Books like Waiting

When the first snowflakes fall, grown-ups like the postman, the farmer, and the policeman's wife hurry to prepare, while the children run outside to catch lacy snowflakes on their tongues.

A girl named Janie searches everywhere for an owl — the open prairie, a snowy beach, the woods near home — and month after month, she comes up empty.

A gentle look at all the reasons trees are good to have around — for climbing, for shade, for leaf piles to roll in, and for birds to build nests in.

A young girl decides that a new playmate is her best friend, even though she's never had one before, finding proof in small shared moments like drawing each other and pretending to be pickles.

A farm boy obsessed with snow teaches himself to photograph snowflakes under a microscope, spending decades proving that no two are ever alike.

Two little cave rock formations sit through millions of years of history — trilobites, dinosaurs, ground sloths, bats — growing so slowly that only their friendship stays constant, drip by drip.

A boy names his first carved jack-o'-lantern Jack, then watches it slowly rot in the garden through winter and sprout into a new pumpkin plant by spring.

A boy and his dog believe a few falling snowflakes will turn into something wonderful, even while every grown-up around them insists it's nothing at all.

A curious cat named Sneakers explores the seaside for the first time, meeting a mischievous crab, playful shrimp, and a shell that echoes with the sound of the ocean.

A fish and his best friend, a tadpole, grow up together in a pond until the tadpole becomes a frog and hops off to explore dry land, leaving the fish desperate to follow.

When deep snow buries their doors and windows, the mice of Brambly Hedge decide there's only one thing to do: build an Ice Hall and throw a Snow Ball.

After finding a message in a bottle, a curious troll and his friend raft out to Lonely Island, hit a storm at sea, and are rescued by a resourceful new friend named Too-Ticky.