Scan my collection of holiday books and you will quickly discover that the biggest section is Christmas books. I think it might be over 30 books. Just like the magical season, I find Christmas books to echo that wonder and excitement too. I just can’t help adding to the stack each year.
We often share the classics we love to read each year, but if you want to add a few newer titles to the reading list this year, I have some ideas for you!
Christmas Board Books for Kids
Full Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. Some of the books were provided to me for review. As always, all opinions are my own.
Dear Santa by Rod Campbell (author of Dear Zoo) has been reissued. Kids lift the flaps to reveal different gifts.
The Very Hungry Caterpillar’s Christmas 123 by Eric Carle helps little ones count with a holiday theme. That recognizable caterpillar can be found on each page exploring 1 Santa, 2 Christmas Trees and 3 Snowmen. Counting continues all the way to ten.
Is it Christmas Yet? by Jane Chapman (illustrator of Karma Wilson’s Bear Books) is now available as a board book. The illustrations are so playful and beautiful. Teddy continually asks, “Is it Christmas yet?” to Big Bear. I mean over and over and over again. Between asking so much and prepping the house for Christmas, Teddy tuckers himself out right before Christmas.
Picture Books
The Christmas Story by Robert Sabuda is a gorgeous pop-up book showcasing the true reason for Christmas. It’s the most stunning one on this list.
We could all use a little more kindness in our lives. Challenge kids this season to do daily acts of kindness. The North Pole Ninjasby Linden and Knott Gregson kit comes with a book, 50 kindness challenges in an envelope, and a stuffed sensei.
The Great Spruce by John Duvall has Christmas spirit with a dash of environmentalism. Learn about living trees and how we can enjoy the beauty of Christmas trees and still keep them alive for many more years. In the author’s notes, we learn that for a few years the tree in Rockefeller Center was a living tree.
Matti and the gingerbread baby are headed to the Christmas Festival in The Gingerbread Christmasby Jan Brett. Studying the side illustrations is always one of the most enjoyable parts of Brett’s books.
Are you a fan of Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type by Doreen Cronin? There is a new Christmas adventure starring Duck. In Click, Clack, Ho! Ho! Ho! Farmer Brown is prepping the house for a visit from Santa. All of the sudden he hears something on the rooftop. Could it be Santa? Or, could it be Duck?
‘Twas the Night Before Christmas is a classic rhyme that has been adapted and illustrated by Daniel Kirk. If you are familiar with his Library Mouse series, you will see nods to it in this holiday tale. Kirk took the traditional rhyme, kept the modern title and wove in his mouse character into this version of the story.
Snow Bunny’s Christmas Gifts by Rebecca Harry is a tale of Rabbit and her friends who enjoy playing outside until it gets too cold. Walking home alone, Rabbit finds a shiny coin in the snow and immediately knows where she will spend the money. With a ball of yarn in her hands, she hurries homes and creates warm and personalized gifts for each of her friends.
When Santa Was a Baby by Linda Bailey and Genevieve Godbout is a cute and charming book about what Santa’s life may have been like growing up with his supportive family. Of course, his favorite color was red and he loved giving instead of receiving. It’s fun to imagine what life was like for Santa when he was young. The pastel and colored pencil illustrations are equally as charming.
We are big fans of Caralyn and Mark Buehner’s Snowmen at Night book. They are back this year with a new Christmas story called Merry Christmas Mr. Mouse. The Mouse family has just moved into a new home with their 17 children where the discover this thing called Christmas and decide to celebrate for the first time. Just like in their Snowmen books, you will find hidden pictures in this story too.
The Gingerbread Man Loose at Christmas by Laura Murray starts with all kids in class making gifts for workers in the community. The Gingerbread Man knows exactly who he wants to give a thank you note to. They travel through town meeting different community workers. Finally, the Gingerbread Man finds the baker that made him. And, she has a little surprise for him too.
In Christmas in America by Callista Gingrich, Ellis the Elephant walks through American history showing us how Christmas has been celebrated throughout history.
How to Catch Santa by Jean Reagan is a fun book detailing all things you need to do to catch Santa. Leave Santa a trail to the cookies that lead to your room is just one of the tips. My kids giggled all the way through this one. But, I also knew they were taking notes.
I’m ending with one of my favorite new books of the year. A Homemade Together Christmas by Maryann Cocca-Leffler is a heart-warming book about the best gifts are those that come from the heart.
To remind yourself to read a lot this holiday season, I created this printable poster. Just click the link below to download it. The great clip art on the poster is from Whimsy Clips. You are welcome to download one copy of the poster for personal use.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE POSTER
Oh my, our Christmas book stack is about to grow. Enjoy adding to your Christmas reading list too.
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*This post was first published 11/9/15 and updated in 2016.
Oh man, you’re killing my Christmas budget! 🙂 Thanks so much for linking this up at Booknificent Thursday this week!
Tina
🙂
wonderful list ….going to add in my library :):)
Is it crazy that browsing through your list makes me ridiculously excited?! One of my favorite memories growing up was getting the box of Christmas books down from the attic and remembering all of our favorite holiday stories all over again every year. Now that I have my own baby, I cannot WAIT to collect some of my old favorites (and some new ones, too) for her to have that memory. Thanks for sharing!
Many of these books are available through Scholastic books at a very reasonable price.
This a wonderful list. Thank you for the suggestions. Kimberly, what a great idea for Advent — unwrapping one Christmas book a day!
Thank you Particia. I agree that Kimberly’s book unwrapping idea is fantastic!
Thank you! This list is great! I can’t afford to buy them all but I’ve placed about half of them on hold at 2 local libraries. 🙂 We like to use them for our Christmas book advent activity. Unwrap one Christmas book a day to count the down the days to Christmas. So much fun!
We love to check out books from the library. It’s such a wonderful resource. Enjoy your holiday reading!