19 books like Snowmen at Night

Parts is a hilarious and fun tale about a boy who thinks he is falling apart. After his toes start peeling, his tooth falls out, and he finds fuzz in his belly button, he thinks he will most likely have to be held together by duct tape. As the story unfolds, the boy’s parents realize they never told him all of these things are normal and soothe his worries. The rhyming scheme of this book is incredible and the illustrations capture the fun-loving nature of the message.

Julia Donaldson is the supremo of rhyming. I am certainly not the only writer she has inspired. All her books are really well crafted and the fact that she is a singer and very musical can be felt by reading her exemplary rhyme.  

I recommend this book, the first which made her name in this genre, because it has all the qualities of a best rhyming text. It tells a story to which children can relate, is never boring, and has an unerring and satisfying beat.

The Crayon Box that Talked begins with a young girl overhearing a box of crayons arguing in a toy store about how they don’t like each other for their differences. The little girl buys the box of crayons and when she gets home begins to color. As the crayons begin to blend together and create beautiful art, they begin to see that their differences are actually something to celebrate because they all contribute to the bigger picture. The message in this book is beautiful.

The Legend of Spookley the Square Pumpkin is a fun Halloween read, but more importantly a wonderful story that shows the importance of acceptance. Spookley is unlike any other pumpkin in the patch because he is square instead of round. At first, the other pumpkins tease Spookley and are unkind to him because he is different. After a storm blows in and Spookley saves the day, the other pumpkins realize it doesn’t matter what Spookley looks like, what matters is the kind of pumpkin he is and how he showed kindness to others.

Both the poetry and prose of this beautiful book speaks to my heart; these are words I would have liked to have written myself: Softly, gently in the secret light/Down from the North came the quiet white./Drifting, sifting, silent flight,/Softly, gently in the secret night. After the first poetic introduction, the book moves into a perfect description of a neighborhood before, during and after a big snow, beginning with the first flakes of snow the children catch on their tongues, to the postman pulling on his boots; the snowfall so deep that the farmer must dig his way to the barn. In the night the stars come out when the snow stops. The next morning, bright light fills the barn where the farmer milks his cow, and children build a snowman, a snow fort, and have a snowball fight. The melting snow drips into icicles, as the neighborhood warms… show more.

As a librarian I am always looking for a good read aloud for story time and this book is it!

The snow people only come to life if there is snow on the solstice! Full of all the magic and wonder of snow people who celebrate cold – as only snow people can – full of feasting, snow family antics, and meaningful connections. There are lots of good follow-up crafts and activities.

Perfect for a winter but not Christmas theme at the library or preschool, even early grades.

This has it all. Every time I see the cover I think of the house where I grew up and I can picture the scene in the lounge on Christmas morning where I’m sorting the presents into piles for when my grandparents arrive, while watching this on BBC2. One year I got given it as a book, and it was a different experience to read it, but just as lovely.

Local to me, I’ve been familiar with the gorgeous poster and mural art of Greg Newbold. More recently he has teamed up with his wife Amy to create a series of picture books showcasing the styles of renowned artists. This first book takes snowmen and imagines what they would look like if painted by artists such as Van Gogh, Dali, Picasso, O’Keefe, and others. An excellent introduction to the painting styles of famous artists, with informative text to reinforce the idea that “not all artists paint the same.” 

I was in second grade when I first read this Robert Frost poem in our classroom textbook. There was one magnificent illustration of a horse in a dark, snowy forest, with big snowflakes falling that captured my imagination. I was entranced by the language and images and remember memorizing the poem to recite. In 1978 Susan Jeffers illustrated the poem as a picture book, with evocative gray and white drawings. A later edition added some color. In this case, the beauty of the text is such that no illustrations are needed, but it is lovely to see the snowy village, the narrator stopping to make a snow angel, and the snow-laden tree branches. A great introduction to the poems of Robert Frost, who called this poem “my best bid for remembrance.” (Just FYI, you can listen to a recording of Robert Frost reading this poem on YouTube.) 

Wanted: One Perfect Boy is just one of the fantastic titles in the Silver Blades series by Melissa Lowell. This series, published during the 1990s heyday of skating, leans toward the tween crowd but is a great sentimental binge read. This particular title is about a pair partnership breakup, no romance involved, but still delivers all the feels in Nikki’s search for a new partner.