"Little Red Gliding Hood" - Tara Lazar

Oh my goodness! Artwork has the 2-D papercut look, works wonderfully. Look for all the fairy tale and nursery rhyme characters. And I appreciate the transition of these stories into a winter setting. Love it!

This may have just become a book I need to own...

Red loves to skate, all the way to Grandma's house, but her skates are old. So when a pairs figure skating competition is held in the Enchanted Forest, and the prize is new skates, Red sets out to find a partner.

Read Also:

Ninja Red Riding Hood by Cory Rosen Schwartz.

Little Red Hot by Eric Kimmel.

Any of Oliver Chin's "Tales of the Zodiac" series.

"The Snow Beast" - Chris Judge

Nope, sorry, not Christopher Judge of Stargate fame ("Teal'c").

But it's about Yetis!! My love of ninjas is rivaled only by my love of picture book yetis!

There's a snow beast terrorizing the villagers! Stealing their tools. ...What is he up to? So Beast (the dude on the cover, he's not the snow beast) is on the case.

I NEED to read his Spaghetti with the Yeti!!

Read Also:

Greg Long's Yeti! Turn Out the Light! Can a yeti get any sleep around here?

Dear Yeti by James Kwan is a letter from 2 boys to a yeti they're looking for.

The Thing About Yetis by Vin Vogel... The. Cutest. Yeti. EVER.

Luke Pearson's graphic novel Hildafolk is a about a girl becoming friends with another misunderstood urban legend, from Iceland.

"A Blizzard Year" -Gretel Ehrlich

This is a story about a ranching family. It begins in February and goes through the year telling what gets done on an annual basis and what is especially different or difficult this year. It's a simple enough tale told from the point-of-view of the daughter.

Although it's a modern setting (for 1999), it still reads like a tale of yesteryear.

Read Also:

Little House on the Prarie by Laura Ingalls Wilder.

Even Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery has a similar vibe.

"Penguin and Pinecone" -Salina Yoon

As usual, I picked this book for the illustrations: thick bold lines, subtle winter colors, cu-uute penguins!

Penguin finds a pinecone and befriends it. They do all kinds of winter sports together but the pinecone can't handle the cold. Penguin takes it to a warmer place and leaves a scarf. The pinecone grows to a tree and drops more pinecones, which become friends with other penguins.

Read Also:

Jan Thomas' books are similar in illustrations, thick lines, solid colors.

From the same authors as Curious George, Margaret & H.A. Rey's Whiteblack the Penguin sees the World has more penguins!

"Dusk" -Uri Shulevitz

Dusk is my favorite time of the day, I've read Shulevitz before, and the cover was attention-grabbing...

A boy, his grandfather and his dog walk through the city of New York as dusk sets in during a winter evening. The sounds of the city, the people, the buildings all contribute to a cold and glowing stroll.

Gorgeous illustrations really give the feel of light glancing off the snow and the cold setting in. I remember evenings like this and love the memory!

Read Also:

Sarah Thompson does an "Imagine a ..." series which includes Imagine a Night.

Ari Berk's Nightsong.

"Why is the Snow White?" -Heinz Janisch

It sounded like a beautiful book (and had the "new book" smell) so I picked it up...

A father tells his daughter a fairy tale: Father Snow travels around to each plant and flower looking for something to donate it's colors to the snow. Each refuses until what becomes the snow drop, volunteers its white colors.

The art work has nature in painted colors and Father Snow as a jolly sketch amongst gorgeous, detailed flowers.

Read Also:

Betty Ann Schwartz's What Makes a Rainbow? chronicles the colors in nature.

Elsbeth Claus' "autobiography" Mrs Claus Explains It All tells of why Christmas is like it is.

"Twelve Kinds of Ice" -Ellen Bryan Obed

Almost poetry, slightly biographical, Twelve Kinds of Ice presents winter in what may be the best possible light without referencing Christmas. Each ice is described in composition and uses.

Obed is so joyful and detailed in her text that the reader can feel, yet not despise, the biting cold. And still a hint of longing for the next winter.

Read Also:

Douglas Florian's Winter eyes, one of a set of seasonal poetry books.

Charlotte Otten's January Rides the Wind is another book of poems about the months and what a child looks forward to in each.

I've only just discovered Tasha Tudor! Her picture book Around the Year covers the joys of each month.