Classic Christmas Stories & Christmas Fables:
Santa Claus And The Three Bears by Maria Modugno - We love retellings, and this is a sweet Christmas retelling of Goldilocks! My kids enjoyed it.
The Twelve Days Of Christmas by Laurel Long - This version of The Twelve Days Of Christmas is just gorgeous, with each of the gifts hidden in the illustrations on every page! My kids poured over this for a long time after we read it.
Why Christmas Trees Aren’t Perfect by Richard H. Schneider - This is a folk tale about a small pine tree, that sacrifices its perfect beauty in order to help forest animals who are in trouble. I liked how the book tied it back to reflecting Christ’s sacrificial love to others on earth. The whole gospel isn’t here, but it’s a nice reminder for believers at Christmastime.
The Night Before Christmas by Jan Brett - The classic Christmas poem, but with Jan Brett's beautiful illustrations!
The Nutcracker by Niroot Puttapipatt - This version of the Nutcracker story is really fun because of the surprise pop-up page! I also thought it was cute how Clara met Dr. Drosselmeyer's nephew at the end.
Christian Christmas Stories:
For purposes of simplicity, I am including any stories that surround or involve the Nativity story in this category!
The Very First Christmas by Paul L. Maier - In this book, a mother tells her son the true story of Christmas from the book of Luke, and answers his many questions! This book was an accurate telling of the facts of the Nativity story, and all based on the Bible. Very good and beautifully illustrated!
The Advent Of Christmas by Matt Maher - This book introduces the meaning of each of the advent candles in an enjoyable rhyme. My kids have been seeing the candles lit at our church each Sunday, so it was neat for them to get a concise introduction to the meanings!
Small Camel Follows The Star by Rachel W. N. Brown - This tells the story of one of the wise men's camels as they journey to find Baby Jesus. A cute angle on the nativity story!
Hurry, Hurry, Have You Heard? by Laura Krauss Melmed - This is a story of some of the animals coming to see Baby Jesus after he was born, and spreading the word to their animal friends. Cute illustrations in this one!
The Friendly Beasts by Rebecca St. James - The text of this book is just the old Christmas carol itself, but illustrated really nicely. We sang it as we read, and the kids enjoyed it.
The Christmas Miracle Of Jonathan Toomey by Susan Wokciechowski - A heart-wrenching story about a grumpy woodcarver who is befriended by two of his customers, and finds the joy of the Christmas season again through their friendship. This is another tear-jerker!
B Is For Bethlehem: A Christmas Alphabet by Isabel Wilner - This is a nativity-focused alphabet book, also in rhyme. A great one for little ones!
Christmas Day In The Morning by Pearl S. Buck - This book legitimately makes me cry every time I read it. So I’m sitting there choking up, and trying not to let the kids hear my voice break while I read! A boy surprises his father by doing all the chores for him on Christmas morning. It doesn’t sound like it would be so emotional, but it is.
The Last Straw by Paula Palangi McDonald - This is a really sweet book about a family that does a Giving Manger-style exchange of acts of kindness. The story is cute, and the illustrations are beautiful. We just got a Giving Manger this year, and I’m reading this book to the kids beforehand for our own version (yes, we are getting a late start on the Giving Manger, but it seemed like a good activity for the week before Christmas).
We Were There: A Nativity Story by Eve Bunting - This is a book about some of the non-traditional animals that may have been present when Jesus was born. If you have a child that likes creeping things, as my Georgiana does, this is a cute one!
The Third Gift by Linda Sue Park - A really neat book about what myrrh is and where it comes from. A boy helps gather myrrh resin with his father, and sells some to three strangers who need a gift for a King. It was neat to learn a little more about myrrh and how it was used!
Room For A Little One by Martin Waddell - A sweet story about the animals welcoming each other into the stable, before welcoming Baby Jesus. I thought the illustrations were so sweet and cozy.
Santa Stories:
I wanted to separate out the Santa stories, for those of you who want to limit the focus on Santa. Other books on this list may mention Santa briefly, but these stories have a larger Santa element.
The Littlest Christmas Elf by Little Golden Book - This is another book from my childhood that I’m fond of. Allistair is the littlest elf, and can’t help with all the elfish tasks. He is worried that Santa will find out his ineptitude and send him away, so he runs and hides in the stable, making a new friend named Nicholas. I think you can guess where it goes from there. Just a cute little story!
Other Christmas Stories:
Bear Stays Up For Christmas by Karma Wilson - We love all the Bear books, and this one is about Bear having a Christmas party with his friends. Very cute illustrations, and the repetitive text is fun for little ones.
Merry Christmas, Big Hungry Bear by Don and Audrey Wood - We've read this book a couple years in a row, and aside from the bright and rich illustrations, I love how the little mouse feels compassion for the bear even when the narrator is trying to warn him away. A really cute Christmas book.
Red And Lulu by Matt Tavares - This is a really cute story about two cardinals who live in a Norwegian pine tree that is cut down and taken to New York to be the Rockefeller Center tree. My kids remembered this from last year and enjoyed it just as much this year!
Gingerbread Christmas by Jan Brett - Is Christmas really complete without at least one Jan Brett book? Her illustrations are just so gorgeous, and this is a fun play off of the traditional gingerbread man story - but the Gingerbread Baby is not obnoxious and gets away in this one. It also has a surprise pop-up page!
Pick A Pine Tree by Patricia Toht - This is a basic book about the fun of tree decorating, but the illustrations really make this book! They are so colorful and whimsical and festive!
Night Tree by Eve Bunting - This is a story about a family that goes out to the woods to decorate a Christmas tree with popcorn and bird seed balls and fruit, so the woodland animals can celebrate Christmas too. I love this book because we took inspiration from it to decorate our own night tree last year! We will probably do another tree this year too.
A Christmas Sweater For Nina by Cecilia Heikkila - This is a book about a cat whose sweater unravels at Christmas, but it leads her to a new home and a new friend. The coziness factor of this book won me over.
The Poky Little Puppy’s First Christmas by Little Golden Book - I have a special place in my heart for the Poky Little Puppy, ever since I was a toddler watching him on a VHS at my grandma’s house, over and over. This book is about how the Poky Little Puppy learns that it is more blessed to give than to receive.
The Littlest Christmas Tree by R. A. Herman - Classic story of the smallest tree in the lot, wishing he could be a Christmas tree. The illustrations in this one are so cute!
I'll add them to my list of books to check out for next year!
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