![[For Age 4] Must-Read in January! Picture Books to Enjoy Winter](https://media.ragnet.co.jp/img/1200__jpg__https://www.studiorag.com/files/2024/12/6088c3e6a8047dd1014ca52697bc6ee3.webp)
By the time children are four, some can read hiragana and even picture books on their own.
So this time, I’d like to introduce picture books for January that let four-year-olds enjoy the winter season.
We’ve gathered lots of exciting books with real stories—perfect for four-year-olds who are starting to enjoy plot and wonder what will happen next.
You’re sure to find a new favorite.
Whether reading alone or listening to a teacher read aloud, enjoy exploring many picture books!
- [February] Recommended picture books for 4-year-olds: Works that let children feel winter at preschool
- [For 5-year-olds] Picture books recommended for reading in January
- A collection of recommended picture books to read with 4-year-olds that will make the wait for Christmas exciting
- [For 3-Year-Olds] Recommended for January! A Collection of Exciting and Heartwarming Picture Books
- [For 2-year-olds] Recommended picture books to enjoy reading in January
- [March] Recommended for 4-year-olds! Picture books that will make you smile and grin
- [Picture Books] Savor the fun of words: A special feature on recommended onomatopoeia picture books
- For 4-Year-Olds: January Crafts! A Collection of Fun Ideas with Winter and New Year Themes
- [For 1-year-olds] Recommended picture books to read together in January
- [February] A collection of picture books we want to read with the 0-year-old class
- Picture Books to Read with 4-Year-Olds in Winter: Heartwarming Recommended Stories
- Picture Books to Read with 5-Year-Olds: Recommended Titles to Make Winter More Fun
- Picture books to read in winter! Story ideas that will captivate 3-year-olds
[For 4-year-olds] Must-reads in January! Picture books to enjoy winter (1–10)
The Marathon of 109 Animals
Fun to read! Fun to search! Here’s a picture book recommended for 4-year-olds.
In a marathon with 109 animals, you’ll find both familiar and rare creatures.
Even imaginary animals like kappas and unicorns make an appearance.
Each page is filled with detailed scenes of the animals running the marathon, so you can cheer on all 109 runners and enjoy it over and over again.
It’s also fun to notice what each animal is especially good at.
We recommend looking for little discoveries as you read—“What is that animal doing?” Adults will enjoy it too, so be sure to explore lots of discoveries together with your child.
The Five Little Rabbits and the Snowy Forest
Let me introduce a picture book from the popular Quintuplets series for children! It’s recommended for four-year-olds.
This one features the quintuplets’ winter mobile café.
Despite the cold, they whip up customers’ favorite dishes and snacks—even corn-butter miso ramen! The illustrations of the delicious food are adorable, so you can enjoy spotting all the little details.
They even help solve their customers’ problems.
The rabbits’ message—“Just like snowflakes, each of us has our own unique sparkle”—is wonderful.
It also includes recipes for the snacks that appear in the story and coloring pages, so you can keep having fun with your kids even after reading.
Has the pot, the pot finished boiling?
Even if you don’t like carrots, this book might make you crave carrot soup! Here’s a picture book recommended for four-year-olds.
One day, Great-Great-Grandma is making soup in a big pot.
Kikko the fox and a pair of weasel siblings are asked by Great-Great-Grandma to watch the house.
When they can’t resist sneaking a taste or nearly let the pot burn, the pot itself offers advice.
The back-and-forth between Kikko and the pot has a rhythmic flow, and you’ll also enjoy the appearance of the nursery rhyme phrase, “Nieta ka dō da ka tabete mi yo” (“Is it done? Let’s taste and see”).
And above all, the soup looks delicious! The bowls of the creatures who come for soup are illustrated with intricate detail.
Please give it a read!
Grandma’s osechi (traditional Japanese New Year’s dishes)
Do you make osechi-ryori? It would be wonderful if you could even tell children about the meanings behind it.
Here’s a picture book about osechi-ryori that’s easy for four-year-olds to understand.
Kiri-chan and her grandmother go shopping at the local arcade and make osechi together.
Grandma explains the meaning of each dish to Kiri-chan.
Their preparations for welcoming the New Year are depicted like a daily tear-off calendar.
The woodblock-style illustrations feel very warm, and beyond explaining osechi, the book clearly shows preparations for the New Year—like the big year-end cleaning—in a way children can understand.
Why not enjoy getting ready for the New Year with your child alongside this picture book?
The Bear Cub’s New Year’s Eve
We’d like to introduce a picture book perfect for curious four-year-olds who wonder, “What does it mean when the New Year begins?” The little bear’s family is busy getting ready for the New Year.
Mom and Dad are happily making osechi (traditional New Year’s dishes), writing New Year’s cards, and doing a big house cleaning.
While the little bear wonders, “What does it mean that next year is coming?”, they also cheerfully do their own preparations in their own way.
The New Year’s Eve seen through the little bear’s eyes is utterly adorable.
It’s a heartwarming New Year’s picture book with cozy illustrations and soothing words from the little bear.
The Winter Holiday of Winter Vegetables
The picture book Winter Break for Winter Vegetables depicts winter vacation arriving in a winter field, where the vegetables start to play.
A variety of winter vegetables appear and enjoy winter activities just like children.
Snowball fights, building snowmen, playing sugoroku—there are plenty of games kids themselves have experienced! The vegetables’ lines even include their names, making it fun as a wordplay, too.
Some vegetables play energetically, while others just want to stay cozy under the kotatsu, so as you read, you can’t help but feel a sense of closeness to these veggies.
A Snowy Day Birthday
Chihiro Iwasaki’s illustrations are so adorable! Here’s a picture book perfect for winter, recommended for four-year-olds.
Little Chii-chan, who was born on a snowy day, will turn five tomorrow.
At a friend’s birthday party, while thinking about her own birthday, she accidentally blows out the candles.
The children’s expressions drawn by Chihiro Iwasaki are charming—whether it’s the moment she mistakenly blows out the candles, when she’s feeling down, or when she looks delighted, each one is wonderful.
Also pay attention to the snow Iwasaki paints, inspired by her own wintertime birth.
It’s a story that leaves you with a warm and happy feeling at the end.