Cozy Reads for Kids

There is nothing like these first crisp days of fall! With summer far behind us, we’re now in the thick of brisk mornings, rainy afternoons and my favorite - sweater weather. Many people love summer in Chicago, but I love to watch the leaves change colors and the lake become a little wilder as we inch toward winter.

There’s something about these cozy days that beckons readers of all ages to grab a cup of hot chocolate, crawl under a soft blanket (with a cat, if you can convince one) and snuggle up in with a good book. Here are some suggestions of cozy reads for kids of all ages.

A lonely scarecrow makes the unlikeliest of friends and finds that true friendship is forever. This heartwarming story of The Scarecrow will challenge the scary reputation of scarecrows everywhere – and possibly even bring a tear to readers’ eyes.

For the young reader with burning questions about what happens to animals when it turns cold, this one is for you. Do Frogs Drink Hot Chocolate? Do polar bears build homes? Do squirrels curl up under blankets? Do monkeys take hot baths to keep warm? You might think you know the answers to these questions, but you might find some surprises hidden in these pages, too!

If you’re someone who likes to help in the kitchen, A Fall Treasury of Recipes, Crafts, and Wisdom is sure to be a good fit! There are all kinds of great recipes for fall cooking/baking like apple chips and pumpkin muffins. Or if you prefer doing crafts when it turns colder like making your own seed packets or gratitude trees, this book will fit you like your favorite fuzzy socks.

Eating apples is delicious, but being able to pick your own before you eat them makes them taste so much better! Join this family on Apple Picking Day as they travel to an orchard and pick apples and eat cider and donuts, too. Rhyming text with short sentences on each page makes this title very accessible for early readers.

Join Poppleton in Fall for three charming chapters that embrace the coziness of fall and friendship. Early readers will be aided by lots of repetition in these short vignettes with this delightful pig and a few of his friends. 

Mona the Mouse stumbles upon the Heartwood Hotel after a storm washed out her home. Thankfully, the owners offer her a place to live in exchange for working there, thus beginning her adventures with suspicious skunks, weeping warblers and short-tempered squirrels. Heartwood Hotel: A True Home is a cozy tale that makes an excellent family read aloud or a great choice for those just starting to enjoy chapter books independently.

Do you have a favorite cozy read? Let us know in the comments.