Winter Wonderland

Kids love winter. It’s so much fun to bundle up and play outside in the fluffy, white snow. When they are done playing, they go back inside their warm house and enjoy a big cup of hot cocoa. What about plants and animals during the winter? How do they keep warm?

Find the answers to these questions and discover the beauty of winter through these great books.

Book List
Grades PreK-2
Bancroft, H. 1997. Animals in Winter. HarperCollins Children's Books.
Barasch, L. 1993. A Winter Walk. Ticknor & Fields.
Bauer, M.D. 1997. Turtle Dreams. Holiday House, Inc.
Berger, M. 1995. What Do Animals Do in Winter?: How Animals Survive the Cold. Ideals Publications.
Brett, J. 1996. The Mitten. Penguin Group.
Buehner, C. 2002. Snowmen at Night. Dial.
Butler, M.C. 2006. One Winter's Day. Good Books.
Cartwright, A. 1990. The Winter Hedgehog. Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing.
Cole, J. 1973. Plants in Winter. Harpercollins.
Conrad, H. 2001. Lights of Winter: Winter Celebrations Around the World. Lightport Books.
Cuyler, M. 2005. Groundhog Stays up Late. Walker & Company.
Denslow, S.P. 2005. In the Snow. HarperCollins Children's Books.
Dixon, A. 2002. Winter Is. Alaska Northwest Books.
Evans, L. 2002. Winter: An Alphabet Acrostic. Houghton Mifflin Company.
Fallon, J. 2005. Snowball Fight. Dutton Juvenile.
Finnegan, M.P. 2002. Winter: Signs of the Season around North America. Capstone Press.
Fleming, D. 2001. Time to Sleep. Henry Holt & Company, Incorporated.
Florian, D. 1999. Winter Eyes. Greenwillow Books.
Freedman, C. 2003. Gooseberry Goose. Tiger Tales.
Freedman, R. 1981. When Winter Comes. Penguin Young Readers Group.
George, J.C. 1995. Dear Rebecca, Winter Is Here. HarperTrophy.
George, J.C. 2001. Winter Moon. HarperCollins Publishers.
Gershator, P. 2001. When It Starts to Snow. Henry Holt & Company, Incorporated.
Glaser, L. 2002. It's Winter. Millbrook Press.
Good, E.W. 1994. White Wonderful Winter! Good Books.
Hader, B. 2005. The Big Snow. Simon & Schuster Children's.
Hirschi, R. 1996. Winter. Penguin Group Incorporated.
Hiscock, B. 1995. When Will It Snow? Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing.
Jones, J.B. 2001. Who Lives in the Snow? Rinehart P.
Kirk, D. 2004. Snow Dude. Hyperion.
Kroll, L. 2003. Winter, Awake! SteinerBooks, Incorporated.
Lawlor, E.P. 1998. Discover Nature in Winter: Things to Know and Things to Do. Stackpole Books.
McDonnell, J. 1993. Winter: Tracks in the Snow. Scholastic Library Publishing.
Minor, W. 1996. Red Fox Running. Houghton Mifflin Company.
Moncure, J.B. 2000. In Winter. Child's World, Incorporated.
Moore, E. 2005. The Magic School Bus Sleeps for the Winter. Scholastic, Inc.
Moutran, J.S. 1987. Story of Punxsutawney Phil, "the Fearless Forecaster". Literary Publications.
Murray, M.D. 2003. Don't Wake Up The Bear. Marshall Cavendish Inc.
National Geographic Society. 1997. Animals In Winter. National Geographic Children's Books.
Partridge, E. 1992. Moon Glowing. Penguin Young Readers Group.
Pascoe, E. 2000. How and why Animals Prepare for Winter. Creative Teaching Press, Incorporated.
Pfeffer,W. 2003. The Shortest Day: Celebrating the Winter Solstice. Dutton Juvenile.
Prelutsky, J. 1984. It's Snowing! It's Snowing! Greenwillow Books.
Sabuda, R. 2005. Winter's Tale: An Original Pop-up Journey. Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing.
Sams, C.R. 2000. Stranger in the Woods: A Photographic Fantasy. Sams, Carl, R. II, Photography.
Sayre, A.P. 1998. Home at Last: A Song of Migration. Henry Holt & Company, Incorporated.
Schnur, S. 2002. Winter: An Alphabet Acrostic. Clarion Books; Library Binding edition.
Sherrow, V. 1997. Chipmunk at Hollow Tree Lane. Soundprints.
Seuling, B. 2002. Winter Lullaby. Harcourt Children's Books.
Stewart, P. 1999. Little Bit of Winter. HarperCollins Children's Books.
Stojic, M. 2002. Snow. Crown Books for Young Readers.
Stringer, L. 2006. Winter Is the Warmest Season. Harcourt Children's Books.
Thayer, T. 2001. Winter. Lerner Publishing Group.
Thomson, R. 1989. Winter. Scholastic Library Publishing.
Van Laan, N. 2000. When Winter Comes: A Lullaby. Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing.
Vestergaard, H. 2004. Hello, Snow! Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
Wallace, K. 2000. A Bed for Winter. DK Publishing, Inc.
Wellington, M. 2000. Bunny's First Snowflake. Penguin Group Incorporated.
Wildsmith, B. 1991. Animal Seasons. Oxford University Press.
Wilson, K. 2002. Bear Snores On. Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing.

Grades 3-5
Albert, T. 1998. A Kid's Winter EcoJournal: With Nature Activities for Exploring the Season. Trickle Creek Books.
Berger, G. 2002. Do Bears Sleep All Winter? Sagebrush Education Resources.
Beskow, E.M. 1982. Ollie's Ski Trip. Floris Books.
Brimmer, L.D. 1991. Animals That Hibernate. Scholastic Library Publishing.
Burton, J. and K. Taylor. 1999. Nature and Science of Winter. Gareth Stevens Audio.
Drake, J. 2004. Snow Amazing: Cool Facts and Warm Tales. Tundra.
George, J.C. 2001. Winter Moon. HarperCollins Publishers.
HarperCollins Publishing. 1998. Birds in Winter. Zondervan.
Hull, R. 1991. Poems for Winter. Steck-Vaughn.
Jackson, E. 1997. The Winter Solstice. Millbrook Press.
Lenski, L. 2000. I Like Winter. Random House Books for Young Readers.
Meyer, M.L. 2002. Winter. Smart Apple Media.
Penny, M. 2004. Hidden Hibernators. Heinemann.
Perry, P.J. 2001. Animals That Hibernate. Scholastic Library Publishing.
Simon, S. 1994. Winter across America. Hyperion Books for Children.
Stille, D.R. 2001. Winter. Capstone Press.
Webster, D. 1989. Winter: Activities, Projects, Science Facts. Silver Burdett Press.
Whipple, L. 2003. A Snowflake Fell: Poems About Winter. Barefoot Books.
Whitlock, R. 1987. Winter. Scholastic Library Publishing.
Yolen, J. 2005. Snow, Snow: Winter Poems for Children. Boyds Mills Press.

Grades 6-8
Jones, A. 2006. Four Seasons: Uncovering Nature. Firefly Books, Limited.
Santrey, L. 1982. Winter. Troll Communications L.L.C.
Watts, M.T. 1970. Winter Tree Finder. Nature Study Guild.

Grades 9-12
Arnosky, J. 1988. Sketching Outdoors in Winter. HarperCollins Publishers.
Bastedo, J. 2003. Falling for Snow: A Naturalist's Journey Into the World of Winter. Red Deer Press.
Brown, L. 1997. Wildflowers and Winter Weeds. Norton, W. W. & Company, Inc.
Chu, Miyoko. 2006. Songbird Journeys: Four Seasons in the Lives of Migratory Birds. Walker & Company.
Gilliland, H. 1992. Mystery Tracks in the Snow. Naturegraph Publishers, Incorporated.
Harrison, K. 1990. Birds of Winter. Random House, Incorporated.
Heinrich, B. 2003. Winter World: The Ingenuity of Animal Survival. HarperCollins Publishers.
Marchand, P.J. 1987. Life in the Cold: An Introduction to Winter Ecology. University Press of New England.
Stokes, D.W. 1979. Stokes Guide to Nature in Winter. Little, Brown & Company.
Trelease, W. 1967. Winter Botany: An Identification Guide to Native Trees and Shrubs. Dover Publications.

Exploring Nature with Your Senses

Nature is abundant with patterns, colors, and textures. Project Learning Tree’s activity, “The Shape of Things,” is a great outdoor activity that incorporates math, language arts, science and visual arts. As an extension to Part A, incorporate colors when describing what shape is found. Give each child a paint swatch of a natural color and have them match it to one of the shapes they find. You could also include textures by having students match the texture of their clothes to their natural object.

While “The Shape of Things” is geared towards the youngest of students, try using a shortened version of this activity with older students before hikes or service learning projects to sharpen observation skills. To incorporate language arts, use shapes as various symbols of nature (triangle = pine tree, circle = entrance to tunnel, etc.). Have students compare and contrast items in their daily lives with the symbols through poetry or essay.

For more thoughts on children exploring nature through their senses, read “A Sense of Wonder” by Rachel Carson.

Book List
PreK-2
Baylor, B. 1997. The Other Way to Listen. Simon & Schuster Adult Publishing Group.
Becker, B. 1995. The Quiet Way Home. Bill Martin Books.
Bouchard, D. 1996. Voices from the Wild: An Animal Sensagoria. Chronicle Books LLC.
Brown, R. 1989. If at First You Do Not See. Henry Holt and Co.
Carter, D.A. 1996. Colors and Shapes. Little Simon.
Dodds, D.A. 1996. Shape of Things. Candlewick Press.
Falwell, C. 1992. Shape Space. Houghton Mifflin Company.
Graff, N.P. 1998. In the Hush of the Evening. HarperCollins Publishers.
Harris, T. 2001. Pattern Bugs. Lerner Publishing Group.
Hickman, P. 2006. How Animals Use Their Senses. Kids Can Press, Limited.
Hoban, T. 1984. Is It Rough? Is It Smooth? Is It Shiny? HarperCollins Publishers.
Hoban, T. 1996. Shapes, Shapes, Shapes. HarperCollins Publishers.
Hoban, T. 1998. So Many Circles, So Many Squares. HarperCollins Publishers.
Kaner, E. 1999. Animal Senses: How Animals See, Hear, Taste, Smell and Feel. Kids Can Press, Limited.
Martin, Jr., B. 1988. Listen to the Rain. Henry Holt & Company, Incorporated.
Morgan, S. 2002. Animals and Their World. Kingfisher.
Rau, D.M. 2006. Star in My Orange: Looking for Nature's Shapes. Lerner Publishing Group.
Reed, J. 2003. Animal Patterns. Capstone Press.
Roemer, H.B. 2004. Come to My Party and Other Shape Poems. Henry Holt & Company, Incorporated.
Rotner, S. 1992. Nature Spy. Atheneum.
Roy, J.R. 2005. Patterns in Nature. Benchmark Books.
Rylant, C. 1991. Night in the Country. Simon & Schuster Adult Publishing Group.
Seuss, Dr. The Shape of Me and Other Stuff. Random House Children's Books.
Stockdale, S. 1999. Nature's Paintbrush: The Patterns and Colors around You. Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing.
Swinburne, S.R. 2002. Lots and Lots of Zebra Stripes: Patterns in Nature. Boyds Mills Press.
Showers, P. 1993. The Listening Walk. HarperCollins Children's Books.
Owen, R. 1994. My Night Forest. Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing.
Wallace, N.E. 2006. Look! Look! Look! Marshall Cavendish Children's Books.

Grades 3-5
Ackerman, D. 2003. Animal Sense. Knopf Books for Young Readers.
Branzei, S. 1998. Virtual Grossology. Planet Dexter.
Ebensen, B.J. 1996. Echoes for the Eye: Poems to Celebrate Patterns in Nature. HarperCollins Children's Books.
Hidalgo, M. 2003. Color. Creative Company.
Patent, D.H. 1979. Sizes and Shapes in Nature: What They Mean. Holiday House, Inc.
Pringle, L.P. 2000. Taste. Benchmark Books.
Santa Fe Writers Group. 1993. Bizarre and Beautiful Noses. Avalon Travel Publishing.
Yolen, J. 2004. Color Me a Rhyme: Nature Poems for Young People. Boyds Mills Press.

Grades 9-12
Downer, J. 1988. Supersense: Perception in the Animal World. Holt and Company.
Haeckel, E.H. 1974. Art Forms in Nature. Dover Publications.
Hughes, HC. 1999. Sensory Exotica: A World Beyond Human Experience. MIT Press.
Sinclair, S. 1985. How Animals See: Other Visions of Our World. Facts on File Incorporated.
Wade, D. 2003. LI: Dynamic Form in Nature. Walker & Company.