This post will provide you with a list of the best books to read aloud with your children this winter. There’s nothing better than getting cosy under a warm blanket and enjoying a winter book when it’s cold outside. Celebrate the winter season with your child by sharing one of these wonderful books.
A lot of these books I have been able to buy secondhand online from either eBay or World of Books. I would also encourage you to have a look in your local library for seasonal children’s books. For convenience though I have included links to buy these books on Amazon.
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Winter Books for Babies & Toddlers
Winter by Gerda Muller
This set of board books about the seasons by Gerda Muller are some of my favourite children’s books. They do not contain any words, but the illustrations are beautiful and show so many cosy winter activities that really celebrate the season. It’s lovely to look at the pictures and talk about what the children are doing. We make up names for the children and tell funny stories about what they might be thinking. Winter features lots of playing outside on snowy days, ice skating, getting ready for Christmas and observing nature. These books are suitable from birth, but my 7 year old daughter still enjoys them.

Seasons & Sounds – Listen to Winter illustrated by Morena Forza
My toddler loves looking through this colourful board book. Each page contains a button for your child to press to hear winter sounds such as crunching through the snow, the wind blowing and jingling bells. The pictures are lovely and bright and show children outside enjoying nature during the winter season. Each page contains a short sentence that (sort of) rhymes. This is a four part series, one book for each season, which would make a great gift for a toddler. These board books are suitable from birth.

The Nativity (Usborne Touchy-Feely) by Fiona Watt
This is a simple but lovely retelling of The Nativity. Each page contains a few different textures for your child to touch as they listen to the story. There are fluffy sheep in the stable, wise men with beautiful cloaks and the baby Jesus wrapped in a soft blanket. It’s perfect for both toddlers and older children.

Peter Rabbit Tale – A Christmas Wish
This story is about Peter Rabbit and his family on Christmas Eve, who are all excited for Father Christmas to visit. Peter is so excited that he cannot fall asleep and has to investigate every little noise that he hears within the burrow. This is a sweet little board book that would appeal to older toddlers.

Poppy and Sam’s Lift-the-Flap Christmas (Usborne Farmyard Tales) by Heather Amery
This story is set on Christmas Eve at Poppy and Sam’s farm. It follows Poppy and Sam in their excitement as they prepare for Christmas Day. This is a fun and interactive book. Children enjoy lifting the flaps to see behind doors, windows and curtains. There is also a little yellow duck and kitten to spot on each page. Suitable from age 3 upwards.

Winter Books for Kids
The Story Orchestra – The Nutcracker illustrated by Jessica Courtney-Tickle
I love The Story Orchestra book series. I think they are a wonderful way to introduce children to classical pieces of music. The story follows a little girl called Clara as she goes on a magical adventure on Christmas Eve, after she is gifted a special Nutcracker from her godfather. On each page there is a button which plays an excerpt from Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker. Suitable for children aged 5 and above.

Brambly Hedge Winter Story by Jill Barklem
These seasonal stories follow a little community of mice that live in adorable miniature homes set within the roots and trunks of the trees of Brambly Hedge. The illustrations are really intricate and beautiful. This book is from my childhood and to be honest I didn’t really remember the stories, but I vividly recall the pictures within these books after spending so much time studying them. This story is about how the mice throw themselves a grand Snow Ball, with lots of food and dancing, during a winter snow storm. I would say these books are more suitable from age 5 upwards.

The Night Before Christmas by Clement C. Moore
This well known story is perfect to read to your child on Christmas Eve, or at any point during the run up to Christmas. It tells the story of Father Christmas being seen visiting a home on Christmas Eve and is written as one long rhyming poem. There are many versions available with different illustrations. I cannot find the same copy that I have online, so I have linked to a highly rated version below.

Lucy & Tom at Christmas – Shirley Hughes
I love Shirley Hughes books. They are so nostalgic and remind me of simpler times growing up in the 80s and 90s. The illustrations are wonderful and show the brother and sister doing all sorts of Christmas activities such as making cards, choosing a tree, wrapping presents and then waking their parents up early on Christmas morning. It all looks so wholesome and Christmassy, I highly recommend this book.

Father Christmas – Raymond Briggs
You may be familiar with the cartoon version of this book, which was released in 1991. I loved watching Father Christmas when I was a child. This Father Christmas is quite grumpy going about his mission on Christmas Eve, but he’s also very funny. This book contains a few speech bubbles of text on each page and the illustrations are laid out in a cartoon strip style, so it’s very easy to follow the story. You and your child can take it in turns to describe what’s going on in each picture. My daughter finds the kind but grumpy Father Christmas hilarious. Raymond Briggs is also the author of The Snowman.

The Twelve Days of Christmas illustrated by Jane Ray
This book is literally the traditional song ‘The Twelve Days of Christmas’ in written form along with illustrations of each of the gifts being received. It’s only when you see what this woman is being gifted that you realise just how bonkers this song actually is! Especially as the woman in this book lives in a townhouse and then on the 8th day of Christmas receives 8 maids milking 8 cows whilst she’s sat eating breakfast! What is going on?! Despite the crazy lyrics, this is a fun song for children to memorize and who doesn’t love belting out “FIVE GOLD RINGS!” It is probably best suited for children aged 5 upwards.

The Snowflake by Benji Davies
We recently borrowed this book from our local library and I think it may be my new favourite winter story. It follows the story of a little girl and a little snowflake and it is absolutely adorable. I love the illustrations of all of the cosy winter scenes, as Noelle walks home from town with her Pappie. I highly recommend this book.

I hope you’ve enjoyed reading this list of winter inspired books. I plan on adding to this post as I discover more books with my children in the future. Let me know in the comments below if you have a favourite book to read with your child during the winter months and I’ll be sure to check it out!
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For more seasonal children’s book recommends please check out my posts:
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