[For 3-Year-Olds] Recommended for January! A Collection of Exciting and Heartwarming Picture Books
After the New Year holidays, our lively three-year-olds are coming back to preschool.
Some children might feel a bit nervous returning to daycare or kindergarten after such a long break.
So today, we’d like to introduce some recommended picture books for January that three-year-olds can enjoy! You might find books about New Year’s traditions, bath time, hot pot, snow, and other familiar experiences that children may have had—now brought to life in picture-book form.
We’re sure their eyes will sparkle with excitement.
Enjoy reading them together while chatting with the children!
- [For 3-year-olds] Recommended Picture Books to Read in March
- [For 2-year-olds] Recommended picture books to enjoy reading in January
- [February] Picture books for 3-year-olds with themes of Setsubun and winter
- Recommended Picture Books to Read in January for 0-Year-Olds
- [For 3-Year-Olds] Recommended Picture Books for Spring | Exciting and Thrilling Reads
- [For Age 4] Must-Read in January! Picture Books to Enjoy Winter
- [February] Recommended picture books for 4-year-olds: Works that let children feel winter at preschool
- [February] Recommended picture books for 2-year-olds: Books that evoke winter and Setsubun
- [For 2-year-olds] Let's read together! Recommended picture books for March
- Picture books to read in winter! Story ideas that will captivate 3-year-olds
- [For 1-year-olds] Recommended picture books to read together in January
- [For 5-year-olds] Picture books recommended for reading in January
- [For 3-year-olds] Perfect January Winter & New Year Crafts! A Collection of Fun, Hands-On Ideas
[For 3-year-olds] Recommended for January! A Heartwarming, Exciting Picture Book Collection (1–10)
The path of the blizzard is a mysterious path.
Enjoy Fubuki’s mysterious adventure! We’re introducing a fantasy picture book recommended for 3-year-olds.
On a morning when snow is blowing hard, a girl heads to school with her big sister.
As they walk along calling out animal sounds, a great white bear appears! After that, more and more mysterious things show up in the blizzard.
Set in a storm that feels like the Arctic, it’s a joyful story for a snowy day.
Whether a child rarely experiences snow or lives where blizzards can be tough, they might just find a bit of fun in the swirling snow.
The Bathhouse at My Place
Recommended for bath-loving three-year-olds! Let me introduce the popular “Bathhouse” series that kids love.
Today’s bath is at my house.
Just when he was all fired up to take a bath by himself, animals start dropping by one after another, and it gets super lively! Taking a bath alone is nice, but a big, crowded bath time looks fun too.
The rhythm of the text is great, so it’s perfect for read-alouds.
When the bathroom door goes knock-knock, even the reader’s heart starts pounding.
This book will make bath time with your child more fun, so give it a try!
Happy New Year
New Year’s is finally here! To kick off the year, we’d like to recommend a picture book perfect for three-year-olds.
The author is Hirotaka Nakagawa, who’s popular with both kids and adults.
Yasunari Murakami’s illustrations are absolutely lovely, too.
The book is packed full of New Year traditions.
In short sentences, it simply introduces many aspects of Japanese New Year culture.
One of its charms is that it includes customs and games that may be unfamiliar to children.
You might even come across traditions that adults don’t know.
Be sure to explore Japan’s traditional culture together with your child.
[For 3-year-olds] Recommended for January! A collection of heartwarming, exciting picture books (11–20)
Everyone, gather for Osechi!
In Japan, there is a custom of eating osechi during the New Year.
This time, I’d like to introduce a picture book themed around osechi called “Osechi no Minna Atsumatte!” In it, osechi essentials like black soybeans, sweet chestnut paste (kuri kinton), and kelp rolls (kobumaki) all have cute little faces.
When their names are called, they cheerfully reply, “Here!” and gather into the tiered bento box.
Some are so energetic they overshoot their spot! Each dish in osechi carries a special meaning.
As you read this book, be sure to share what each item symbolizes and the wishes it represents.
rice cake (mochi)
Mochi is delicious eaten on its own, or added to hot pot dishes or sweet red bean soup.
Many families display kagami mochi in December and eat it during kagami-biraki in January.
In the picture book “Omochi,” the process of grilling mochi is carefully shown.
Kids will surely be glued to the page as the surface browns, the center splits, and the mochi pops out and puffs up with a puku~! sound.
It even teaches tasty ways to enjoy mochi.
In January, read this book and be sure to try mochi in lots of different flavors.
Rice-Cake Bath
Let me introduce the picture book “Omachi’s Bath,” where the mochi characters Mochan and Chichan go to a bathhouse.
The bathhouse they visit is a little unusual: there’s a soy-sauce footbath, a kinako (roasted soybean flour) sand bath, and a toaster sauna.
The two relax in the footbath and sand bath, but since they’re mochi, the sauna causes their bodies to puff up and stick to the bread that was in there with them—what a mishap! They manage to get unstuck and head to the final bath.
Since many kids eat mochi in January, give it a read if you like.
It’s an adorable picture book.
Wanpaku-dan’s Snow Festival
Wanpakudan’s Snow Festival is one of the most popular picture books among children.
After a heavy snowfall, the mischievous trio—Ken, Hiroshi, and Kumi—build an igloo and a snow rabbit.
While they’re playing inside the igloo at night, the snow rabbit they made suddenly comes to life and invites them to a snow festival.
That’s where their grand adventure begins.
Children who love mysterious happenings will surely imagine themselves as part of the Wanpakudan and enjoy the adventure together.
It’s a perfect read for the snowy month of January.