1. Take Time for Questions
Before even opening the book, ask your tot to answer the first question posed. Where DO fairies go when it snows? As you read the book, be sure to let your tot answer the questions asked and to pose her own questions about fairy habits.

2. Look Closely At The Illustrations
There are so many details to note in the illustrations of Where Do Fairies Go When It Snows? First of all, everything is just so cute. I want to put one of those little fairies in my pocket! I wouldn't be opposed to purchasing a little fairy doll with the likeness of these adorable little creatures created by Hazel Mitchell. Look at the different fairies, study the different fairy homes, and keep an eye out for recurring characters (ladybug and bunny for sure).

3. Study the Seasons
As you ponder what fairies do in the cold weather, there are a few mentions of the other seasons. What a great jumping off point to discuss the seasons and the changes that go along with them. What happens to the weather during the different seasons, how do your activities change, how does your mood change? Although those changes may be a little harder to recognize here in Southern California, the discussion is still valid :) Check out my pinterest board for ideas of activities to study the seasons.

4, Learn About Hibernation
Do fairies hibernate? Perhaps. Perhaps the fairies are getting animals ready for their long winter's nap. These musing create another wonderful springboard for a study of hibernation, what is it? And which animals do so and how do they do so? How do animals stay warm when it's cold? Here are some ideas for hibernation studies, as well!

5. Store Up Some Food
When the fairies help prepare animals for snow, do they collect food for them? You may have discussed what kind of food animals store up for winter in your study of hibernation, but what about discussing what kinds of food people used to and do now store up for winter. It's time to get in the kitchen with your tot to make some soups and jams!

6. Let Your Imagination Run Wild
If this story does nothing else, it will absolutely inspire an imagination adventure! With each question you and your tot can add so much more to the story. What kind of fairy towns do you think fairies visit in the summer? What would their celebration songs sound like? You can pose questions and answer with discussion, drawings, crafts, or maybe even write your own little fairy adventure!

7. Go On A Nature Walk
What would a reading of this outdoorsy book be without incorporating a nature walk. If not for finding fairies, at least for finding items that could be their jackets, mittens, and hats. Walk along and look for little burrows that could be a warm place for a fairy to take refuge. Look for acorn tops to be fairy hats. Stop and listen to the sounds of the world around you. Collect leaves and sticks to add to your own fairy home.

8. Invite Fairies Into Your Home
Serendipitously, I stumbled upon this adorable product just before I got the files for Where Do Fairies Go When It Snows? An entrepreneurial mother, who was inspired by her desire to keep her daughters' imaginations strong, designed Lil' Fairy Doors. These are so cute to add to your little fairy-lover's room. Just imagine how warm and cozy your local fairies will be with such a welcoming into your home.


9. Make Some Fairy Food
As Liza Gardner Walsh suggests at the end of her inquiry, make some tasty snacks for your winter-laden fairies. Of course the peanut butter toast covered in birdseed ccand the string of dried fruit will be wonderful for the little pixies, but don't forget about your little tot fairy. I hear that fairies like pancakes, so whip up a batch for your tot and save a few for the fairies too!

10. Help Each Other
Although the lesson may be concise and perhaps missed, be sure that your tot understands: fairies help others. Remind your little one to keep her eye out for ways to help others, because kind acts will warm those chilly fairies from the inside out! Here are some ideas for how to let little hands make a big difference.

Please share your fun with these activities in the comments,
on Instagram #totbookclub, or on my Facebook page!

**Amazon Affiliate links were used in this post.**

Where Do Fairies Go When it Snows? written by Liza Gardner Walsh is a wonderful fiction follow-up to her non-fiction fairy books: Fairy House Handbook and Fairy Garden Handbook also published by Down East Books. The onslaught of questions about the plight of fairies in the winter is made even more delightful by the illustrations of Hazel Mitchell. In fact, it is Ms. Mitchell's illustrations in another recent release, Animally, that prompted me to follow her on Facebook, and thus find out about this fairy adventure!

When she began posting about Where Do Fairies Go When it Snows?, I couldn't wait to see what charming illustrations Hazel Mitchell would bring to this fantastical inquiry by Liza Gardner Walsh. I am lucky enough to have a sneak peek, and of course, the story and illustrations do not disappoint!

The whimsical illustrations spur on the reader's imagination to answer question after question about how fairies spend their winters. The reader is asked to contemplate whether fairies can maintain their cheer of spring and summer as winter approaches. While the questions may not be completely answered by the end, Liza Gardner Walsh opens a world of wonder with her first simple question, Where Do Fairies Go When it Snows?

While the book will not officially be released until, October 15th, you have a chance to WIN IT HERE on Tot Book Club! You'll be ready to put this book on repeat when it arrives, because tomorrow I will be sharing 10 Learning Experiences to incorporate into your readings of Where Do Fairies Go When it Snows?


Liza Gardner Walsh has worked as a children’s librarian, pre-school teacher, high-school English teacher, writing tutor, museum educator, and she holds an MFA in writing from Vermont College. She lives with her family in Camden, Maine.

Award-winning illustrator of more than a dozen books, Hazel Mitchell grew up in England, where she attended art college and served in the Royal Navy before moving to the states in 2000. She lives in Detroit, Maine. www.hazelmitchell.com.

**Amazon Affiliate links were used in this post.**

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