nome," by Kenneth A. Ungermann, recounts the exciting true story of sled-dogs Balto and Togo in their grueling trek to carry critical medicines across a frozen Alaska to counter a diptheria epidemic in 1925. Kids learn about old dog-sleds and the dogs and humans that relied on them for transport.

Whimsical Stories

• Kids looking for quirky characters and silly snow-themed stories need look no further than "Martin MacGregor's Snowman," written by Lisa Brodie Cook. Mischievous Martin gets bored waiting for snow to come and creates his own versions of snowmen from materials that have nothing to do with snow. "Snowballs," by Lois Ehlert, sparks kids' imaginations with whimsical pictures of snow shaped into animals, people and other creatures. In "Stella: Queen of the Snow," by Marie-Louise Gay, big sister Stella shares her funny, 4-year-old perspective as she answers the questions of her younger brother, who has never seen snow before.