4 stories
Winter and snow stories
Snow queens, frost, fir trees and warm endings
Four winter stories sit on BedtimeStory.kids, all four to six minutes long. Three are warm; The Little Match Girl is the one to read ahead before you choose it.
Winter stories are cosy by contrast: the colder the world outside the window, the warmer the cottage at the end. This collection runs from Andersen's snow to fireside folk tales. Read them in December with the curtains open, or in July when a child needs cooling down. The longer Andersen tales suit older children; the fireside tales of foxes and hares in the snow work for anyone.
Where to start with winter and snow stories
5 min
Ages 3–7 · Rhyming Stories & Poems
The Snow Man
In a snowy village, children build a magical snowman who comes to life. He promises to protect the village during…
6 min
Ages 4–8 · Classic Tales
The Ant and the Grasshopper
Meet Grasshopper, who loves to sing and dance, and Ant, who works hard storing food. As autumn turns to winter…
7 min
Ages 4–8 · Magic
The Ice Mirror of the Frost Galaxy
In the shimmering Frost Galaxy, young Timmy lives in Frostbite village, where everything is cold. He dreams of finding…
13 min
Ages 4–8 · Classic Tales
The Little Match Girl
A determined orphan girl braves a bitterly cold winter's eve, hoping to sell matches for a warm meal. When despair sets…
Four stories, and how cold each one gets
Winter stories are a mixed inheritance. Some are about snow as a game and some are about cold as a danger, and the difference matters a great deal at bedtime. These four cover both ends.
The warm three
The Snow Man is four minutes for ages 3–7, gentle, and the best starting point: a snowman who thinks and wonders and learns to think of others. The Ant and the Grasshopper is six minutes, an Aesop retelling in which winter is the deadline rather than the villain, and this version leans on kindness at the end rather than on punishment. The Ice Mirror of the Frost Galaxy gives six adventurous minutes of frost and space for ages 4–8.
The one that needs reading first
The Little Match Girl is six minutes, adapted from Hans Christian Andersen. It is a story about a child who is cold and alone, and even softened it remains the saddest thing in this collection.
Reading The Little Match Girl without ending the night badly
Read it yourself first. If you decide to read it aloud, three things help. Read it earlier in the evening rather than last. Sit close. And follow it with something warm, which is exactly what The Snow Man is for, at four extra minutes.
It is worth saying plainly that the site’s version is an adaptation of Andersen’s tale, not a translation of it: the ending is handled with more comfort than the 1845 original. For some children of seven or eight, this is the first story that makes them cry, and that is not automatically a bad evening. Our guide to fairy tales and fear is the place to work out whether tonight is the night. The other three Andersen tales are gathered in Hans Christian Andersen tales.
Winter reading beyond these four
Four stories will not see you through December, and the nearby collections will. Christmas stories is the largest seasonal group on the site and shares the same snow and candlelight. For a longer, colder journey, East of the Sun and West of the Moon gives eleven minutes of a Norwegian winter for ages 5–12, and The Lad Who Went to the North Wind puts the wind itself on stage in ten minutes.
For frost and stars together, Sunbeam’s Journey to the Ice Planet’s Heart runs ten minutes for ages 5–8. And The Fir Tree, five minutes, is a winter story in everything but label.
| Story | Minutes | Mood | Read it |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Snow Man | 4 | Gentle | Any night, including last |
| The Ant and the Grasshopper | 6 | Gentle | When planning ahead is the theme |
| The Ice Mirror of the Frost Galaxy | 6 | Adventurous | Early evening, ages 4–8 |
| The Little Match Girl | 6 | Sad | Not last, and not without reading it first |
Collections that share these stories
Ranked by how many stories they have in common with this one.
Questions about winter and snow stories
Is The Little Match Girl too sad for children?
It is the saddest story in this collection even in adapted form. Many parents save it until seven or eight, and follow it with a warmer story.
Which winter story suits a three-year-old?
The Snow Man, at four minutes for ages 3–7. It is gentle throughout and ends kindly.
How many winter stories are on the site?
Four in this collection, ranging from four to six minutes. The Christmas stories collection holds a much larger group of snowy tales.