Winter Adventure and Survival Tales: Young Readers 2023
Winter isn't just a time for cozy reads. After all, it is Mother Nature's season of great extremes. Cold, darkness, isolation: winter is a call for adventure and for taking ourselves to the limit. If not with expeditions to the arctic, then why not with stories?
There is no shortage of high-tales, epic quests and great mysteries that take place in this unforgiving season. Winter's harsh climates and eclipsing nights call on us to survive. In Jack London's The Call of the Wild, a man kidnaps Buck the dog and sells him into service as a sled dog. The Yukon's bitter cold and long nights bring out Buck's wilder side. Now, he must survive the elements and navigate pack life. Winter soon transforms Buck from a dog to a wolf.
As much as Winter pushes us to survive, its snow also covers our tracks. In Philip Pullman's The Golden Compass, secrets hide under the snow. Kidnappers, known as Gobblers, snatch kids and take them to the Arctic. The remote wilderness is the perfect place for Gobblers to conduct secret and deadly experiments. The Arctic also demands ingenuity and fortitude from the protagonist Lyra and her friends. They scale mountains, follow sled tracks and lead a battalion of bears to fight evil powers. Indeed, the season of survival and secrets leaves the door open for many great stories.
Deep in the dark of winter, when we have put away our sleds, and our fingertips ache with the cold of building snowmen, let's grab our blankets, a warm cup of hot chocolate, and go on unforgettable adventures with these thrilling and chilling reads.
Blizzard by John Rocco
Brave Irene by William Steig
Bird & Squirrel on Ice by James Burks
Dragonbreath: The Frozen Menace by Ursula Vernon
I Survived: The Wellington Avalanche, 1910 by Lauren Tarshis
The Abominable Snowman by R.A. Montgomery
Greenglass House by Kate Milford
The Barren Grounds by David A. Robertson
Related links
- Celebrating Outdoor Winter Play - picture books that celebrate the joys of playing outdoors in winter
- Storytime at Home: The Snowy Day video - check out the rest of our YouTube playlist for stories, rhymes and songs
- Winter Books for Kids - our children's librarians recommend stories to celebrate winter and the magic of snowfall
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