hey, did you hear?

I'm not sure if you were aware, but there's been a bit of weather happening in the DC metro area. Call it Snowpocalypse, or a snowgasm, or the snowmaggedon, or snOMG, or even the Snowtorious B.I.G. (thanks Facebook pals for introducing me to these various monikers!). Yup, we got snow. A whole freaking lot of snow. So much snow that I could have easily lost one or two children on our late afternoon walk. So much snow that lovely hubby's biceps are bulging from wielding the snow shovel multiple times in the last 24 hours. So much snow that I believe I'll be forced to home school JAM until early March.

Thankfully, hubby is the one who dutifully carts the camera around during the memorable events of our lives, and he's also the one who sits on his laptop meticulously formatting and uploading the pics to his blog (so that I don't have to). Wanna see? Check out our blizzardly bonanza and feel free to give him some comment love.

While hubby's specialty is documenting our days in pictures, you could say that my role is to provide the appropriate reading materials for the experiences. Well, at least for Red and Pudge, since JAM has no difficulty filling his shelf with literary choices. With over 20 inches of the white flaky goodness coating our neighborhood, I thought it would be a perfect time to share some of the picture book titles that are residing in a special basket in our living room. You gotta know we've been reading these again and again lately!

Snow Dude by Daniel Kirk

Oh boy, this is adorable. Take the traditional story of the runaway gingerbread man and his pursuers, but give it a wintry twist. The snow dude is fiesty and fun, and he's got a lot of folks chasing him because they want to play too. This one is beloved by Pudge, who even mentioned it during our snowy walk!

Oh! by Kevin Henkes, illustrated by Laura Dronzek

Animals and kids take advantage of the newly fallen snow for a day full of outdoor play in this simple and very accessible story. I like books like this for a quick read that is easily retold by Red, and even Pudge, on their own. The illustrations are soft and colorful and celebrate the joy that snow play can bring. Perfect for younger readers on a snowy day.



A Penguin Storyby Antoinette Portis

In a world of white, black and blue, Edna the penguin is certain that there must be "something else." Not sure what that something else could be, she goes off searching and comes back excited to share with her friends what she has found. Another simple story, but this one has a subtlety that impressed me. I believe this one is my favorite in the basket right now.

The Mitten by Jim Aylesworth, illustrated by Barbara McClintock

Yup, it's the classic story, which was also told and exquisitely illustrated by Jan Brett. This version has a little boy losing the mitten that his loving grandmother made for him, and a slew of fun animals trying to use it for a warm home on a snowy day. I like the illustrations of this one, too, and I keep meaning to find our copy of Brett's book to add to the basket to see how the kids view them together.


In the Snow: Who's Been Here? by Lindsay Barrett George

When a brother and sister head out for a sledding adventure, they come upon several different signs of previous visits by animals, from the familiar, like squirrels, cardinals and chipmunks, and also the less common (at least to us!), like a ruffed grouse and a mink. The last page includes a brief information section about each of the eight animals that are featured in the story, and the kids were curious to hear even the nonfiction portion, which pleasantly surprised me.


Snow by Uri Shulevitz

This is an older book, but one that is a staple in any good winter book collection. The little boy and his dog happily declare a snow day, even when there is only one or two flakes in the air. Several grown-ups pooh-pooh their declaration, saying it will never stick, it's just a few snowflakes, yada yada. (Grown-ups don't always know everything!) The language is a bit choppy in this one, but the kids adore watching the snow slowly accumulate and cover the little boy's world.

Snow by Steve Sanfield

Another book with the same title- this really cracks the kids up, for some reason. I like the language and flow of this simple story of observations of the effects a big snowfall can have on the natural environment. The illustrations are uniquely toned in blues and purples, making many of them quite memorable. This one has been frequently requested this past week.


There's a little sample of some books that are appropriate for those reading sessions that occur after you peel the wet snowsuits off the kids and snuggle up in front of the fire. I suspect the next few days will see that scenario acted out again and again in our own little winter wonderland!


Blogging from what resembles Antarctica,