Christmas Book Recommendations

This post is a bit overdue for it to be useful to anyone this year, but there is always next year, right?  I’d love to hear your favorite Christmas books. 

Retellings of the Biblical story

• One Wintry Night by Ruth Bell Graham ill. by Richard Jesse Watson 
  As the publisher says, “A snowy night, a warm cabin, and a boy who hears the Christmas story told for the first time—beginning with Creation and ending with the Resurrection.” I love the storytelling and illustrations in this book.  They are very realistic with a lot of detail to capture kids’ attention.  This one will take several sittings to get through.
• Chapters from our favorite story Bibles. The Big Picture Story Bible is one of the few I’ve seen to deal with the Passover and explain Jesus as the Lamb of God, and you can see one of the chapters from The Jesus Storybook Bible on youtube.
• The Story of Christmas by Stephanie Jeffs and John Haysom
• The Christmas Story by Carol Heyer

Stories with Christmas themes (generosity, charity, traditions, etc.)

• An Orange for Frankie by Patricia Polacco
  I love the generosity portrayed in this book.  If I’m not careful, this one makes me cry.
• The Third Gift by Linda Sue Park, ill. by Bagram Ibatoulline
  Ever wonder what myrrh is?  This book answers that question through the story of a young boy learning from his father to collect myrrh.  One of my favorites this year.
• Who Would Like a Christmas Tree? by Ellen Bryan Obed, ill. by Anne Hunter 
  This book travels through the calendar year of the Christmas tree, exploring what animals find a Christmas tree useful in January, February, etc. 
• Great Joy by Kate DiCamillo ill. by Bagram Ibatoulline
  This one is similar to An Orange for Frankie in theme, but not nearly as long, making it more accessible to a younger crowd.  This was one of Sophia’s favorites this year, probably for the monkey in the story more than the actual message.
• Little Match Girl ill. by Jerry Pinkney
  A great reminder of the joys of heaven, but also one to read before you read it to your kids, in case they aren’t ready for its sadness.

Toddler Favorites (short introductions to the Christmas story)

• A Christmas Goodnight by Nola Buck, ill. by Sarah Jane Wright
• Christmas in the Manger by Nola buck  and Felicia Bond
• This is the Stable by Cynthia Cotton ill. by Delana Bettoli (This book is most notable for its depiction of wise men riding elephants, horses, and camels.  I love when books challenge our presuppositions about the Christmas story.)

Kids’ Favorites

• Small Medium and Large by Jane Monroe Donovan
  This is a mostly wordless picture book, and rather fun.  it’s not my favorite because a little girl seems to celebrate Christmas with only her small, medium and large animals.  Other people are absent from this book, which kind of misses the point of Christmas in my opinion. Nevertheless, my kids didn’t mind and loved finding all the small, medium, and large things. 
• 12 Days of Christmas by Rachel Isadora
  Another beautifully illustrated book that has very little to do with Christmas itself, but it was often read in our house this past month.  it features rebus pictures, so Caleb could “read” this entirely on his own.
• The Night Before Christmas by Clement C. Moore, ill. by Niroot Puttapipat 
  The illustrations are beautiful and make this book!

Adult reading

Good News of Great Joy by John Piper
A advent devotional I enjoyed reading…sometimes in the middle of the night.  Good food for thought. Some of my favorites were “God, Frankincense, and Myrrh,” “Replacing the Shadows,” and “Life and Death at Christmas.”