Top Picks - Book List

To purchase any book described, simply click the book title(s) or picture(s) and a window will open to the appropriate page at Amazon.com.

JWMercantile.com has most of the books referenced on this Website (and many others as well). A large selection of used children's books in great condition are available. Many First Edition children's books are offered. Click here to search for a book at JWMercantile.com.

Ideal For Wintertime Reading

Is That You, Winter? by Stephen Gammell: What a hoot! Wonderful and wild watercolor pictures illustrate this funny story about a time when Old Man Winter woke up in a bad mood.

Six Snowy Sheep by Judith Ross Enderle and Stephanie Gordon Tessler: One by one the six sheep become “snowy” as they disappear in a series of winter misadventures. Great book for counting backwards for beginning counters or subtraction for beginning mathematicians.

Snow by Uri Shulevitz: This Caldecott Honor Book illustrates the magical transformation and excitement that snow can create. An interesting little male character in a long orange sock cap and blue striped scarf with his constant companion, a yellow dog, are so excited about the first snowflake. Others around him discount anticipation of snow since radio and t.v. predict otherwise. But as the weather becomes snowier and snowier, and the city begins to turn to white, the boy and his dog celebrate snow.

Snowflake Bentley by Jacqueline Briggs Martin and Mary Azarian: This Caledeott Winner chronicles the life of the first man to photograph real snowflakes. If you have ever tried to capture a snowflake on your mitten, you know how quickly it disappears. Imagine trying to photograph these elusive icy creations. Try looking up additional information on these websites:

http://snowflakebentley.com/

http://snowflakebentley.com/snowflakes.htm

http://www.bentley.sciencebuff.org/

The Snowman by Raymond Briggs: A story told without words using more than 175 grainy colored pencil drawings. Soft dreamy illustrations show a tale of child’s imagination and the flight of a snowman. At midnight, the boy decides to invite his newly created snowman into the house. The snowman repays the boy’s generosity by taking the child on a night flight over the city. Upon returning home, the boy hugs the snowman good night. When the boy goes downstairs for breakfast he finds that the snowman in his backyard has been reduced to a pile of snow, bits of clothing and a few pieces of coal.

The Snow Speaks by Nancy White Carlstrom and Jane Dyer: A story that tells of the magic of winter’s first snowfall told with beautiful dreamy watercolor illustrations.

Owl Moon by Jane Yolen: Tells of a wonderfully fascinating late night walk in the snowy woods in search of owls, finding much, much more.

Winter Poems by Barbara Rogasky and Trina Schart Hyman: A collection of poems celebrating winter including Japanese verse, Shakespeare, and more modern poets like Ogden Nash.

Great For Indoor Recess

Chinese Brain Twistersby Baifang: This is an interesting collection of 56 puzzles that have become part of China’s folk culture. Some require visual acuity, others demand number sense, a few must be read and analyzed. All you need are some toothpicks and all the brainpower you can muster. Fun and challenging.

Grandfather Tang's Story by Ann Tompert and Robert Andrew Parker and The Warlord's Puzzle by Virginia Walton Pilegard and Nicolas Debon both tell tales using the seven-piece, Chinese puzzle. Grandfather Tang entertains his granddaughter with a story of competition between fox fairies as they compete to overcome one another. Their games ends when a hunter shoots one of them with an arrow. How can the other fox help out his friend?

The Warlord's Puzzle by Virginia Walton Pilegard and Nicolas Debon is about the origin of the Tangram puzzle. An artist makes a beautiful tile and presents it to the emperor. Unfortunately, the tile is broken and the seven pieces must be put back together to make the tile complete once again.

Three Pigs, One Wolf, Seven Magic Shapes by Grace Maccarone and David Neuhaus: A pig story told with tangrams . . . lots of fun. Children will learn the names of the geometric shapes as well as developing spatial visualization while "playing" with tangrams.

How To Purchase The Books

JWMercantile.com has most of the books referenced on this Website (and many others as well). A large selection of used children's books in great condition are available. Many First Edition children's books are offered. Click here to search for a book at JWMercantile.com.

To purchase a new book described, simply click the book title(s) or picture(s) and a window will open to the appropriate page at Amazon.com.

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