Wintry Tales for Youngsters by Lee Littlewood on Creators.com

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Wintry Tales for Youngsters

This time of year kids, at home and in class, are interested in winter and arctic themes. These books introduce penguins, puffins, Jack Frost and sweet, snowy tales.

"Here Comes Jack Frost" by Kazuno Kohara; Square Fish/MacMillan; 32 pages; $6.99.

This magical, little book is as fresh and zesty as winter's first snowfall. A little boy is bored at home and when he ventures outside, he encounters a sprightly Jack Frost, who taunts him into chasing, skating and snowball battles. The pair, and the boy's dog, play in the snow unabashedly with just one rule — no mentioning anything warm. But when the very first sign of spring occurs, the spiky, elf-like Jack Frost disappears with a happy, "See you next winter!"

With just three colors — bright blue, crisp white and homey brown, Kohara's gorgeously mod pages sparkle and jump, resulting in a outstandingly fun tale of an unusual friendship.

"North: The Amazing Story of Arctic Migration" by Nick Dowson; illustrated by Patrick Benson; Candlewick Press; 54 pages; $16.99.

More a truthful storybook than a staid reference book, this lovely descriptive tome chronicles the amazing journey millions of animals take to the Arctic to feed and breed before summertime. The gray whales, white cranes, wolves and caribou fly, swim and walk hundreds or even thousands of miles, making their trip "the greatest journey on Earth!" Clear, easy to read text with plenty of white space makes "North" accessible to readers as young as four or five. Older kids and adults, too will take away inspiring messages and migration food for thought.

With descriptive, poetic words and beautiful watercolors, the 54-page stunner is awe-inspiring and reassuring with its message that nature is powerful and all encompassing.

"My Life in the Wild: Penguin" by Meredith Costain; illustrated by Gary Hanna; from Kingfisher; 32 pages; $9.99.

This tale of a penguin's life cycle is bold, bright and perfect for youngsters ages 3 to 8.

From the folks at Animal Planet, the colorful pages begin with the penguin as an egg and slowly showcase its development to an adult, from the secure comfort of family to dangers of life in the Arctic. Realistic computer graphic-generated pages portray an up-close and personal view of the penguins, a hungry but slow sea lion and a frosty backdrop.

An extra, informative "Did You Know?" section delves deeper into the book's main points.

Another penguin lifestyle book, "Penguins," (80 pages; $12.99), is from Scholastic's "Discover More" series and is aimed at a slightly older audience (readers 5 to 10). It offers more detailed information. There's also a free digital companion book available for download.

"Nothing Like a Puffin" by Sue Soltis; illustrated by Bob Kolar; Candlewick Press; 32 pages; $15.99.

Not so much a puffin introduction as a silly tale full of wordplay, the author compares a charmingly mischievous puffin to a ladder, a house, a newspaper and more. Though at first the book is simply fun and active, readers soon learn that these items do actually have more in common with a puffin than they first realized. A snake, for example, also hatches from an egg and a helicopter flies, just like a puffin does.

The most akin to the puffin is a penguin, it has all the commonalities of the other items, plus a puffin's feathers, two wings, a beak and feet. But the colorful tale ends with one difference — a penguin can't fly. Thus, "There's nothing like a puffin!"

"Little Bea's Snowy Day" by Daniel Roode; Candlewick Press; 32 pages; $9.99.

A stream of consciousness style ode to a wintry wonderland for toddlers, Roode's fun read-aloud introduces little Bea (yes, a bee), as she enjoys throwing snowballs and sledding down hills with other rounded, cherubic animals. Best of all, after a frosty fun afternoon in the snow, the animals enjoy hot chocolate, little Bea's favorite.

A very bright, active, sweet little snowy tale; this one's a surefire winner for the preschool crowd.

To find out more about Lee Littlewood and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.