Winter theme: 12 books for your minority language homeschool
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We are deep in winter season here. Cold and short days invite for the cozy book afternoons or nights. Or weekend mornings. And in between :) Let me share some of our snow and winter themed books with you that we enjoy over and over again. As with all books in our household, they are being read in either German, English, or Portuguese. We usually have one language version of each book, and stick to that language when reading out loud. Our son knows exactly in which language which book is, and wants to stick to that language. So, we are exploring winter in a multilingual way by combining many snow-themed books, each in their one language.
Winter-themed book recommendations for your language homeschool:
“The Snow Thief” - Alice Hemming, Nicola Slater
Another part of the squirrel and bird books. This time, squirrel is surprised by snow. Together with bird, they explore winter, and encounter a strange and suspicious creature. It’s as fun, entertaining, and insightful as the other two parts.
Versions in English, German, 🇵🇹 Portuguese
“The Snowflake” - Benji Davies
We got this in Portuguese. You can call it almost a Christmas Story, since a decorative tree is part of the story. Otherwise the book tells the journey of a snowflake that does not want to land, but become a star. We also learn about Noelle and her desire for a perfect Christmas tree.
“In the Winter Woods” - Daniela Kulot
The fox, the mouse, and the raven are all hungry during winter. Only the squirrel has its food stash hidden. But now it cannot remember where the stash is! A story that shows the winter from its harsh side, and what struggle it brings along.
“The Magical Snow Garden” - Tracey Corderoy, Jane Chapman
We read this in Portuguese. The character names are all different :) Wellington (or Tom) wants to build a flower garden even though he lives in the snowy ice. His path of overcoming obstacles is motivating and creative!
“Der kleine Frosch will schwimmen gehen!” - Luisa Schauenberg, Pina Gertenbach
Such a loving story about the frog who wants to go swimming in the middle of winter. We took it as a springboard to talk about all the winter sports and which ones we’ll be trying next.
“A Bear and a Tree” - Stephen Michael King
The English version is out of print, so I was glad we got the Portuguese version. It is one of the most loved books, it’s so heartwarming.
“Little Polar Bear and the Husky Pup” - Hans de Beer
I like the aspect that it is a series around Lars the little polar bear, and you can add more stories if you are hooked by this one. The story as well as the used language is already more complex and follows a longer plot.
“The Snowy Nap” - Jan Brett
We love hedgehog stories over here. And this is no exception. Little hedgie walks through the farm to say good night to all the animals before the hibernation. Everyone is getting Hedgie excited about winter, so he decides to stay up. I particularly like the illustration style, and the use of “Skedaddle!” in the book.
“The Bear’s Winter House” - John Yeomen & Quentin Blake
It’s a longer story with more text than other picture books so it is really helpful for extending attention spans but also to absorb a bit more complex sentence structure and to follow a longer story arch.
“Lenni und Lu freuen sich auf den Schnee” - Andrea Schütze, Iris Blanck
A board book with a story about Lenni the Elephant and Lu the Lynx who spend the first snow day out in the garden. Inititially both have a different understanding of snow fun.
“Hotel Winterschlaf” - Thomas Krüger, Eleanor Sommer
It’s a cute book about a fox that runs a hotel for hibernating animals from the woods. It’s adorable, and practical to put in the backpack for travelling.
“Trau dich, Eddie Eisbär”
The polar bear Eddie needs to overcome his fear of leaving his mothers side to play with his friends. It’s a simple story with atmospheric illustrations.
Which books are you reading about winter? Which ones should be added to the list? Let us know in the comments.
You can read more book reviews from our book shelf here.
