Small Reads Roundup for Winter

Here are some small reads just for winter. These Small Reads Roundups appear first in my Small Reads monthly e-letter for educators. Subscribe here! My plan is to include only things that are easily accessible to you–if you find a link that’s no longer working, please let me know–thank you :>)

Poems by Laura

WRITTEN IN SNOW

Snowy pages,

steady track.

Tiny footprints

dipped in black.

Through the blizzard

stories roam.

They tiptoe bravely

out, then home.

From BookSpeak. What’s the metaphor mean? Read my answer on Irene Latham’s site!

A triolet:

A terza rima:

Tarnished Silver

Temperature dives—four degrees

below zero. Snow blows

down the bare street, carelessly seizes

the emptiness, gives it a grey ghostly glow,

bathes this world in the twilight of semi-night.

There is no one new you will ever know,

just you, and the moon, and reflected light—

frozen in time, forever alone.

Sky dead above, ground eerily bright.

Black limbs of trees, like autumn’s bones,

etch endless sky as wind whistles and hones

its sharp, stripping skills in this bleak, leaden zone.

A limerick:

Scarlet in Late Snow

With a flutter and flurry of wing,

Cardinal announces, “Spring!”

He’s the hopeful red heart—

a flash of fresh start.

Even nature appreciates bling.

The Voice of Winter, a villanelle by Laura Purdie Salas

Winter Is the Warmest Season, a free verse poem by Laura Purdie Salas

An acrostic:

Revenge of the White Dragon

A dragon wakes, his winter sleep disturbed. He

Vows to punish you, the intruder.

Air swells with a low rumble.

Land beneath you trembles.

Above, a wave of concrete snow thunders down. The dragon roars your

Name. But he can’t find you.

Chewing up trees and spewing them out, he searches for you.

His steamy, snowy breath clouds the sky, and the

Earth cradles you to its rocky chest as the dragon’s belly slides by. Safe!

Mice on Skates

On the empty back deck

on a black autumn night,

the paper plate moon

sheds a soft, hollow light.

Chimneys and pine trees

spread deep, smoky spice,

and the patio table

is glazed with thin ice.

Two little brown mice

discover the rink,

and do figure eights

in perfect mouse-sync?

With tiny sharp skates

bearing gum wrapper blades,

they spin away shadows?

and emptiness fades.

–Laura Purdie Salas, all rights reserved
Hear me read the poem.

Inspired by a photo of snowman candleholders!:

Photo: Randy Salas

Click the image to find audio of me reading this poem.

Small Activities

Click on the image below for a downloadable activity sheet. Write a Snowperson list poem!

Make a Melting Snowman Art Project! Click on the image below.

Courtesy of LeahNewtonArt.com

Write a “Things To Do If…” poem with your students, like the one below. See a typed version by clicking the image below.

Other People’s Poems

“On a Night of Snow,” by Elizabeth Coatsworth

“In the Bleak Midwinter,” by Christina Rossetti (plus 2 beautiful musical versions)

“Snowflake,” by Nikki Grimes

“December,” by Aileen Fisher

“Winter Trees,” by William Carlos Williams

“Blizzard,” by Barbara Juster Esbensen

“Snowflake Wakes,” by Joyce Sidman

If you enjoy this roundup, please share it with your educator friends–thank you! And don’t forget to subscribe to my Small Reads e-letter. Subscribe here!

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