Enjoy some Cooold Weather Books

The last “I remember” Blog, I wrote was about the “Blizzard of 1948-1949”, and since this is our winter time I felt this would be good to introduce read aloud books about snow, cold and storms. I hope you enjoy some of these cooooold weather books.

NOW CLOSE YOUR WINDOWS

Now close your windows and hush all the fields:

If the trees must, let them silently toss;

No bird is singing now, and if there is,

Be it my loss.

The above verse from Now Close Your Windows, by Robert Frost made me think about closing yours windows and snuggle up with a good book. Enjoy your reading time.

The Snowy Day

by Jack Keats

The book, The Snowy Day, is a classic and a Caldecott Medal-winning picture book. It has been enjoyed by many children for over 40 years. My suggestion is that every home library should include this read aloud. Reading this book to your children captures the excitement of waking up to a fresh snow storm or the beauty of falling snow in the middle of the day. In fact this little picture book brings up the magic and wonder of a snow storm even when there is no snow outside.

The Mitten

Adapted and Illustrated by Jan Brett

On the cover of this delightful book it states “Adapted and Illustrated” by Jan Brett. This means she didn’t write the story, She illustrated and modified A Ukrainian Folktale to make this story come alive. Before she writes and illustrates a book, she gathers knowledge and facts, sometimes traveling to different countries. She also does a main illustration and then little side illustrations on each page. All her illustrations both the large and the small could also be topics for discussion.

Roscoe the Rascal in the Land of Snow

by Shana Gorian

Rosco is a German Shepard who is the main character in these books. He seems to always scout out trouble. There are 7 books about Roscoe. This particular book is the second in the series. I chose this book because as the title suggest it takes place in the mountains, in the snow. Roscoe had never seen snow before. Depending on the reading level of your child/children, this book can be read silently by your child or as a Parent Read Aloud Book.

The Long Winter

by Laura Ingalls Wilder

Laura Ingalls Wilder’s 8 books are stories from her childhood as a little pioneer girl. They are cataloged as fiction, but they are full of the history of when the Ingalls were traveling and settling in the mid West of the United States.

When my daughter homeschooled her youngest son, much of her teaching came from a unit study developed from Laura Ingall Wilder’s books. She stated, “The main theme was history, but I taught survival, we made cheese, built replicas of the houses they lived in, I taught a understanding of the human part of history, We learned about rivers and geography. It was a powerful learning experience for my son.” In fact this same son, my grandson, came through my house and asked if he could sometime have my set of Laura Ingalls Wilders book. That is the kind of impact that this study had on him.

I have chosen the book The Long Winter, because it deals with a very harsh winter. Their first blizzard started in October just like the blizzard I wrote about in my blog, I Remember the Blizzard of 1948-1949. From there it was a very different time and so the difficulties they encounter were much harsher and more life threatening than the blizzard I remember

You could read aloud the whole book or pick out and read the chapters that deal with the blizzards. Here are the chapters that specifically deal with the blizzard ;

• Chapter 4 October Blizzard

• Chapter 5 After the Storm

• Chapter 10 Three Days Blizzard

Snow Treasure

by Marie McSwigain

This book is a story that take place in 1940 when German soldiers parachuted into a small village in Norway and held it captive. The main character is a 12 year old boy named Peter Lundstrom. Now Peter’s father runs the bank and his uncle owns a fishing vessel. The bank has 9 million dollars worth of Gold that they do not want the German’s to find. They make a plan to have Peter and his friends go sledding down the mountain right by the soldier with the gold hidden on their sleighs. They deliver the gold to Peter’s uncle’s hidden vessel. It took a lot of planning and a lot of courage to make this work.

What a great read aloud that uses adventure, winter fun, and children tell historic event.

Kavik the Wolf Dog

by Walt Morey

I guess you can say this is a book mainly about Kavik the part Malamute, part Wolf dog. He trained by Charlie One-Eye to be a leader of a sled dog team. Later he led Charlie’s team to victory in the North American Sled Dog Derby. More important is that this is a book about the love between Andy Evans, a fifteen year old boy and Kavik. This love endured even after a long separation. Its a book about adventure, Alaska, dog sledding, cold and snow.

I first met Walt Morey in the year 1983 when he visited Elmwood Elementary where I was the principal. He autographed my book Kavik the Wolf According to Wikipedia, he wrote numerous works of children's fiction, set in the U.S. Pacific Northwest and Alaska, the places where Morey lived for all of his life. On of his most famous books was Gentle Ben.

Notes about me:

Jylene Morgan is a retired educator. She is passionate about the importance of reading aloud to children from top quality children’s books. Writing about her life experiences she captivates her audience by telling the tales of her family’s adventures. The first several books are written about funny exchanges that occur when human and wild animal’s lives come together.

To read more about me, my passion for reading aloud to children and my books go to www.jylenemorgan.com. Make sure you join our mailing list so you receive Jylene's "Most Treasured Books List". So you can also be the first to know when Jylene's next book, BUMMER and the Nanny Goat, is available.