18 Kindergarten Books for January – Teacher Favorites

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Let’s look at favorite kindergarten teacher books for the month of January. Here is a list of January books for kindergarten that teachers love to read aloud to their classes.

When it comes to planning January read alouds, many teachers choose books with snow, winter, hibernation and winter animals types of themes. So you’ll see these represented amongst this book list for January.

These read aloud books are all recommended by real kindergarten teachers!

Here is a list of the January books for kindergarten:

I’ll be sharing affiliate links and more information about each book so you can check things out for yourself.

Gingerbread Man

The Gingerbread Man is a classic pattern story that grows. It recalls the characters in order as the gingerbread cookie escapes many would-be dessert-eaters.

While I love this story so much as to plan the entire last two weeks leading up to Christmas break around it in our Gingerbread Adventures, it could easily be read in January.

If you read it, be sure to snag a few different versions for comparison purposes. Here are my favorite Gingerbread Man books.

The Mitten

The Mitten is a simple but fanciful tale of winter creatures climbing into a newly-knitted mitten to stay warm. It is an easy read aloud and very popular in kindergarten.

Carrie, a kindergarten teacher, recommends reading three different versions:

Squirrel’s New Year Resolution

If you want to hit on resolutions, then picking up Squirrel’s New Year Resolution is an easy choice. This book is all about learning what a resolution is by leaning into your strengths.

Or if you did random acts of kindness in December or want to in January, this story would be a great segway.

The Old Lady Who Swallowed… Books

January is a great time to read and compare books with lots of versions. There Was an Old Lady Who… has so many kinds available. The main character traditionally swallows items that either grow in size or center around a theme until the story reaches a sudden climax and swift ending.

Start with an original There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly and move onto these additional best versions to read.

Tacky the Penguin

One of my favorite winter characters is Tacky the Penguin. This penguin isn’t quite like the others, and while it looks like he creates mayhem, his uniqueness always turns out to be the reason the day is saved.

There are multiple books in the Tacky the Penguin book series and I think you’ll fall in love with Tacky too after reading one or two to your class. (The Tacky and the Winter Games book is great to read in a year when there is winter Olympics.)

The Snowy Day

The Snowy Day is by far, the most chosen read-aloud book for kindergarten in January by kindergarten teachers.

The story follows a young boy through deep, deep snow in all of the innocent and exploratory ways kids innately play in the snow.

The Gruffalo

The Gruffalo is a soft-hearted tale of a clever mouse who avoids being eaten using his imagination and wit.

There is also a nice video version on Netflix and a companion follow up book called The Gruffalo’s Child.

Sneezy the Snowman

Sneezy the Snowman is a perfect read-aloud book for January. Kinders will love how everyone tries to keep the snowman from melting and yet warm at the same time.

This rhyming book has lots of free lesson plan ideas that I’ve found for you to get the most from reading it aloud (like retelling activities).

The Biggest Snowman Ever

While a longer book, The Biggest Snowman Ever is a story about building something greater together than we can do independently.

This is a nice one-time read-aloud book for kindergarten.

Snowmen At Night

Snowmen at Night will peak children’s imaginations as they imagine what snowmen must do during the night in order to be so disheveled (or melty) in the morning.

This rhyming story features lots of childhood-related activities like sledding, baseball and drinking hot chocolate.

Pete the Cat Snow Daze

Pete enjoys so many snow days that he begins to miss school and takes matters into his own hands.

Pete the Cat Snow Daze is one of those “I Can Read” books so the text is a little on the boring, but it is still a fun book and makes for a quick read-aloud.

If you love Pete the Cat, you’ll also want to check out these free Pete the Cat lesson plans.

The Snowman

The Snowman is a beautiful, wordless picture book. It is a classic story by Raymond Briggs.

Or take this book another direction after reading it and show the matching video. It’s just beautiful music and the animated version of this book.

Snow Day!

When it comes to wanting a snow day, no one really wants one quite like the teacher. Snow Day! by Lester Laminack dives into what life on a snow day can be like which is perfect if you live a location that doesn’t get any snow.

Froggy Gets Dressed

Getting dressed for winter weather at recess can make any teacher a little crazy.

Froggy Gets Dressed is a funny read-aloud that pokes at alllllllll of the stuff we have to put on before we go out to play in the snow.

The Most Perfect Snowman

The Most Perfect Snowman is a sweet story of an unfinished snowman named Drift who is treated differently until three children come along and gift him their winter gear. The snowman, in turn, gives them away to someone in need realizing what’s most important.

Give this book a try – you’ll love it.

The Hat

The Hat is a simple story about a hedgehog who finds and accidentally ends up wearing a sock. Hedgie plays it off as a hat to all of the farm animal on-lookers only to feel as if they are laughing at him… Little does he know what all of the animals are really thinking about wearing something warm.

Bear Snores On

If you want to touch on hibernation, Bear Snores On is a sweet book to read in kindergarten. This rhyming pattern book will make your students fall in love with all of the forest creatures from the bear books series.

Plus there are more Bear books worth reading in January like: Bear Says Thanks, Bear’s Loose Tooth, Bear Wants More or Bear’s New Friend.

Trouble With Trolls

Trouble With Trolls takes place in a wintery setting and features a clever girl who must figure out a way to avoid losing her dog and winter gear to a bunch of troublesome trolls.

Students will enjoy the gentle tension and cleverness this story so beautifully winds together.

Let’s wrap it up

There you have it – stories ready to read aloud to your class in January. Check your library or Youtube if you need to snag a book fast. I hope this list of kindergarten books is helpful.

Thanks to all of the kindergarten teachers who chimed in to share their favorites on the KindergartenWorks facebook page!

If you have snow on the brain, you may want to check out these 5 Clever Sneezy the Snowman Kindergarten Activities.

5 Clever Sneezy the Snowman Activities for kindergarten

Or you might want to show a few of these January videos for kindergarten.

More Kindergarten Ideas and Activities

If you like what I do here on KindergartenWorks, then be sure to subscribe today. I look forward to sharing ideas with you weekly.

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