Winter YoungCanLit: Books of our Contentment

In the past week, we here in southern Ontario enjoyed our first hit of snow, and I've been reminded that without winter, we would not be Canadians.  And without winter, the following 50+ books would be irrelevant. And because winter is such an important season in Canada–though I'm sure that there are some who say that it is too pervasive but I wouldn't be one of them–I think we should celebrate winter in all its glory and splendour and joy and tragedy.  Winter has it all!  

PICTURE BOOKS

50 Below Zero
by Robert Munsch
Illustrated by Michael Martchenko
Annick Press
24 pp.
Ages 5-8
1986

Bella's Tree
by Janet Russell
Illustrated by Jirina Marton
Groundwood Books
40 pp.
Ages 6-9
2009

Ben's Snow Song: A Winter Picnic
by Hazel Hutchins
Illustrated by Lisa Smith
Annick Press
24 pp.
Ages 3-5
1987

Cold Night, Brittle Night
by Richard Thompson
Illustrated by Henry Fernandes
Orca Book Publishers
32 pp.
Ages 6-8
1994

Emma's Cold Day
by Margriet Ruurs
Illustrated by Barbara Spurll
Fitzhenry & Whiteside
24 pp.
Ages 3-7
2001

It's Moving Day
by Pamela Hickman
Illustrated by Geraldo Valério
Kids Can Press
32 pp.
Ages 7-9
2008

A Letter from the Snow
by Ellen Bryan Obed
Illustrated by Gordon Hammond
Maine Authors Publishing
40 pp.
Ages 6-9
2015

Lily and the Paper Man
by Rebecca Upjohn
Illustrated by Renné Benoit
Second Story Press
24 pp.
Ages 4-7
2007

Little Snowshoe
by Ellen Bryan Obed
Illustrated by William Ritchie
Breakwater Books
40 pp.
Ages 5-9
1984/2014

Making Grizzle Grow
by Rachna Gilmore
Illustrated by Leslie Elizabeth Watts
Fitzhenry & Whiteside
32 pp.
Ages 4-7
2009

Mary of Mile 18
by Ann Blades
Tundra Books
40 pp.
Ages 5-10
2001

Nana's Cold Days
by Adwoa Badoe
Illustrated by Bushra Junaid
Groundwood Books
32 pp.
Ages 3-7
2002

Northern Nights: The Soccer Trails
by Michael Arvaarluk Kusugak
Illustrated by Vladyana Krykorka
Annick Press
24 pp.
Ages 8+
1993

The Old Ways
by Susan Margaret Chapman
Illustrated by John Mantha
Fifth House
32 pp.
Ages 5+
2014

On a Snowy Night
by Jean Little
Illustrated by Brian Deines
Northwinds Press/Scholastic Canada
32 pp.
Ages 8-11
2013

Once Upon a Northern Night
by Jean E. Pendziwol
Illustrated by Isabelle Arsenault
Groundwood Books
36 pp.
Ages 4-7
2013

Painted Skies
by Carolyn Mallory
Illustrated by Amei Zhao
Inhabit Media
36 pp.
Ages 5-7
2015

Perfect Snow
by Barbara Reid
North Winds Press
32 pp.
Ages 4-7
2009

Prairie Born
by David Bouchard
Illustrated by Peter Shostak
Orca Book Publishers
32 pp.
Ages 8+
1997

A Prairie Boy's Winter
by William Kurelek
Tundra Books
48 pp.
Ages 9+
1984

SkySisters
by Jan Bourdeau Waboose
Illustrated by Brian Deines
Kids Can Press
32 pp.
Ages 5-8
2000

The Snow Cat
by Dayal Kaur Khalsa
Tundra Books
24 pp.
Ages 4-8
1999

Snow Day
by Werner Zimmerman
Scholastic Canada
32 pp.
Ages 3-7
2007

Snowy Sports: Ready, Set, Play!
Written by Yvette Ghione
Illustrated by Per-Henrik Gürth
Kid Can Press
24 pp.
Ages 3-6
2009

Stella, Queen of the Snow
by Marie-Louise Gay
Groundwood Books
32 pp.
Ages 3-7
2010

Sundog Rescue
by Alison Lohans
Illustrated by Vladyana Langer Krykorka
Annick Press
24 pp.
Ages 4-7
1999

Thomas's Snowsuit
by Robert Munsch
Illustrated by Michael Martchenko
Annick Press
24 pp.
Ages 5-8
1986

Twelve Kinds of Ice
by Ellen Bryan Obed
Illustrated by Barbara McClintock
Houghton Mifflin
64 pp.
Ages 6-10
2012

Winter Break Wipeout
by Gilles Tibo
Illustrated by Bruno St-Aubin
Translated by Petra Johannson
Scholastic Canada
30 pp.
Ages 6-8
2014

Winter Magic
by Eveline Hasler
Illustrated by Michele Lemieux
Kids Can Press
32 pp.
Ages 5-8
1989

Winter Moon Song
by Martha Brooks
Pictures by Leticia Ruifernández
Groundwood Books
32 pp.
Ages 5-8
2014

A Winter's Tale
by Ian Wallace
Groundwood Books
32 pp.
Ages 5-9
1997






FICTION

Cold Midnight in Vieux Quebec
by Eric Wilson
HarperCollins
128 pp.
Ages 9-13
1989

Dancing Through the Snow
by Jean Little
Scholastic Canada
238 pp.
Ages 9-14
2007

Frostbite Hotel
by Karen Adams
James Lorimer
160 pp.
Ages 8-11
2014

Graves of Ice: The Lost Franklin Expedition, George Chambers, The Northwest Passage, 1845
by John Wilson
Scholastic Canada
208 pp.
Ages 9-12
2014

The Moon Speaks Cree: A winter adventure
by Larry Loyie with Constance Brissenden
Illustrated by Bill Cohen
70 pp.
Ages 8-13
Theytus
2013

Northern Exposures
by Eric Walters
Fitzhenry & Whiteside
304 pp.
Ages 9-13
2008

Sioux Winter
by Bill Freeman
James Lorimer
141 pp.
Ages 11-14
1999

Trapped in Ice
by Eric Walters
Puffin
224 pp.
Ages 8-13
2008

What will the Robin do then? Winter Tales
by Jean Little
Penguin Books Canada
217 pp.
Ages 12-14
1998








Young Adult

Fifth Business
by Robertson Davies
Macmillan Canada
273 pp.
Ages 15+
1970

Frost
by Nicole Luiken
Great Plains Teen Fiction
158 pp.
Ages 13-17
2007

Frozen (HIP Xtreme Novels)
by Lori Jamison
Illustrated by Charlie Hnatiuk
H.I.P. Books
75 pp.
Ages 11-17
2012

Frozen Fire
by James Houston
New York Atheneum
139 pp.
Ages 12+
1984

I am Algonquin
by Rick Revelle
Dundurn
280 pp.
Ages 12+
2013

Peak Survival (Take it to the Extreme)
by Pam Withers
Walrus Books/Whitecap Books
155 pp.
Ages 13-17
2004

The Wolf and Me (The Seven Sequels)
by Richard Scrimger
Orca Book Publishers
229 pp.
Ages 12-15
2014







NON-FICTION

Here is the Arctic Winter
by Madeleine Dunphy
Illustrated by Alan James Robinson
Web of Life Children's Books
32 pp.
Ages 3-8
2007

How Cold Was It?
by Jane Barclay
Illustrated by Janice Donato
Lobster Press
32 pp.
Ages 6-9
1999

The Inuit Thought of It: Amazing Arctic Innovations
by Alootook Ipellie with David MacDonald
Annick Press
32 pp.
Ages 9-11
2007

Snow Watch: Experiments, Activities and Things To Do with Snow
by Cheryl Archer
Illustrated by Pat Cupples
Kids Can Press
56 pp.
Ages 8-11
1994

Who Likes the Snow? (Exploring the Elements)
by Etta Kaner
Illustrated by Marie Lafrance
Kids Can Press
32 pp.
Ages 3-7
2006

Winter: A Guide to Nature's Activities and Fun
by Dianne Hayley and Pat Wishart
Illustrated by Jo-El Berg
Lone Pine Publishing
170 pp.
Ages 9-13
1993

Winter’s Coming: A Story of Seasonal Change
by Jan Thornhill
Illustrated by Josée Bisaillon
Owlkids Books
32 pp.
Ages 5-8
2014

Winter Friends
by Jean Stoick
Photographs by Carl R. Sams II
Carl R. Sams II Photography (Distributed by Scholastic Canada)
14 pp.
Ages 2-5
2003

Within the Stillness: One Family’s Winter on a Northern Trapline
by Keith Olsen
Your Nickel's Worth Publishing
191 pp.
Ages 10+
2011