Skip to main content

Books to Read When... It's Time to Hibernate

 The air is getting colder, leaves are falling and starting to decompose, and frost covers the ground in the morning --all signs of the coming winter. Not only is the winter a time where we humans like to snuggle in deep in front of a cozy fire, animals also find ways to stay warm and cozy to outlast this cold season --one of which is hibernation. Hibernation is a period when animals slow their heart rate to save energy, some animals just slow down and move less frequently during hibernation, but others go into a deep sleep and don't wake up till spring. So, here are some books featuring hibernating animals that you can enjoy during your own winter hibernation.

By Cristina Sitja Rubio
Translated by Vineet Lal
Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans Books for Young Readers, 2024. Picture Book.

Badger has big winter plans for his friends: Mr. Bear, Marmot, Nighthawk, and the snails, hedgehogs, bats, and tortoises --but he soon discovers that they are all asleep! No sledding or snowball fights to be had! Until a sleepy bat suggests he try the birds, and Badger soon makes new friends and learns new games ---raising a toast to the most beautiful winter. 

Harold Hates to Hibernate
By Vern Kousky
New York: Random House Studio, 2024. Picture Book.

Harold does NOT want to go to sleep for the winter! He wants to stay up and keep playing with his friends, the crows, worried that they will forget him if he hibernates. But, inevitably the days get colder and Harold needs to find a way to stay awake. With the help of the crows, Harold tries everything, from pajamas to a full belly --but when winter comes in earnest, ultimately the crows snuggle him in for a nice cozy rest.

Written by Michael Rosen
Illustrated by Daniel Egnéus
New York: Bloomsbury Children's Books, 2023. Picture Book.

Little Bear is worried about the upcoming Big Sleep --will there be enough dreams to fill all that time? Determined not to have a Big Nothing for the Big Dreaming, Little Bear heads out in search of more dreams. Through encounters with other forest creatures, Little Bear collects dreams of hope, joy, and homecoming. 

Written by Alice B. McGinty
Illustrated by Richard Jones
New York: Schwartz & Wade Books, 2020. Picture Book.

Small Bear desperately wants a story before her and her mother settle down for their hibernation, but there is lots to do to prepare! Small Bear's mother tells her cub that if the youngster gets her tasks done quickly enough, there will be time for them to share a story together --no dilly dallying! Will Small Bear get her wish? 






Comments

Ramona said…
All new titles for me. Requesting them now. Thanks for sharing!

Popular posts from this blog

Review: Kareem Between

  Kareem Between By Shifa Saltagi Safadi New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 2024. Fiction. 324 pages.  Kareem loves football and as he gets ready to start seventh grade he dreams of someday becoming the first Syrian American NFL player. Seventh grade is not off to a great start for Kareem, after football tryouts don't go as he had planned, his best friend moves away, and his mom returns to Syria to help bring his sick grandfather to the US for treatment. So when Austin, the quarterback and coach's son, offers to talk to his dad and get Kareem on the football team in the spring, if he will cheat and do his homework for him, Kareem agrees. Kareem really wants to fit in at school and he is desperate to find a friend, but deep down he knows that doing Austin's homework isn't the right thing to do. And to make things harder, Kareem's mom asks him to be a friend to Fadi, a Syrian Christian refugee. He knows he should stand up for Fadi and help him adjust to the new school,...

If You Like...KPop Demon Hunters

KPop Demon Hunters has been one of the most talked-about movies of the summer. If you loved this movie as much as I did, you don't want the magic (or the music) to stop. Try reading these books that touch on some of the same topics and themes as the animated hit! Brick Dust and Bones By M. R. Fournet New York: Feiwel and Friends, 2023. Fiction. 247 pages. Orphaned Marius works in the family business--as their cemetery's ghost caretaker. However, Marius also moonlights as a monster hunter in order to earn the costly Mystic currency he needs to bring his mother back from the dead. As the window to bring his mother back begins to close, Marius's exploits get more and more dangerous, and he may have set his sights on a monster too big to handle on his own. Like Mira, Marius longs for familial connection, and his work as a monster hunter will satisfy the thrill of demon hunting for fans the movie. Where's Halmoni? By Julie J. Kim Seattle, WA: Little Bigfoot, 2017. Comics. W...

Review: Faker

Faker By Gordon Korman New York: Scholastic Press, 2024. Fiction. 214 pages. 12-year-old Trey is used to starting over at a new school -- he has the routine perfectly memorized: make new friends, introduce his dad to the wealthy parents of his new friends, and "Houdini" themselves out of there before they get caught running their latest scam. Trey's dad is a master con artist, and Trey has just been promoted to full-partner. Their new scheme for the next big score brings them to the affluent suburb of Boxelder, TN where Trey's dad has cooked up a fake electric car company for investors to buy into. The only problem is that Trey is starting to grow tired of moving around and never putting down roots, especially after forming a fast friendship with Logan and developing a crush on Kaylee, a socially conscious girl in his class. As Trey longs for a normal life, is there any way he can convince his dad to get out of the family business? Gordon Korman is a perennial favorit...