Wondering what to gift your child for Christmas?
Or, does your kid already loves books?
Whichever it might be, whether it is for the start of a new tradition or a cozy, snuggled reading session with a cup of hot cocoa, here is the list of some of the best Christmas books for kids.
Best Christmas books for kids
1. A Boy Called Christmas
โTo see something, you have to believe in it. Really believe it. Thatโs the first elf rule. You canโt see something you donโt believe in. Now try your hardest and see if you can see what you have been looking for.โ
This enchanting story is about a young boy called Nikolas who refuses to stop believing in magic and happiness.
Living in the second smallest cottage in Finland, with his father and his only toy, a turnip doll, this heartwarming story tells us the tale of Father Christmas, discovering his magical destiny.
Author Matt Haig has woven a tale of holiday spirit, adventure, snow, elves, and magic into his beautiful story of imagination โ โA Boy Called Christmas.โ
2. A Christmas Carol
โThere is nothing in the world so irresistibly contagious as laughter and good humor.โ
Is there anyone who hasnโt heard of this timeless classic?
This is the tale of a mean-spirited miser, Ebenezer Scrooge, who is visited by three ghosts โ the Ghost of Christmas Past (a strange childlike phantom), The Ghost of Christmas Present (a majestic giant), and the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come โ who teach him the true meaning of Christmas.
Introduce this moral classic by Charles Dickens to your kids too!
3. A Christmas Carol (A Babylit Colours Primer)
Learning colors becomes fun as the beloved story โA Christmas Carolโ characters come alive. Watch your toddler smile and play with the ghosts of Christmas past, present, and future, and of course, Scrooge, Tiny Tim, and Bob Cratchit.
Introduce your toddler to the enduring classic by Charles Dickens through this quirky picture book with beautiful illustrations.
With fun and straightforward texts by Jennifer Adams and Alison Oliver and detailed illustrations by Sugars Alison Oliver, add the fun version of a classical story to your little childโs nursery.
4. If You Ever Want to Bring a Pirate to Meet Santa, Donโt!
If your dad says youโre going to meet a bearded guy with a red suit and a bag full of treasuresโฆhe is not talking about meeting a pirate!
This book is from the โMagnolia Says Donโtโ series written by Elise Parsley.
It is a fun, loud, and cautionary tale of what not to do when visiting Santa Claus!
It shows the chaotic situation resulting from Magnoliaโs bad choice โ the decision to bring a pirate to visit Santa!
She thought she would reform him for the better even though heโs on Santaโs naughty list.
But when he makes Santa Claus walk the plank and all the elves run away, she must reconsider the decisionโฆ and warn you!
5. Letters From Father Christmas
โHere we are again! Bless me, I believe I said that beforeโbut after all, you donโt want Christmas to be different each year, do you?โ
โLetters From Father Christmas,โ also known as โThe Father Christmas Letters,โ is a collection of letters by J. R. R. Tolkien. He originally wrote these letters for his children, posing as Santa Claus or his elfish secretary.
The story encompasses Polar bears, massive fireworks creating the northern lights, elves, and many more.
It has often been suggested that perhaps some elements of this posthumously published collection had inspired parts of Tolkienโs โLord of The Rings.โ
6. The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey
Thomas whispered, โMr. Toomey, excuse me, but youโre carving my sheep wrong.โโฆ โItโs a beautiful sheep, nice and curly, but my sheep looked happy.โ
The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomeyโ by Susan Wojciechowski is the story of an unhappy and lonely widower who had suffered a huge loss that he could not get over.
No one knew the cause of his misery and called him Mr. Gloomy. Then one day, his life changes as he meets a widow and her little son new to the village.
This is a story of hope, love, warmth, and above all, faith. Gift the story to your child and watch it become one of his favorite Christmas books.
7. The Polar Express
โSeeing is believing, but sometimes the most real things in the world are the things we canโt see.โ
Written and illustrated by Chris Van Allsburg, โThe Polar Expressโ did not take long to become one of the most relaxing Christmas classics.
The book narrates the story of a young boy who wakes on a Christmas Eve night, surprised by the sound of a train.
The train takes him up to the North Pole, where he has an enchanting experience and learns to truly believe in the spirit of Christmas even though he could not see it.
Loved by kids and grown-ups alike, the story resonates with the true meaning of this holiday season.
8. The Best Christmas Pageant Ever
โIโve got the baby here,โ Imogene barked at the Wise Men. โDon touch him! I named him Jesus.โ
โThe Best Christmas Pageant Everโ is a moving Christmas novel for kids written by Barbara Robinson. It narrates the story of six misfits, bordering uncouth children who decide to volunteer to star in their schoolโs Christmas Pageant.
While everyone expected the pageant to be a disaster, the realistic twist given by the children gave it a surprisingly moving ending.
9. A Charlie Brown Christmas
โI never thought it was such a bad little tree. Itโs not bad at all. Maybe it just needs a little love.โ โ Linus Van Pelt.
A beloved Christmas holiday special, Peanuts by Charles M. Schulz, is about Charlie Brown, Linus, and a sad little Christmas tree that was rescued.
As everyone gets ready for Christmas, efforts to win prize money, gifts, and crafting the perfect letter for Santa Claus seem to be the main spirit of the holiday season.
Everyone seems to have forgotten the true meaning of Christmas and as Christmas rounds the corner, Charlie Brown feels depressed.
A young reader is bound to enjoy this lovable and touching story from the Peanuts series.
10. Mr. Willowbyโs Christmas Tree
Mr. Willowbyโs Christmas Tree by Robert Barry is a charming little story about a Christmas tree that was too big for Mr. Willowbyโs parlor.
He chopped off the top of the tree, and this is the story of how the part of the tree was whittled down and down among the forest animals to spread love among all.
Initially published in 1963, this story brings joy to kids of three years and above.
11. How the Grinch Stole Christmas!
โThen the Grinch thought of something he hadnโt before! What if Christmas, he thought, doesnโt come from a store. What if Christmasโฆperhapsโฆmeans a little bit more!โ
โHow the Grinch Stole Christmas!โ by Dr. Seuss is the story of Grinch, a grouchy, lonely creature who was annoyed by the loud and cheerful noises during Christmas.
He tried to cancel Christmas by stealing gifts, decorations, and feasts from the homes in the village near his cave on Christmas Eve and expected it to result in unhappiness.
However, he soon realizes that perhaps Christmas means a little more than materialistic joys.
12. Pete the Cat saves Christmas
Written by Eric Litwin and illustrated by James Dean, โPete the Cat saves Christmasโ is the story of the coolest cat who comes to the rescue of Christmas when Santa falls ill.
Although he was worried that he might be too small for the job of delivering Santaโs presents to the kids, he is successful in his endeavor and exclaims that giving oneโs all for the Christmas spirit is the โgroovyโ thing to do.
Kids aged 4-8 love this fun book with its sweet message!
13. The Nutcracker and the Mouse King
โThese are just dreams created by her ardent fever.โ
The Prussian author E. T. A. Hoffmannโs โThe Nutcracker and the Mouse Kingโ was originally published in Berlin in German and later translated to other languages.
It follows the story of a young girl, Marie Stahlbaum, whose favorite Christmas toy, the Nutcracker comes alive and defeats the evil Mouse King. Then he whisks her away to a magical doll kingdom.
This is a beautiful Christmas story of love, magic, and enchantments that will transfer your child into a wondrous world.
14. Christmas Parade
BOOM biddy BOOM biddy BOOM BOOM BOOM!
Whatโs that noise filling the room?
With hilarious characters and dynamic art forms, the โChristmas Paradeโ by Sandra Boynton is a merry board book.
This rousing story of a dynamic parade of forty-six animal musicians marching by a lively beat.
Children will come across many animal musicians like chickens with bassoons, ducks with trombones, mice with piccolos, cow saxophonists, a tiny bird with a large tuba, a glockenspiel pig, and also a trumpet-playing Santa rhino!
Young kids will surely enjoy this entertaining and interactive book on Christmasโs lively fun and joys.
15. The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus
โIn all this world, there is nothing so beautiful as a happy child.โ
Written by L. Frank Baum, โThe Life and Adventures of Santa Clausโ is a graphic childrenโs novel with beautiful illustrations by Mary Cowles Clark.
The plot is really simple โ the title of the book gives it away!
The story follows the birth of baby Santa Claus and then his growing up as he comes across the sufferings of humankind.
His heart is brimming with kindness towards children, and he journeys aided by two deers to help him spread joy among children. Ultimately, at the age of 60, Santa Claus attains immortality of life as well as memory in our hearts.
This book brings the life of Santa Claus alive with laughter, kindness, joy, and even pixies, gnomes, reindeers, spirits, and fairies!
16. The Snowy Day
โOne winter morning, Peter woke up and looked out the window. Snow had fallen during the night. It covered everything as far as he could see.โ
โThe Snowy Dayโ is a childrenโs picture book written by Ezra Jack Keats. It is about Peter, an African American boy who explores his neighborhood after the seasonโs first snowfall. The pretty illustrations are also credited to Ezra Jack Keats!
He is too young to play snowball fight, and so he makes a snowman and snow angels and then slides down a snowy hill.
He takes a snowball home in his pocket, and although initially, he is sad to find that it is gone, he wakes up to see the neighborhood filled with more snow.
This is a very sweet story and is sure to be loved by all little kids.
17. Dream Snow
The โDream Snowโ is a lift the flap childrenโs book by Eric Carle.
It follows the story of an old farmer who goes to sleep on Christmas Eve, wondering about a Christmas without snow.
That night he dreams of a snowstorm covering him and all his animal friends in a snowy blanket. He wakes up to find that it had truly snowed that night, and then he goes and puts some gifts under the tree for his animals.
This is a simple, well-told Christmas story with a very sweet plot!
18. The Crayonsโ Christmas
โIn this season of giving, they decided to give back to the boy who had always given them love, respect, and even a home.โ
Drew Daywalt and Oliver Jeffers wrote โThe Crayonโs Christmas,โ an interactive book with a pop-up Christmas tree, letters that can be pulled out of their envelopes, games, punch-out ornaments, and posters.
This is the story of young Duncanโs box of crayons. As Christmas arrives, some crayons like the Peach crayon and the Beige crayon receive letters from their parent crayons living far away.
They also hear from three other crayons who could not make it home for the holiday season.
In the end, all the crayons decide to give Duncan a surprise gift for the festival and colors in a big pop-up Christmas tree for him!
19. Bear Stays Up For Christmas
โThe day before Christmas,
snuggled on his floor,
Bear sleeps soundly
with a great big snoreโฆ.โ
The โBear Stays Up For Christmasโ is the third picture book in the Bear and his friends series written by Karma Wilson.
It is wintertime, and the Bear is sleepy as all his friends prepare for Christmas; Bear struggles to keep awake.
So, Bearโs friends help him to stay awake as they bake cakes, decorate, hang up stockings, and sing Christmas carols.
They also have a surprise visit from someone special, and Bear finally experiences the joys of Christmas and discovers how giving is the best Christmas present!
20. The Girl Who Saved Christmas
โHappy Christmas!โ the man said.
โYes,โ Charles Dickens said, who couldnโt bring himself to say โHappy Christmasโ back.
โIsnโt it the best of times?โ the man went on.
The cat gave a gentle miaow of disagreement in his arms as Charles Dickens nodded. โYes. And the worst.โ
โThe Girl Who Saved Christmasโ is Matt Haigโs book.
It is about the journey to the edge of magic. If magic has a beginning, it must have an end, too, right?
Young girl Amelia goes to ask Father Christmas for a Christmas wish. But as he has more than impossible wishes to fulfill, upset elves, reindeers, angry trolls, and a chance that Christmas might be canceled, the magic that Amelia believes in starts to fade.
But soon, Father Christmas finds out that Amelia is no ordinary girl, and he might even need help to save Christmas.
21. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
โRudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeerโ is written by Robert L. May, a copywriter at Chicagoโs Montgomery Ward & Co.
It is the story of a young reindeer, Rudolph, who had a shiny, red nose. All the other Santaโs reindeersโ used to laugh at him because of his bright, red nose.
But then, one day, he is chosen by Santa to guide his team of reindeers. And the rest is history!
22. The Year Of The Perfect Christmas Tree
Written by Gloria Houston, โThe Year Of The Perfect Christmas Treeโ is a fictional Appalachian Christmas tale that had been passed down orally by the authorโs mother and grandmother.
This is the story of Ruthie and her parents as they lived together in Pine Grove. It was their familyโs turn to provide all the people in their village with a Christmas tree for the Pine Grove Church. But soon, Ruthieโs father is called off to war, and they must live on very little money.
This makes it difficult for them to afford much, but Ruthieโs mother refuses to give up on their familyโs Christmas promise.
This is the story of love, warmth, and the magic of Christmas.
Want More?
More suggestions of books for kids include,
- The Christmas Story by Jane Werner Watson
- I Got the Christmas Spirit by Connie Schofield-Morrison
- The Best Christmas Present Ever! by Ben Mantle
- Santaโs Elves Save Christmas by Marine Guion
- The Christmas Quiet Book by Deborah Underwood
- The Tree Thatโs Meant to Be by Yuval Zommer
- The Christmas Wish by Lori Evert
Reading Together โ A Bond of Love
Your year might have flown up with busy schedules and calls of duties. Maybe, each night you wished for some quality time with your kids.
Well, what are you waiting for? Here is your chance.
With the chiming of the sweet Christmas bells, snuggle down beside the fire and watch your kids lose themselves in the world of Christmas magic as you get them the best Christmas books for kids.
ย
Last Updated on by K