North Pole or Bust! Chicken in Mittens by Adam Lehrhaupt

Zoey stepped out of the barn. So did her best pig, Sam.

Fresh snow covered the farm.

"We can be EXPLORERS!" said Zoey.

"It's cold!" said Sam

"ARCTIC Explorers! said Zoey.

Zoey and Sam share a pair of mittens--one on each of their heads.

With their skis on their feet and their mitten on their heads, Sam and Zoey set out. They have two objectives: reach the North Pole and find a Yeti!

Zoey and Sam are full of zeal until they come to a barbed wire fence. They can't climb over it on their skis. Perhaps they can go under it?

It takes a lot of wiggling from Zoey and waggling from Sam, but finally they leave the fence behind and approach the mountain. Sam and Zoey are now stalwart mountain climbers.

But what goes up must come down, and the two Arctic explorers become downhill sliders--way downhill!

"NOW I'm cold," said Sam.

But Zoey zooms toward a strange, shaggy, snowy figure. Could he be their Yeti? She asked directions to the North Pole but when the figure remains silent, she gives him a sturdy tap. The snow slides off to reveal a shabby scarecrow on a tall pole. Oh, well. Maybe this is the NORTH POLE, then.

Sam suggests they call it a successful expedition to the polar region (well, sort of) and head for home, in the newest beginning reader in the series by Adam Lehrhaupt,Chicken in Mittens (I Can Read Level 1) (Harper, 2017), featuring his hearty partners Zoey and Sam who include young independent readers in their reading adventures. Other books in this new one in Harper's celebrated sixtieth year of I-Can-Read series by author Lehrhaupt and artist Shahar Koban are Chicken in Space (see review here), and Chicken in School.

Blitz the Blizzard! Pete the Cat--Snow Daze by James Dean

PETE THE CAT WAKES UP AND GETS READY FOR SCHOOL.

"THERE'S NO SCHOOL TODAY. IT'S A SNOW DAY!" SAYS MOM.

"HOORAY!" SAYS PETE.

Pete and brother Bob bundle up in caps, coats, and mittens and head outside for a bit of snowball tossing. Then they build a snowcat outside their house.

They follow their friends' tracks and spot Emma and Trey already at the top of the sledding hill. Quickly Pete and Bob crunch up the hill with their sleds for some bellyflopping.

"WHEE! I LOVE SNOW DAYS!" SAYS PETE.

It's a day of snow fun to remember, followed by hot chocolate for all at Trey's house. Pete and Bob head home, tired and damp, and ready for an early bedtime.

But there's more.

PETE WAKES UP TO MORE SNOW. IT'S NOT A SCHOOL DAY. IT'S ANOTHER SNOW DAY!

It's Pete and Bob Have a Snow Day, Part II. They build a snow fort, throw bigger snowballs, make a snowdog. They sled down the hill. They drink more cocoa.

Ditto for Day 3. There's yet another sequel: Pete and Bob Have A Snow Day, Part III. More snow to sled in. More snowballs to toss. There's lots more snow to shovel....

"ANOTHER SNOW DAY?"

"THERE'S TOO MUCH SNOW!"

S'no joke! There is such a thing as too much of a good thing, and the kids are almost happy to see the roads plowed and the big yellow school bus coming, in James Dean's jolly little Pete the Cat: Snow Daze (My First I Can Read) (Harper, 2016), in Harper's venerable series for emergent readers, as Pete exchanges his snow boots to walk in his school shoes again. This one is good to have on hand before snow days set in, and if they last too long, there's always a vicarious winter vacation with Pete in his sunny Pete the Cat: Pete at the Beach (My First I Can Read).