Our Favorite Christmas Books

December usually looks like a time to pause and savor family time during our homeschool. We hit pause on the math and reading curriculums and spend the month baking and crafting and watching our favorite movies and reading our favorite books. As with our Fall collection of picture books, we have built our Christmas stacks over the years so that we now have a collection that fills multiple storage totes. If you’re looking for some great books to enjoy with your kids during the next few weeks before Christmas, I guarantee you will find something on this list!

For Toddlers:

*Note: all the books on this toddler list come from Paper Pie and most (unless they are no longer in print) can be found at the following link: https://g4984.paperpie.com/.

1. Twinkly, Twinkly Nativity: The Twinkly, Twinkly books all have lights on the pages, making them cozy reads for dark, Winter nights.

2. Dance With the Elves: The Dance With… series is a favorite with my little ones, who love to get up and move to the music while I read the movements from the books.

3. Farmyard Tales Christmas: No children’s book list for my family is complete without Poppy and Sam. Unfortunately this one is out of print, but if you can find it used it will definitely become a favorite.

4. Peek Inside Christmas: Peek Insides make great books for homes with a variety of ages. My two-year-old often requests these for his bedtime story (I just leave out some of the extra details to help his attention span) and will look through them on his own when he needs to play quietly at church, but my older girls loved to use these for practice when they were first learning to read.

5. That’s Not My Elf: That’s Not My… books make up 90% of the reading I do with my smallest of babies; they are the perfect length for tiny attention spans and the textures are engaging for older babies, but my two-year-old will often “read” these on his own, retelling the story as he goes, which is a great pre-reading skill.

6. The Santa Flap Book: This is just a basic board book with engaging pictures and sturdy flaps.

7. Nibbles Christmas: This was our family’s first introduction to Nibbles the book monster, and we quickly fell in love with his stories through it.

8. Are You There, Little Reindeer?: Toddlers love to guess where the reindeer is.

9. Play Hide and Seek With Reindeer: Similar to the last, toddlers will enjoy searching for the reindeer.

10. Santa and the Elves: This comes in a set of 3 Santa jigsaw puzzles made for toddlers to easily complete.

11. Peek Inside Nativity: Similar to Peek Inside Christmas, but instead a good telling of the first Christmas. I’m pretty picky about nativity stories written by nonChristian companies, and there are some from Paper Pie that we really didn’t like, but this was a good one.

Chapter Books:

1. The Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens: Look for an original, unabridged version; this is the perfect choice to introduce your kids to Dickens.

2. Laugh Out Loud Christmas Jokes For Kids by Rob Elliott: Sometimes you just need something silly to read to put everyone in better moods (this seems to have happened frequently at my house here lately).

3. A Boy Called Christmas by Matt Haig: This honestly wasn’t one of my favorites, and my older girls were torn over it (one loved it, one hated it), but it is considered a popular choice by many. It’s followed by The Girl Who Saved Christmas and A Mouse Called Miika.

4. Christmas With Anne of Green Gables and Other Stories: This is actually a collection of short stories or individual chapters from L. M. Montgomery’s various works. A great introduction to the world of Anne of Green Gables.

5. Josefina’s Surprise by Valerie Tripp: A couple years ago we read and studied the Josefina and Samantha serieses from American Girl; these are great chapter books to read with younger kids as they are fairly short. 

6. Samantha’s Surprise by Maxine Rose Schur: See #5.

7. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis: Christmas is the perfect time to introduce your children to the world of Narnia, where it is “always Winter and never Christmas.”

8. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott: Not technically a Christmas story, but there are some wonderful Christmas scenes in Little Women, and honestly, reading it just makes you feel merry and cozy just as one should be at Christmastime.

Picture Books:

1. The Christmas Story: This is a new nativity story from Paper Pie that features a beautiful pop-up nativity scene you can leave out on display after reading.

2. Luna Loves Christmas by Joseph Coel Ho: The Luna books are sweet stories; I would highly recommend these for children of divorced parents, as they approach the topic in a gentle way, allowing for good conversation around the topic of divorce.

3. Charlotte and the Nutcracker by Charlotte Nebres: Most of the books added to our Christmas collection last year centered around the Nutcracker as we took our oldest two to see it for the first time. We are continuing the new tradition by taking them to a different performance this year. This picture book tells the true story of the first African-American girl to star in the ballet.

4. Jan Brett’s Christmas Treasury: Jan Brett “might” be my favorite picture book author of all time. If you buy nothing else by her, GET her Christmas Treasury. The illustrations are what make the story, so make sure your kids are paying attention as you read it.

5. A Child’s Introduction to the Nutcracker by Heather Alexander: We read part of this packed nonfiction book last year and are now reading more of it this year as we dive deeper into all things Nutcracker (so far our favorites have been learning about Tchaikovsky’s life and the history of the music behind the ballet).

6. The Christmas Tree Book by Tomie DePaola: My kids love reading multiple books by the same author, often greeting them as they would an old friend. This is an interesting telling of the history of Christmas trees.

7. The Animals’ Merry Christmas by Richard Scarry: My parents still have the copy of this we read every single December as kids (the cover is missing and it’s hanging together by a thread, but it’s still intact!). As a young adult, they found copies for me and each of my siblings to read with our own kids, and it has continued to be a favorite in my home. Each member of our family has their own favorite story that gets requested each year, and we have to make sure they all get read!

8. The Yuletide Ice Cube Fair: This is a cute Veggie Tales story that someone handed down to us when my oldest was little, and we have continued to read it every year!

9. Muddy Paws First Christmas by Paul Bright: My mom added this to our collection a couple years ago, and it’s a regular request by a certain dog-loving child of mine.

10. Cobweb Christmas by Shirley Climo: This one is so good! A legend surrounding the beginning of tinsel that caused me to want to use tinsel all over my house to decorate this year (when in the past I’ve despised it 😏).

11. Jan Brett’s The Nutcracker: This is our family’s favorite version of the Nutcracker! Jan Brett’s illustrations make the ballet come alive for your kiddos who are getting to experience it in person this Christmas.

12. A Little Women Christmas by Heather Vogel Frederick: If Little Women is your favorite but your kids aren’t quite ready to be introduced to it yet, this is a great place to start!

13. Lucia Morning In Sweden by Ewa Rydaker: Saint Lucia Day is a beautiful tradition to share with your children; I guarantee your girls will be wanting to recreate this one on their own!

14. God Gave Us Christmas by Lisa Tawn Bergren: As I mentioned in my Fall picture books post, this series is one of our family’s favorites. A great explanation of the real meaning of Christmas in comparison to Santa Claus, but done in a way that won’t ruin the “magic” of Santa for your younger ones.

15. Christine’s Carol by Tomie DePaola: This is based on the Christmas carol, “In the Bleak Midwinter” by Christina Rosetti.

16. Emma’s Christmas Wish by Sallyann J.Murphey: One of my uncles gave me this longer picture book for Christmas one year because I shared the main character’s name, but it has become a favorite of mine and my daughters. I distinctly remember reading it to my oldest two a few years ago for the first time and looking up at the climax to see my oldest with tears streaming down her face (of course I was crying, too!). Well worth the multiple sittings you’ll probably need to get through it.

17. How the Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr. Seuss: Of course, we must mention the classic Grinch. We read this every year on our annual Grinch night, where we watch the movie, bake Andes Mint Grinch cookies, and decorate Grinch trees (upside down empty ice cream cones with green frosting and whatever sprinkles, candies, and other yummy things we can find).

18. Jingle the Christmas Clown by Tomie DePaola: Another great Tomie DePaola story. If you’re finding yourself bored with reading the same Christmas stories every year, you should definitely pick up one of his books, as they are truly unique.

19. Everything I Need to Know About Christmas I Learned From a Little Golden Book: My mother-in-law found this back when my oldest girls were toddlers, and they have loved it ever since. As they’ve gotten older they love to look at the pictures and point out which ones are from golden books they’ve read.

20. Leah’s Star by Margaret Bateson-Hill: A beautiful telling of the Christmas story from the point-of-view of the innkeeper’s daughter in Bethlehem. This is sold by Paper Pie.

21. The Elf on the Shelf book: We still read this every year when our elf arrives on the day after Thanksgiving.

22. Construction Site on Christmas Night by Sherri Duskey Rinker: We added this to our collection last year for Andy, our two-year-old, who is obsessed with anything with wheels.

23. Pick a Pine Tree by Patricia Toht: This is a short rhythmic book all of your kiddos, young and old, will love.

24. Frosty the Snowman: Another classic to read when you watch the movie.

25. Seven Spools of Thread by Angela Shelf Medearis: This is a Kwanzaa story that will hopefully inspire your children to work together without arguing.

26. The Night of Las Posadas by Tomie DePaola: When the couple who are supposed to play Mary and Joseph in Las Posadas get stranded in a snowstorm, a Christmas miracle saves the day.

27. The Christmas Cat by Tasha Tudor: Tasha Tudor’s illustrations have been my favorite since I was a young girl; in fact, as a child I loved to read books about her life because she was so fascinating to me (and still is).

28. Santa Clauses: Short Poems From the North Pole by Robert Raczka: Short poems perfect to change things up during your Christmas morning time.

29. Santa Claus and the Three Bears by Maria Modugno: Imagine that Goldilocks is Santa Claus and you’ll get the gist of this sweet picture book.

30. The Legend of the Poinsettia by Tomie DePaola: This is probably my favorite Tomie DePaola book. The story of how the poinsettia first came to be.

31. The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg: Another annual tradition is our Polar Express day, where we read the book, watch the movie, stay in pjs all day, and make hot cocoa with all the yummy fixings in it.

32. Christmas In Noisy Village by Astrid Lindgren: Written by the author of Pippi Longstocking, this is a fantastic picture book.

33. A Little House Christmas by Laura Ingalls Wilder: This is a compilation of excerpts from various Little House books set at Christmastime. Another great way to introduce your kids to the world of Little House or enjoy it again for a second time if you’ve already read the books.

34. The Twelve Dinosaurs of Christmas by Evie Day: A new release from Paper Pie, this is a cute version of the “Twelve Days of Christmas.” Just be prepared to be told by your kids to “sing” it instead of read it, as I was!

35. Santa Yeti by Matthew Luhn: Another new release from Paper Pie, the yeti just wants to not be cold on this Christmas, and his desire for warmth sends him on a vacation with Santa!

I hope your family finds time to snuggle up with a good book or two this Christmas! Merry Christmas!