I couldn’t help myself. The last trick-or-treater had just walked away as I pulled down the basket of Christmas books from the Bear’s closet.
Christmastime is far and away my favorite time of year; the smell of pine, the anticipation of what Santa will leave under the tree, baking cookies, the sights & sounds of the season, and the big stack of children’s Christmas books we’ve accumulated over the years.
A little while back, a fan of the OWTK Facebook page asked me to compile a list of our most cherished, and I’m more than happy to oblige.
OWTK’s Favorite Christmas Books for Kids:
- A Wish to Be a Christmas Tree – the rhyming makes this sweet tale tough to read over and over again, but a few times a season this wonderfully illustrated wish will bring a lil’ tear to your eyes.
- Little Tree – similar in story, vastly different in artistic style. Chris Raschka adaptation of an e.e. cummings poem over-uses the word ‘little’ but still proves durable year after year.
- Olive the Other Reindeer – we’re pretty big J. Otto Siebold fans and this modern Christmas classic never, ever gets old. I still laugh hard at lines like “Olive was surprised it was so easy to fly”.
- Gingerbread Mouse – my girls love that the young female character knows that the mouse gets into the house and sets up shop inside the gingerbread house. That she, and Santa, are so kind makes this one one of the best holiday books for kids.
- The Nutty Nutcracker Christmas – a very clever revamped take on the tried and true Nutcracker story, by kindie rock star Ralph Covert (Ralph’s World).
- Toot & Puddle I’ll Be Home For Christmas – yeah, it follows the same predictable T&P script (Toot is away, both pigs are anxious for their reunion in Woodcock Pocket), but there is a bit of Christmas magic added here making it pretty special and quite a delightful read.
- The Dinosaur’s Night Before Christmas – a clever take on the old tale with dinos at the Museum of Natural History in New York City. The accompanying CD features Al Roker reading the tale and a hilarious new version of “Deck the Halls”.
- On Christmas Eve – with gentle, whitewashed illustrations like Cybill Shepherd’s face in Moonlighting, this Margaret Wise Brown (Goodnight Moon) story of the night before Christmas is about being in awe of the sights & sounds of the greatest day (and night) of the year.
And some other Wintertime Favorites:
- Houndsley and Catina The Quiet Time – James Howe (Bunnicula) pens a subtle masterpiece about the peacefulness of a big snow. One of our all-time favorite books.
- Owl Moon – speaking of all-time faves and subtle masterpieces…the Jane Yolen classic is my single most-cherished kid’s book ever. I just cannot make any list of books without Owl Moon.
You’ll likely find all of these fine books at your local indie bookstore (if you can find one of those). To purchase online, see this handy dandy carousel o’ books:
