The Shortest Day of the Year Picture Books

The winter solstice happens between December 20 and 23, and it’s when the earth’s axis tilts away from the sun, making it the shortest day and longest night of the year for those living in the Northern Hemisphere. Today, the winter solstice is a reminder to honor our connection to the natural world. from The Good Trade

I was delighted to find a picture book story walk at Walden Pond. The story walk featured a picture book for the upcoming winter solstice and used a very old picture book, The Shortest Day: Celebrating the Winter Solstice by Wendy Pfeffer, illustrated by Jesse Reisch.

I prefer a newer picture book, also called The Shortest Day by Susan Cooper, illustrated by Carson Ellis.

The Winter Solstice, the shortest day of the year, occurs this year on December 21, 2021. After this day, we can add 2 minutes and 7 seconds of sunlight to each day as the days start to get longer again. I can’t wait!

Here are two more new picture books about the winter solstice.

Weiwei’s Winter Solstice: A Dongzhì Story by Michelle Jing Chan

Weiwei and her family have moved to a new snowy place, very different from where they came from. Her grandfather tells her about Dongzhi, where he grew up in China, which brings families together. They celebrate with sweet black sesame soup called tang yuan. It has chewy rice balls and is warm and delicious. Other Asian countries have a similar holiday that they also celebrate with a special dish. Korea’s is called Dongji, Japan’s is Toji. [picture book, ages 3 and up]

The Littlest Soltice Tree by Lisa Varchol Perron, illustrated by Ahya Kim

This winter solstice story is about friendship, but this time between two trees who hope to be chosen as the Tree of the Year. It, too, has roots in ancient traditions such as the cutting down of a tree for Christmas. [picture book, ages 3 and up]