Best children's books on winter

From Laura Ingalls Wilder’s The Long Winter to Paul Stewart and Chris Riddell’s A Little Bit of Winter, the Book Doctor gets deliciously chilly picking snowy reads

Winter
A wintery scene from First Book of Nature by Nicola Davies and Mark Hearld. Illustration: Mark Hearld

Best children's books on winter

From Laura Ingalls Wilder’s The Long Winter to Paul Stewart and Chris Riddell’s A Little Bit of Winter, the Book Doctor gets deliciously chilly picking snowy reads

Before we get to the festivals, I want to celebrate how the seasons have changed. What are the best books about the coming of winter and how it alters the world around us?

Every living creature’s life is changed by the seasons – although for humans living in cities, the changing seasons are noticed and sometimes endured but they do not require a total change of life style. Mostly our lives are not threatened by cold. Putting on an extra layer of clothes and remembering gloves and a hat and a scarf are simple small acts of adjustment.

But for some animals and birds the changing seasons shape their lives; their decisions to hibernate or migrate are brought on because they are simply unable to survive in very cold weather. Their coming and going changes what humans see around them so are part of our understanding of nature.

Winter hedghog

In the UK hedgehogs, bats and dormice fully hibernate, while further afield bears are famous for the very long winter sleeps they need.

But, though these creatures need to do so, there are some regrets at missing winter! In Ann and Reg Cartwright’s The Winter Hedgehog all the hedgehogs are getting ready to settle down to sleep. But the smallest hedgehog is curious; he wants to know all about the wintery season. Exploring the ice and snow, he loves its beauty but soon discovers the dangerous of cold. Now he knows why hedgehogs hibernate.

Little bit of winter

In Paul Stewart’s A Little Bit of Winter, illustrated by Children’s Laureate Chris Riddell, Hedgehog is preparing for his winter sleep but he is sad to be missing all the fun of winter! To make sure that he won’t miss it altogether he asks his friend Rabbit to save some bits of winter for him. But will Rabbit remember? And can winter be saved?

Suzanne Barton looks at the winter habits of more creatures in Robin’s Winter Song. When the wind starts to blow all the leaves off the trees, Robin notices that squirrels and mice are busy gathering nuts and berries, the finches are flying south and Bear is searching for a warm and quiet place for his long winter sleep. But who or what is this ‘winter’ that they are talking about and why is it so scary? Robin soon finds out that he loves winter – and even snow – even though his friends sleep through it.

Robin's winter song
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Photograph: Suzanne Barton

Rhoda Levine’s Arthur is a classic story of how Arthur misses the moment to fly south with the rest of his flock. Instead of migrating, Arthur must find a home which leads him to enjoying all the wonderful things that he can do in New York City including playing hide and seek, eating crumbs with his friends the pigeons, wondering at the beauty of the snow and the icicles and the magnificence of the Christmas tree when it finally arrives. Everett Aison’s illustrations give readers a bird’s eye view of a wintery New York – and the coming of spring.

The snowman

While birds migrate, bears sleep very deeply and for a very long time. Karma Wilson shows just how deeply in Bear Snores On, illustrated by Jane Chapman. Sensible Bear sleep finds a nice cosy cave to settle into for the winter and curls up tight until the cold has passed. Bear is so fast asleep that he doesn’t notice that all the other birds and animals have crept into the cave with him. Even when they even throw a party he snores on… Bear really does need his winter sleep.

Even though humans do not have to change their habits because of winter as bears and birds do, they are still affected by the seasons and none more so than by the very special qualities of winter.

The magical and transforming qualities of snow are described in many picture books and in particular in two classic titles: The Snowman by Raymond Briggs and The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats. In both a small boy enjoys imaginary play as a result of the new landscape that winter brings; each beautifully celebrates snow as an emblem of winter.

THe Snowy day

Nicola Davies’ and Mark Hearld’s First Book of Nature is part poetry, part scrapbook of recipes plus facts and fragments. It will guide you through all the seasons, and the winter section is beautiful.

For older readers one of the most powerful stories about the physical effects of winter on people is Laura Ingalls Wilder’s The Long Winter, the sixth in the nine titles of her autobiographical Little House series.

Little House on the Prarie
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Melissa Gilbert as Laura Elizabeth Ingalls Wilder in the TV version of the Little House books. Photograph: NBC/Getty Images

Set in Dakota in the terrible winter of 1880-81 it tells how Laura and her family survive raging blizzards lasting from October to April. When Laura’s Pa sees that the muskrats are building especially thick nests in the creek he realises that the winter will be too harsh to survive in the country and so moves the family into the town. But even in town, there is no escaping the ravages of winter. Soon school is closed; the trains from outside stop arriving; food is scarce and the only fuel is twisted hay. With the town on the brink of starvation, Almanzo Wilder, who Laura later marries, and his friend Cap Garland risk their lives driving through the snow to bring back desperately needed supplies of wheat. Life only really gets back to normal in May – and that’s when Laura’s family eat their Christmas dinner!

Winter really can be long and very tough, no wonder some humans envy the animals and birds who hibernate or migrate!

What are your favourite wintery (and make it wintery rather than Christmassy please, there’s plenty of time for THAT in December) reads? Tell us on Twitter @GdnChildrensBks or by emailing childrens.books@theguardian.com and we’ll add your ideas to this blog!

Mimi Thebo (@MimiThebo)

My new book with @OUPChildrens, Dreaming the Bear, is set in the wild snows of a @YellowstoneNPS winter! https://t.co/EF58DbpC3D

November 23, 2015
Megan Farr (@Meggyf)

LOVED The Long Winter Ransome's A Winter Holiday is also fab as is Aubrey & the Terrible Yoot great winter setting https://t.co/cy65WpEDPp

November 23, 2015
Gaynor Warlow (@gaynor_warlow)

@GdnChildrensBks @jeccleshare Mog on Fox Night nails the joy of playing in the snow - for both humans and foxes!

November 23, 2015
Zoe Toft (@playbythebook)

@GdnChildrensBks The Snow Merchant by @sam_gayton is perhaps our very favourite wintry read https://t.co/EDDkFXYZmW pic.twitter.com/UvfTQuWUr7

November 23, 2015
Rebecca Baugniet (@becbaugniet)

@GdnChildrensBks The Wolf Wilder by @kdbrundell, Blizzard by John Rocco and The Mitten by @byjanbrett are some of my favourites!

November 23, 2015
Alice Cowell (@LowCarbonOG)

@GdnChildrensBks Winter Holiday by Arthur Ransome

November 23, 2015
Jane Suzanne Carroll (@Jane_S_Carroll)

@GuardianBooks @GdnChildrensBks Susan Cooper's The Dark is Rising. Best and weirdest winter book, hands down. pic.twitter.com/hYEutGgZEg

November 24, 2015
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