It’s the time of year for snuggling by the fire, or just on a warm bed, and reading stories about winter, about family, about the holidays. Here are books for everyone — some are just beautiful winter tales about friendship and peace, others are about the Christmas season. Some have wonderful important messages and others are just plain funny. There’s a book for everyone in this sweet collection of picture books perfect for reading aloud.

“One Snowy Morning” by Kevin Tseng is an amusing peek into a snowman from the point of view of two wild animal friends. While the two friends are never named, bright youngsters will realize that one is a chipmunk and the other a squirrel. They are joined by an adorable opossum, pink nose, feet and tail. Instead of a man made of snow with a hat, nose, buttons, arms, and a scarf, they see other things. What else could a black hat be? Consider a tall rowboat with a gold anchor. What else will they make out of the items? They use them all very creatively for a woodland animal party! And what they do after the party is a lesson for all readers. This lovely, gentle story encourages looking at things from different points of view. Teachers will love asking young students what else they might think of when they look at the snowman. (Dial)

“Roly Poly” by Mem Fox and Jane Dyer shows an adorable polar bear family with their only child, Roly Poly, happy to be the only polar bear offspring in the family. He is surprised one morning when there’s a smaller polar bear in his bed. His parents explain that he now has a young brother, Monty. Roly Poly is NOT happy to have to share his time and things with his younger brother, who is mischievous and playful. But when Monty is in danger, Roly Poly’s true feelings come out. The illustrations’ polar bears are created with wool from the author’s own sheep, using a technique called needle felting. This lovely book could kick start a class discussion or family talk about how sometimes what we say isn’t what we are really feeling, and that while our emotions and feelings can run deep, we don’t always show them. Many children can relate to that whether they have siblings or not and whether they are the oldest, the youngest or in between. (Beach Lane Books)

“Snow Globe Wishes” by Erin Dealey and Claire Shorrock is a sweet winter tale of a night and the next day when the power goes out. We see a family eating dinner before a warm fire, the mom, dad, two children, and a dog and cat. We see one of the children holding a snow globe and making a wish, and everyone sleeping together in front of the fire. The next day, the family goes out in the snow to play with others in their town. And everyone in the town comes together in a circle, holding hands and wishing everyone “Peace on earth. Right now. Right here. Peace for all throughout the year!” This delightful and gentle story is told in rhyme, and the illustrations are simple and joyful. The skin colors of the family members are different as are those of the villagers who join in the celebration of peace. A perfect winter’s tale and a perfect winter’s wish. (Sleeping Bear Press)

“Swan Lake” is a picture book based on the New York City Ballet’s production of the ballet, and it’s illustrated by Valeria Docampo with an artistic use of color as well as light and dark to illustrate not only the changing scenes from the castle to the lake, but also the emotions of the Prince and Odette, the beautiful enchanted princess/swan. The story is the retelling of the beloved ballet with music by Peter Ilyitch Tchaikovsky. While the story itself might not fascinate young readers, playing music from the ballet while reading it will certainly enable all readers to fall in love with the beautiful melodic passages. The ballet features iconic, gorgeous melodies, and every time children hear them, many will know the story behind the music and think of the story Swan Lake. (Little Simon)

“If I Could Give You Christmas” is a book about giving experiences, instead of things, for Christmas. Author Lynn Plourde uses the five senses to create wonderful images for readers to share: “…it would smell like wafts and whiffs of gingerbread and cocoa.” What would Christmas taste like? “The first falling snowflake.” All the senses are utilized, and the emotions the text evokes are beautiful and gentle. The illustrations by Jennifer L. Meyer are certainly worthy of note; they are stunningly beautiful. The woodland animals are the characters who share the Christmas feelings with us, and her illustrations of deer, bear, fluffy chubby-cheeked birds, foxes and more are adorable. But what makes the illustrations really brilliant is her use of color to make the pictures seem to glow. Each illustration has a light source, and Meyer uses shadows in shades of cobalt blue, lavender, and even pink to frame the light and the animals. The animals are drawn with care, lovely expressions, and fluffy, luxuriant fur (or feathers). Hidden on almost every page are other animals, penciled in, for sharp-eyed readers to discover. The drawings are as touching as the sentiment in this beautiful holiday picture book. (Disney-Hyperion)

“There’s an Elf in Your Book” is by Tom Fletcher and illustrated by Greg Abbott, who together created “There’s a Monster in Your Book” and “There’s a Dragon in Your Book.” This entry features an elf who just looks as if he’s ready to be naughty. It starts with the elf doing a “nice test” with the reader to see if Santa should bring any gifts for Christmas. The test begins with some easy tasks, but then it gets trickier. Saying “I’m a wisenheimer sparkle butt!” is a trick, so readers are advised NOT to say it! But when readers are tricked into doing something not-so-nice, does that mean that they failed? Read the whole book to find out! (Random House Books for Young Readers)

“How to Trick a Christmas Elf” by Sue Fliess and Simona Sanfilippo is another elf book about how to convince (or trick) an elf into putting you on the “nice” list for Santa’s gift-giving. In this clever tale, if you distract the elf, you might just be able to sneak a peek at the list. And by giving the elf a wonderful distraction, a sleigh just the right size for a small elf, you are not only distracting the elf, you are being “nice” instead of “naughty.” The story emphasizes the joy of giving and being kind. There are guides for making the elf sleigh, and kids will enjoy making their own little elfin sleigh while waiting for Christmas morning. (Sky Pony Press)

“Santa’s Secret” by Denise Brennan-Nelson is the perfect book for any child who wonders why there are Santas at every corner this time of year. They can’t all be the Santa Claus.  Are any of them real? The main character tells of her investigation in first person rhyming narrative, and like any good sleuth, she takes notes, and asks important, probing questions. Throughout the story, her cute little brown and white dog accompanies her. Adults reading this with children should be sure to discuss her investigative technique and ask what else she could do to question the different Santas. And what about the mysterious man at the coffee shop at the end of the story? Could he be the real Santa? Kids will want to read this little book at least twice to go over clues and make their own conclusions. The illustrations by Deborah Melmon are bright, and color fills the pages. Each one is a joyful celebration of the holiday season. (Sleeping Bear Press)

Please note: This review is based on the final, hardcover books provided by the publishers for review purposes.