I love this time of year and all the wonderful books we get to share with our kids! From Halloween through Christmas, we have holiday and seasonal books scattered all over our house. We come back to our favorites year after year and add in a several new ones. Here are some of my favorite Christmas books for kids.
Nutcracker Books
The Nutcracker by Susan Jeffers and The Nutcracker by Alison Jay are my two favorite traditional Nutcracker picture books for younger kids. We share these books every Christmas during our Morning Basket time.
Duke Ellington’s Nutcracker Suite by Anna Harwell Celenza is the story of Duke Ellington’s jazz version of the Nutcracker music. A CD of the music is included with this picture book. This pairs perfectly with The Nutcracker in Harlem by T.E. McMorrow which is a retelling of the Nutcracker set in New York City during the Harlem Renaissance.
Tallulah’s Nutcracker by Marilyn Singer is the story on a little girl’s dream come true as she gets to perform in a Nutcracker production for the first time. However, the performance doesn’t go as planned and we get to see what can happen during a live performance.
Christmas Books
Jan Brett’s Christmas Treasury is a collection of her Christmas and winter themed books. It includes The Night Before Christmas, Trouble with Trolls, Christmas Trolls, The Mitten, The Hat, The Twelve Days of Christmas, and The Wild Christmas Reindeer. I was thrilled to find this collection that includes all our favorites.
A Little Women Christmas by Heather Vogel Frederick is a great way to share a bit of Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women with younger children. This picture book is taken from the “Pleasant Meadows” chapter of Little Women. The beautiful illustrations bring the story to life.
The Christmas Wish by Lori Evert is a Nordic tale of a little girl who heads out on an adventure to become one of Santa’s elves. Her encounters with many helpers on the way are shown in beautiful photographs.
Polar Express by Chris Allsburg, a 1986 Caldecott Medal Winner, is the story of a young boy who takes a magical trip to the North Pole.
Snowmen at Christmas by Caralyn and Mark Buehner is a delightful story of what snowmen do when the people in the town are fast asleep at night. We’ve had this board book for years, and my girls were excited to find the full version picture book.
The Worst Twelve Days of Christmas by Sudipta Bardhan-Quallen is a picture book perfect for families with babies and toddlers. See Christmas through the eyes of an older sister.
My Penguin Osbert by Elizabeth Cody Kimmel tells the story of what happens when Santa brings a little boy exactly what he asks for for Christmas. Who wants a pet penguin?
Merry Moosey Christmas by Lynn Plourde is a comical tale of what happens when Rudolph wants the day off and needs to find a replacement for his Christmas Eve duties.
If You Take a Mouse to the Movies by Laura Numeroff is the Christmas themed book in the “If You..” series of books. We love these books so we were excited to find this holiday book.
Related Post: Beautiful Winter Books for Kids
Santa Claus and the Three Bears by Maria Modugno is a spin off of the Goldilocks and the Three Bears story. Who do you think they’ll find in their house this time?
Santa’s Twin by Dean Koontz is a gem we found in a Little Free Library. I never knew Dean Koontz wrote children’s books! This is definitely a unique look at Santa and the trouble his evil twin causes. I just saw that there’s a sequel called Robot Santa.
Bear’s First Christmas by Robert Kinerk is an adorable story of a bear and his forest friends and their first Christmas.
Great Joy by Kate DiCamillo is a sweet story about a little girl who shows kindness to someone who needs a little extra joy during the holiday season.
The Story of Holly and Ivy by Rumer Godden is a beautifully written story of three Christmas wishes.
The Twelve Days of Christmas by Alison Jay is the song in book form with beautiful and unique crackle glaze illustrations.
A Wish to be a Christmas Tree by Colleen Monroe is a tale of a tree and it’s woodland friends. Will the tree ever be a Christmas tree?
I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas by John Rox is a fun book based on my favorite Christmas song! Too much fun 🙂
The Night Santa Got Lost: How NORAD Saved Christmas by Michael Keane is an action packed tale of how NORAD comes to Santa’s rescue. Military families will really love this one.
What Cats Want for Christmas and What Dogs Want for Christmas by Kandy Radzinski are adorable books based on letters that the animals write to Santa. These are two of my kids’ favorite Christmas books.
Looking for a fun handwriting project for the holidays?
Check out the ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas printable!
Classic Christmas Books for Kids
Don’t forget to add these timeless classics to your reading list this season!
The Night Before Christmas by Clement C. Moore is a holiday tradition for us and this book is one of our favorites versions of the poem.
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer by Robert L. May is the original Rudolph story written in 1939.
Miracle on 34th Street by Valentine Davies is a picture book version of this classic Christmas story.
How the Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr. Seuss is a Christmas tradition for many families. We watch the movie and read the book every year. We may just make it to a movie theater to see the new version this year!
My kids get so excited to see all their favorite Christmas books every season! They look forward to discovering a few new favorites. What Christmas books will you be sharing with your kids this year?
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