Warm and Wintery: Best Cozy Picture Books for Kids

What makes a children’s picture book feel cozy? Well, it could be a few things—a warm colour palette, a positive message, or sometimes even just how you go about experiencing the book by reading it somewhere that makes you feel comfortable and at peace. In addition to those options, what makes it especially cozy to me is the art and story details—the visual patterns on a blanket or sweater, or the descriptive language that captures our senses and the way that we experience the world.

At this time of year, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed by the darkness, the cold, and the decreasing energy. For that reason, I try to exist in a hominess vortex—twinkly fairy lights on as much as possible, plenty of couch blankets, and lots of time reading. These grey days, toddler in lap, we’ve been gravitating to picture books that give us a warm, fuzzy feeling. After all, living somewhere rainy or snowy means that going outside can be a pain, what with all the layering and pre-planning that needs to happen. In fact, some days going outside just isn’t feasible, so if you’re also in the midst of hibernation and need some cozy picture books to share with your kids, here is a list of ones that have really hit the spot for me lately.

Extra Yarn by Mac Barnett and Jon Klassen Listen, you know that you are in for hygge vibes from the book’s cover, where the title is presented in a font that is textured like a knitted sweater. I discovered this book long before I had a child of my own, and it was one of the first children’s books I purchased for myself because I just thought it was delightful. Annabelle lives in a cold, snow-coated town, and Klassen’s grey, black, and white art makes the snow look like it’s perpetually falling. Annabelle knits herself a sweater from a seemingly endless ball of yarn, eventually crafting similar ones for every creature and person in town. Even the people who, at first, don’t seem to deserve their own. As she fills the town with sweaters, the monochrome illustrations gradually get brighter and cheerier. The mix of fairy tale and humour pairs well together in a way that is undeniably winning.

The Snow Theater by Ryoji Arai and David Boyd This story is set against the backdrop of a snowy town, pairing a story of friendship and kindness with a dreamlike setting. The illustrations manage to balance the stark, white snow with the vivid brightness of a small snow theatre filled with tiny snow people, and the book definitely feels like something to reach for when you’ve just returned home from the cold.