In honor of the season, I thought I’d share a few of my favorite things… specifically favorite winter poems and stories. I decided to limit myself to just three books and two poems and tried not to overthink it, promising myself I could share more next year if I like.
Favorite Winter Stories
The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson
This is, without a doubt, our family’s favorite Christmas story. It’s funny, poignant, and makes you reconsider what the Christmas story really looked like.
The Little Reindeer by Michael Foreman
What would you do if Santa left behind a small reindeer on your apartment building roof? Perhaps you’d feed him peanut butter sandwiches and watch him learn to fly.
The Last Straw by Frederick H. Thury
Subtle humor and gorgeous illustrations by Vlasta Van Kampen accompany this story of a proud and grouchy old camel who carries the wise men’s gifts to the new baby king.
Favorite Winter Poems
And here are my two favorite poems for the season.
I heard the bells on Christmas Day
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Their old familiar carols play,
And wild and sweet
The words repeat
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!
Yes, this is a song but it was the poem “Christmas Bells” first. While it can be sung beautifully, I love hearing it spoken. For background and the full poem that Longfellow wrote during the Civil War, click here.
And lastly, this…
Whose woods these are I think I know.
Robert Frost
His house is in the village though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.
Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Day was written by Robert Frost in 1922. The complete poem can be read here. There are countless in-depth analyses of this poem available online. However, I prefer to just enjoy the poem at face value.
I hope that this has inspired you to pull out some favorite winter poems and stories to re-read. Doubtless your favorites developed like mine – from countless readings to your children.
Enjoy your favorites this holiday season.
Earlier this year, I wrote about the joy of re-reading favorite books. You can find that post here.