Yeah, we know winter can be a drag, but think about all the good aspects: the fun of snowboarding, the quiet beauty after a fresh snowfall, the yellow puddles… Well, that last one isn’t so great, but it is part of our latest podcast, all about the best books for winter!

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Download the MP3 (7.4 MB)
• Julie’s got her wolves, and we’ve got — well, you’ll see… when we reveal our mystery book!
• Our Winter book picks (Miracles on Maple Hill and The Long Winter)
• A review from YOU (The Cricket in Times Square)
• Nancy blushes and gushes

And don’t forget: our next topic is books about real-life figures! So watch our latest Mystery Book Theater video and check out these books about famous figures — including both biographies and fiction.

— Nancy and Karen

This book trailer for Julie of the Wolves was originally the Mystery Book Theater video for our Winter theme. For more on Julie of the Wolves, check out our “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” podcast.

The life of a runaway is tough enough, but what if you were a runaway in the frozen world of Alaska, with only wolves for company? How would YOU survive?

Well, that’s exactly the situation for the main character in Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George. So watch the video to see how our protagonist fares in the Alaskan tundra…

What better way to spend a cold, snowy day than inside, curled up with a good book? Well, if you ask Karen, the only thing better is to have a good book and a mug of rich, creamy hot cocoa. If you ask Nancy, she would want a good book and a robot companion. To each her own…

Anyway… of course, the common factor is a good book. So here are some good books for winter (in no particular order):

1. Miracles on Maple Hill by Virginia Sorenson (Karen’s pick)
2. The Long Winter by by Laura Ingalls Wilder (Nancy’s pick)
3. The Winter Room by Gary Paulsen
4. Tracks in the Snow by Lucy Jane Bledsoe
5. Beardance by Will Hobbs
6. Snow Treasure by Marie McSwigan
7. The Willows in Winter by William Horwood
8. The Winter of Red Snow: The Revolutionary War Diary of Abigail Jane Stewart, Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, 1777 (Dear America) by Kristiana Gregory
9. Maroo of the Winter Caves by Ann Turnbull
10. On Winter’s Wind by Patricia Hermes
11. The Call of the Wild by Jack London

If you’ve read any of these, send in your book review. Or send in a review of your winter book!

UPDATE 1/12/10: We revealed the answer to our Winter Mystery Book Theater in the “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” Podcast, so take a listen if you want to know the answer. Or just tune in if you want to hear Karen go a little crazy trying to define “winter.” Seriously, we had to edit it down.