Winter themed books with perfectly paired activities

Our resident book worm, Lauren, finds six winter themed books that can be brought to life with creative activities for the little ones.

Peppa Goes Skiing

You’d be hard pressed to find a toddler who doesn’t love Peppa Pig! I set my 3 year old the challenge to find all the ‘winter themed’ books we have in our collection, and she found this one before I did! Peppa and her friends are learning how to ski with Madame Gazelle, and Mummy Pig turns out to be the best skier of all.

A homemade snow dough recipe is perfect for those of us who live in parts of the world without snow. Super simple; just combine cornflour and oil until you are happy with the consistency (add some silver glitter too to make it sparkly and special). Add some Peppa Pig characters and it would be compliment this story perfectly.

Polar Bear Polar Bear What Do You Hear?

Following in the footsteps of the well-loved classic Brown Bear Brown Bear What Do You See? comes Polar Bear’s own wintery version. Children will learn the sounds these interesting animals make and the story is repetitive and easy to follow. It has a super fun ending too!

A great activity to go with this book is a Story Pattern. It’s great for retelling the story and putting the animals in the right order. Either print the black and white version and get your kids to colour it in, or keep it simpler by printing the colour version, laminate, cut it out and play!

We’re Going on a Bear Hunt

This is another classic tale that your little one will be sure to love (if they don’t already that is). The family are off on an adventure through the grass, through the river and of course the snow storm!

This small world play is a great way to bring the story to life for young children. Whenever Miss M sees those foam peanuts in my craft cupboard, she always asks for ‘Bear Hunt’ to be set up again! Pictured here is the low mess version, but you could certainly use natural materials (and shaving cream for the snow storm if you aren’t afraid of a little mess!).

The Snow Bear

This book has been in my collection for many years, before I even began my teaching job and had children of my own. It has the most beautiful textured pages that are so inviting to touch! Poor little Snow Bear has lost his mother, and his forest friends have come to help him but making him a mother out of snow. Children can simply glue cotton balls onto your printable from Polar Bear Polar Bear What Do You Hear?

Disney’s Frozen Story Book

My 3 year old is Frozen obsessed – so naturally this one had to be in our collection. It’s quite long and detailed, so we read it over a few nights before bed. There is so much Frozen merchandise out there, so why not grab a sticker book or colouring book to enjoy with your little one. Or add some Frozen figurines to your snow dough.

Elmer in the Snow 

Elmer is everyone’s favourite and loveable patchwork elephant and in this story he teaches us that hot and cold are just relative. Young readers will learn that the higher up a mountain you go – the colder it gets!

Get your free printable of Elmer and either colour him in or create a collage patchwork picture. Add some cotton wool if you want him to be in the snow like the story.

So play, have fun and stay warm indoors this winter. Winter themed books are a great place to start. Share your ideas below.