I cannot tell you how many times we have woken up in the last few weeks, our daughter launching herself onto the couch to check for snow outside, only to be bummed out at the perma-gray with no white stuff in sight.

“We live in a rainforest kiddo”, I gently remind her each time she asks why everyone else talks about Winter in terms of snow and we talk about Winter in terms of how long before the sun comes out again.

It’s a hard discussion to have with a four-year-old who thinks that the ultimate Winter fun is a day spent building snow men and making snow angels. She even made me stop reading her books about snow “because we never get any and it makes me too sad.” Aw, heart breaker.

Trying to make a Winter low on snow a bit more tolerable (until we get up the mountain), we’ve been on the search for sweet stories with Winter themes that connect with the frustrated kiddo space and give us lots of room for chats, adventures and more.

That’s when we dug out an old fave that has just now come of age for us, Red Is Best by Canadian author Kathy Stinson, illustrated by Robin Baird Lewis.

This classic tale of a kiddo who L-O-V-E-S the color red is so very cute and very much like our tiny person (who thinks that purple is the only color in the universe), that we giggle like school girls every time we read it.

I like it, too, because its very simple language helps us work on her reading skills without her even realizing it. She just loves the story and digs jumping in when she recognizes a word.

The book’s main character, Kelly, is hilarious in her explanation of why red actually is best and I am charmed by her sweet sassy attitude.

A Winter tale that we have completely fallen in love with this season is the new release Bella’s Tree by another fantastic Canadian children’s author Janet Russell, illustrated by Jirina Marton.

This lovely story about a girl from Newfoundland who sets out into the forest to find her grandmother the perfect Christmas tree is the perfect combination of old folk tale, nature adventure and peek into the warm relationship between granddaughter and grandma.

Bella heads out into the forest to cut down a holiday tree to cheer her grandmother up, bringing back trees that are just not right. But, her grandmother insists on keeping the trees in the house because that’s the only sensible thing to do.

Meanwhile, Bella has made a deal with the birds of the forest – they can hang out in the trees in the house and there is a beautiful surprise of Waxwings for grandma on Christmas Day.

Marton’s illustrations really make this book, as they are both soft and warm, creating a storytelling experience.

The tiny person loves it because she and her grandma share a truly special bond that is all about caring for and helping each other out. We often have chats about nice things to do for Ken’s mom after reading Bella’s Tree.

While both books are very different, they give us that much needed sense of fun and warmth to make Winter an even more lovely season.

You can find both of these books at your local independent bookseller.