Winter Book Round Up

One of the things I miss most about leaving the elementary level (besides their cute faces) would be children's books. I really love a well illustrated story. So this week, I'm sharing my favorite winter themed books.

Polar Bear Night. (Or Polar Bear Morning) by Stephen Savage

You can't go wrong with either book. Last year I paired it with a fun printmaking lesson. You can read see the original post here.

Who Will See their Shadow This Year by Jerry Pallotta

This is great for groundhog's day connection, teaching shadows in art AND it covers a ton of weather illustrations. I like to pair this with my snowman shadow lesson because in Pennsylvania, it' snows through March. That lesson has been reinvented a few times, most recently with a Starry Night twist.  The first time I used the book, we did some skinny sculptures. Original post here.

Snowflake Bentley by Jacqueline Briggs Martin

 is an amazing book to connect your slightly older artists with the science and math of snowflake design. 3rd-5th have enjoyed this lesson with projects like my notan snowflake and the snowy winter scene with marker prints.

No Two Alike by Keith Baker

This is a fun book for students to observe differences. Let them make two birds with different details. Or two snowflakes cut from the same sized paper. Endless possibilities for your smallest aritsts.

Supertruck by Stephen Savage

I know, this is turning into a Stephen Savage fan page! But seriously. This book is great for boys, teaching basic shapes, perspective, shadows, and cityscape. So many ideas. Last year we did paper collages inspired by the book.

The Mitten by Jan Brett

This is a fun lesson to teach students about textures and patterns. If you're able to project the book in the room there are some fun hidden images on the pages. We've done scratch art and clay mittens inspired by this book.

Ten on the Sled by Kim Norman

This book pairs well with this lesson that I left for a sub. It worked really well K-5 by tweaking the instructions slightly for the different age groups. You can find that lesson here.

Snowmen at Night by Caralyn Buehner

This is fun and inspiring for a variety of projects. I've done printmaking and landscapes with a variety of grades. One of our favorite things to warm up, is a game of "snowman charades." More info on that here.