Best Christmas and Winter Books for Kids Ages 3-5
Winter and Christmas books are some of my favorite to use in speech therapy for facilitating language skills in preschoolers. Following is a list of books I use in my speech sessions each season with different target goals in the descriptions. I wanted to post this blog now if you are thinking about gift for this age children.
For more information on choosing books for children, go to Choosing Books for Preschoolers to Encourage Communication Skills
Each title has a link to the book on Amazon (these links are affiliate links, so I get a few cents if you purchase one- at NO extra cost to you). You can also find most of these books at your local library!
Holiday Books
Holiday and Winter Books can target an array of speech and language goals
The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats
This is a classic book with simple colorful contrasting pictures of a journey of a little boy and his adventures through the snow. I use the concepts of “toes pointed in” and “toes pointed out” when walking to incorporate some motor movement into speech therapy. I use my book companion for this story each winter! We also work on opposites like “down the hill” and “up the hill”. You can have tons of supplemental craft extension activities with this sweet story.
The Snow Globe Family by Jane O’Conner.
This story is about a real family living in a house, then the snow globe family living in a snow globe in the real family’s house and only the baby sees the snow globe family. This is for 4-5 year olds and is also great for older children also. It lends itself to working on “pretend” versus “real”, “big” versus “little” and working on finding solutions for problems. This one has fun extension activities like making snow globes.
Merry Christmas Big Hungry Bear by Audrey Wood
This is really a perfect Christmas book for this age! A little mouse initially tries to hide his presents from the big hungry bear, then realizes that the bear needs some presents too!
This story has repetitive text and the reader is talking to the mouse keeping children interested in knowing how this will end up! I target asking the mouse questions for information and kids love to join in talking to the mouse. We also target “big and small” when talking about the bear versus the mouse, what they wear, the presents and where they live.
Are You Grumpy Santa by Gregg Spiridellis
Santa is grumpy in the beginning of this wonderful rhyming story then comes around. This is fun to read and kids think this grumpy Santa is hysterical because of all the reasons he is grumpy (itchy suit, he’s on a diet..). This one is for 4-5 year olds and is perfect for working on emotions like “grumpy, happy, sad, frustrated, annoyed”.
Merry Christmas, Stinky Face by Lisa McCourt
Stinky Face loves Christmastime...but he still has plenty of questions. What if a big, wintry wind blows his Christmas tree away? What if one of the reindeer gets his antlers stuck in the branches that hang over the roof? His Mama knows how to answer these questions. This one is fantastic for working on “wh” questions!
Snowmen at Christmas by Caralyn Buehner
This is one book in a series of 5 about Snowmen at different time (Winter, Night, Play). There are hidden items throughout the story that children can try to find (although it’s not easy even for me!). Working on concepts like “behind’, “under” and “on top” when describing where the snowmen are as well as using descriptive language when describing the different snow people works well in this book. There is quite a bit of text, but remember, you do not have to read it all if you have a younger child.
Llama Llama Jingle Bells by Anna Dewdney
This is a book for younger children or children with difficulty attending to longer stories. It has rhyming phrases where children can attempt to fill in the words. The pictures are engaging and good to work on pointing to pictures named.
The Snowman by Raymond Briggs
This is a story about a little boy who makes friends with a snowman. I like the “lift the flap” version of this book with my younger children. There is very little text (or no text in the original version), so children can use their own words to tell the story.
Dream Snow by Eric Carle
This is one of my favorite winter books! A farmer dreams that snow has covered him and his farm animals. There is a snow cover plastic page covering each animal in the story, so children can guess what is under each page. This works well for answering and answering “who” questions and labeling animals and using animal sounds for minimally verbal children.
Max’s Christmas by Rosemary Wells
Max has plans to stay up late to see Santa Claus, but his big sister, Ruby, won’t let him. Max asks questions throughout the book making it perfect for working on “wh” questions with children. It has limited text which is perfect for younger wiggly listeners!
Gingerbread Baby by Jan Brett
The repeated phrasing in this story makes it easy for children to “help” tell the story. The people and animals that the Gingerbread Baby meet continue to grow lending this story to working on sequencing of events with children. There is a “hint” with the side pictures of what is coming next, that children love to guess! You can find a ready made book companion here!
The Night before Christmas by Clement Moore
Need I say more? Just had to include this for those of us who had to read this every Christmas Eve!
Check out my Winter Book Companion Kit in my TPT store for activities to use with some wonderful winter and holiday books!
