Top 10 Tuesday – Ten Favorite Snowy Titles

Here in Vancouver, the winter season brings mostly rain.  So when the snow does fall, as it did this morning, there is great excitement at school.  These are the opportunities to “cash in” on the winter excitement by reading and writing about SNOW!

Here are my top 10 books (some old, some new) to inspire snow writing, snow art and lots of snow connections.

1. Snow – Sam Usher

Delightful addition to your winter collection with an added bonus of grandfather-grandson relationship, toys that come to life and an unexpected ending.

2. Perfect Snow – Barbara Reid

This is the BEST connection book about a snowfall in a school yard and two boys’ plan to build a snow fort at recess.  Amazing signature Plasticine artwork by Barbara Reid.

3. Snow – Cynthia Rylant

I use this book to inspire writing and as an anchor to teach similes and personification.   It is filled with gorgeous language, gorgeous illustrations and I love Cynthia Rylant.

4. Over and Under the Snow – Kate Messner

Amazing link to science and winter habitats, this book looks at life under and over the frozen ground.  Great inspiration for an art lesson too!

5. Stella, Queen of the Snow – Marie Louise Gay

Oh, how I love Stella books!  Sam asks questions about the snow; Stella gives delightful answers.

6. The Snow Angel – Angela Mcallister

A snow angel comes to life.  Lovely story with a little excitement and mystery.

7. The Snowy Day – Ezra Jack Keats

No list of snow books would be complete without this classic tale.

8. A Perfect Day – Carin Berger

A charming, delicate, happy book. The illustrations are detailed and precious. Lots of connections and a great inspiration for art.

9. Once Upon a Northern Night – Jean E. Pendziwol

Gentle, lyrical poem about the wonder and beauty of a northern winter night.  Soft snow, twinkling stars, frost etched on a window pane.  Gorgeous.

10. Stopping By the Woods on a Snowy Evening – Robert Frost

One of my favorite winter read-alouds.  Calm. Peaceful.  Perfect for visualizing.

10. The Snow Speaks – Nancy White Carlstrom

Gorgeous poetic language describes the magic of a first snowfall.  This is one of my favorite anchors for descriptive writing.

So there you have it!  (Yes, I cheated again!  There are actually 11 books listed! )

What’s your favorite snow or winter book to share?

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? New Fairy Tales for the New Year

It’s Monday and I’m happy to be participating in a weekly event with a community of bloggers who post reviews of books that they have read the previous week. Check out more IMWAYR posts here: Jen from Teach Mentor Texts and Kellee and Ricki from Unleashing Readers

Happy New Year, everyone!  Over my winter break reading and book brousing, I noticed a number of recently released fairy tales. Some are original and some are re-telling of classics – but all are wonderful stories with gorgeous illustrations.   Whether I’m teaching and practicing Questioning or reading aloud for pleasure –  these would definitely be books I would recommend sharing with your students!

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Jack Frost – William Joyce

The third in Joyce’s Guardians of Childhood series, following The Man in the Moon and The Sandman, this is a charming and engaging story about the origin of Jack Frost.  Stunning illustrations.

Imelda and the Goblin King – Briony May Smith

Beautiful and inventive illustrations with a lovely story filled with humour sprinkled with subtle life lessons about bullying.  Complete with fairies, goblins, a Fairy Queen, this is a delightful, whimsical fairy tale.

The Tiger Who Would Be King – James Thurber

This book was on many “Best of 2015” lists last month, but I had not read it.  Now I know why!  This is an intense, rather dark fable about a tiger who wants to overthrow the lion as king and subsequently starts a war in the jungle. A thought-provoking book to spark discussion about war, pride and costs.  I could see reading this book for Remembrance Day and would definitely use it for questioning, inferring and transform.

Toby and the Ice Giants – Joe Willington

The Fox and the Star – Coralie Bickford-Smith

A sweet, magical story about the friendship between a fox and a star.  Gorgeous book – stunning illustrations, beautiful design – even the binding is lovely!  Simple enough for a beginning reader and would be an excellent read-aloud for a grade 2/3 class (it’s 64 pages).  Perfect book for questioning.  LOVE this one!

Winter’s Child – Angela McAllister

A delightful tale about a little boy who loves the winter.  When he befriends the “Winter” child, their friendship prolongs the cold months, delaying Spring’s arrival.  The world freezes, nothing grows, and the little boy’s grandmother is becoming sicker, eventually leading to the realization that the friendship needs to end.   Beautifully written and illustrated.

The Wild Swans – Jackie Morris

Exquisitely beautiful book. A wonderful lyrical version of Han’s Christian Anderson’s classic tale.  Jackie Morris – one of my favorite author/illustrators!

Vasalisa the Beautiful – A Russian Folktale – Anna Morgunova

Another retelling of a classic Russian fairy tale about a heroine who conquers the terrifying Baba Yaga with the help of her magical doll.  This would be more appreciated by older students.  Memorizing illustrations.

The Sleeper and the Spindle – Neil Gaiman

Captivating, dark and slightly twisted tale of Sleeping Beauty (with a sprinkling of Snow White)  told by the amazing Neil Gaiman – as only he can.  The detailed metallic illustrations by Chris Riddell are stunning.  This would be an excellent read-aloud for an intermediate class.  Ah-MAZING!  Great for Text-to-Text connections.

The Most Wonderful Thing in the World – Vivian French

Perfect text, perfect illustrations, and a perfect message that family is truly the most wonderful thing in the world. Lovely read-aloud for primary students.

Happy reading in 2016, everyone!

Thanks for stopping by!  Which Fairy Tale caught your eye?