I love picture books! In our family library, my husband’s beautiful leather-bound tomes line one section of shelves, while my continually growing collection of children’s literature fills another section. I’d say our respective collections take up about the same amount of real estate, but since I can fit about 20 picture books in the same amount of space as one “War and Peace”, I’d say my collection is larger. There just never seems to be a bad time to read a good children’s book. Start of an activity – great! Rowdy transition time – perfect! Bedtime – ideal! It reminds me of the iPhone commercials (“There’s an app for that”). Any situation, there’s a book for that. New puppy in the family? There’s a book for that. Having a really bad day? There’s a book for that. Want to become a pirate? There’s a book for that too. Ate too many cupcakes and now you’ve turned pink, which you were really excited about at first, until the birds and bees thought you were a flower and swarmed you, and after one more cupcake you’re actually red, which isn’t nearly as neat as pink and now you need to know how to get back to your normal self? Wouldn’t you know, there’s a book for that too! (If you think I’m totally off my rocker with that last reference, you need to read Pinkalicious!)
During a winter themed preschool unit, there are plenty of opportunities for a great book. You might use one to start off outside time, an art project, a game, or a discussion. Or you might just read one to enjoy it together with your little ones. For any occasion, here’s a quick list of some of my favorite winter-themed books. Instead of summarizing them myself, I’ve linked each picture to Amazon, which also gives a story summary.