[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 Age 3] Recommended for January! A Heartwarming, Exciting Picture Book Collection (21–30)
oden broth
Winter is cold, so it makes you crave something warm, doesn’t it? Speaking of warm foods—what comes to mind? For many people, it’s probably oden.
In this picture book, the pot is imagined as a bath, and one by one, the ingredients for oden hop in.
It even includes hide-and-seek phrases that kids love, making it fun to “cook” oden.
You can also enjoy a quiz—Who’s next?—so try recalling the ingredients and imagining them as you read.
A heartwarming book that will warm both body and soul with a finished pot of steaming hot oden.
Same, Same, Momon-chan
This is a story about Momon-chan teaming up with Goldfish-san and Cactus-san to build a snowman.
The full two-page spreads vividly depict the scenes, conveying just how hard it is to make a big snowball.
You can’t help but want to cheer them on, saying, “Heave-ho, heave-ho!” Children will probably feel as if they’re making the snowman right alongside Momon-chan.
So, what kind of snowman did they end up making? It’s exciting to imagine! It’s a perfect book for winter read-alouds, capturing the joy of playing in the snow.
[Age 3] Recommended for January! A Charming, Heartwarming Picture Book Collection (31–40)
Go for it! Lululolo: Lots of Snowmen
The twin sisters Lulu and Lolo help shovel the snow that has piled up in the garden.
As they roll the snow, they also make a snowman.
What kind of snowman will Lulu and Lolo create? For adults, shoveling snow can be hard work, but with a little creativity, doing it together with children might lead to new discoveries and fun.
You can enjoy the anime currently airing on NHK Educational TV as an original picture book.
The interactions between Lulu and Lolo are very adorable, too.
It’s a perfect picture book for the cold winter season.
It’s coming! It’s here! New Year Seven!
“Here It Comes! It’s Here! New Year Seven” might be irresistible for kids who love sentai-style heroes.
The ever-sudden hero, Seven, has arrived for the New Year! Let’s learn about New Year’s Eve and New Year traditions together with Hero Seven.
From year-end preparations and ozoni soup to osechi dishes and New Year’s games, this book offers a solid introduction to Japan’s wonderful traditional customs.
It even comes with a sugoroku board game, dice, and a spinning top, so the whole family can play and enjoy time together!
Gorongo snowman
When you think of winter, you think of snow…
and when you see snow, don’t you just want to make a snowman? In this picture book, a big snowball comes rolling along and then turns into a snowman.
He becomes friends with a dog, and they have fun racing around together.
It’s such a dreamy story, it warms your heart as you read.
The illustrations are also created with dyed fabric, with the stitches clearly visible.
The tactile, three-dimensional feel makes you want to reach out and touch it—and kids are sure to love it too.
White, white Korowan.
This is a recommended winter read starring Korowan, a little puppy.
While Korowan is playing in front of his house, something like white fluff starts to fall from the sky.
When it touches his nose, it’s cold and melts right away.
When he asks his mother, she tells him, “That’s snow.” The snow keeps falling through the night, and by the next morning everything is pure white! Overjoyed, Korowan romps around in the snow.
Seeing Korowan play so happily will surely make children want to join in some snow play too.
On a night when snow falls silently
The heart-calming, cozy picture book “On a Quiet, Snowy Night” tells the story of a fox walking through a nighttime forest blanketed in snow, meeting an owl, a woodpecker, a snow hare, and more along the way.
In a forest covered with falling snow, you might discover things you don’t usually notice.
The illustrations in the book, with their use of color and depictions of animals, convey both warmth and strength.
As you read, the beauty of the forest comes through.
You may even feel as if you’re in a quiet, snowy forest yourself.