Five super snowy stories to make you feel cosy

Published on: 13 Rhagfyr 2017 Author: Alex Bell

Alex Bell is author of the magical adventure The Polar Bear Explorers' Club - which features frost fairies, snow queens, outlaw hideouts, unicorns, pygmy dinosaurs and carnivorous cabbages.

She's recommended her top wintry reads for us, so get cosy and enjoy these. Then keep scrolling to find out the rules of joining The Polar Bear Explorers' Club and get a look at the book's gorgeous illustrations by Tomislav Tomic...

Frost Hollow Hall by Emma Carroll (Faber & Faber)

This is a great spooky ghost story set in a Victorian house in winter time. Perfect for curling up with on a cold day.

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (The Chronicles of Narnia) by C. S. Lewis (HarperCollins)

I remember my mum reading the Narnia books to me and my brother, and the excitement of Lucy journeying through the wardrobe to discover Narnia in the snow. Always winter, and never Christmas, it's snowy in this book in the series until Aslan's army and the children defeat the White Witch and a new era of Spring starts.

Read our review of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

Winter Magic, curated by Abi Elphinstone (Simon & Schuster)

This anthology of sparkly winter tales has everything from snow dragons to frost fairs. I particularly enjoyed 'The Voice in The Snow' by Michelle Harrison.

Read our review of Winter Magic

Read an extract from Winter Magic

Ophelia and the Marvellous Boy by Karen Foxlee (Hot Key Books)

I think this is probably my favourite middle grade book of all time. It's a loose retelling of Hans Christian Anderson's The Snow Queen, and is set in a gothic museum in a city where it never stops snowing. Packed full of charm and adventure.

The Snow Walker Trilogy: The Snow Walker's Son; The Empty Hand; The Snow Thieves by Catherine Fisher (Red Fox)

I absolutely loved following Catherine Fisher's characters on their perilous journey through a mystical snowy land filled with wild wolves, evil sorcerers and chilling ghosts in these three books.

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Join the Polar Bear Explorers' Club

Inspired by reading all these snowy stories and fancy getting out there yourself? Well, then, maybe you want to join the Polar Bear Explorers' Club that Alex has written about in her book.

You should be warned, though, that it's not easy to join - in fact, there are lots of rules for Explorers to follow. And that's the same for many clubs - like the Ocean Squid Explorers' Club, the Jungle Cat Explorers' Club and the Desert Jackal Explorers' Club.

Luckily, Alex has agreed to share these rules with us so you know what you're getting yourself into. Just download them in a PDF on the link below!

Download the Polar Bear Explorers' Club rules here

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Head inside the Polar Bear Explorers' Club

If you're ready for more from The Polar Bear Explorers' Club, you're in luck - we've got some of the gorgeous illustrations by Tomislav Tomic for you to look at. Just check out the gallery below!