14 Christmas Book to Read This Year

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Christmas is just 14 days away. Insert panicky feeling. I am not sure we are ready. Of course, I say this every year and then Christmas comes and I realize I prepared and took the time to make sure it was special for everyone.

This year is M’s first Christmas so we went all out with Christmas books. We rented a few from the library but really we purchased a lot of books for M’s personal holiday library.

I included some classics and a few new books. I hope you get a chance to read a few of these books before Christmas. Gotta love Amazon Prime.

 Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg – I had to start out this Christmas book list with this. It is such a classic Christmas story and the pictures are amazing! Which is why it is a Caldecott winner. The words are a little advanced for M, we haven’t actually gone all the way through the book, but he LOVES the pictures.

 How Do Dinosaurs Say Merry Christmas? By Jane Yolen & Mark Teague – I’ve said it before, but I will say it again… M loves these books. I don’t know what it is but he always gets so excited by these pictures. I love this How Do Dinosaurs… Because if you are having a hard time teaching your child the expectations of what they do with the Christmas tree, stockings, or the actual giving of gifts, this is a great book to help. Plus it is just cute, especially if your child is into dinosaurs.

 Llama Llama Holiday Drama By Anna Dewdney – We love rhyming books, so of course I had to include this Llama Llama book. The poor little Llama wants to know how many days until Christmas. He does different things, bakes cookies, goes shopping, makes presents for his mama, to help pass the time. But then Christmas finally comes and talk about OVERSTIMULATION! So his mama sits him down and explains the real meaning of Christmas is having each other.

 Bear Stays Up for Christmas By Karma Wilson – The Bear books are so cute, but I especially love this one. Bear’s friends don’t want him to miss Christmas this year, so they wake him up and have a lot of holiday fun. And in the end, Bear stays up for Christmas and gets a sweet present from all of his friends.

 How the Grinch Stole Christmas! By Dr. Seuss – No Christmas book list would be complete without the Grinch. I am pretty sure M will have all the words memorized by the time he turns 1. We read it a lot (we do have to read it like a chapter book since the book is a little long for him). And it is always playing on my Christmas music station on Pandora.

 Santa’s Sleigh Is on Its Way to Oregon by Eric James – I found this book at Barns and Noble when we were there for story time and I just had to have it. It is so cute because it names a bunch of different Oregon cities and things Oregon is known for. Something I love is Eric James has written this book for all 50 states, which I think it is so fun.

 River Rose and the Magical Christmas By Kelly Clarkson – You might know Kelly Clarkson for her amazing voice… but did you know she writes children’s books now too? This is another book from her River Rose series. River Rose wants to stay up to deliver a letter to Santa. When she falls asleep while she is waiting for him, she has an amazing magical adventure at the North Pole.

 Santa’s Magic Key By Eric James – This book has beautiful illustrations, but I love this story for more than that. I love it because it finally answers the question of how does Santa get into all the houses? Spoiler Alert… He has a magic key.

 The Mitten by Jan Brett – When I taught at Head Start we weren’t allowed to celebrate holidays, which at first was such a bummer. But in the end, I loved it because there are a few books that are around and about Christmas without being 100% Christmas. I loved teaching this book, The Hat, Gingerbread Baby, and Gingerbread Friends.

 The Night Before Christmas – Another classic that no Christmas book list should be without. I really liked this version because the illustrations are so beautiful! Even before M was born, I would make my husband sit and listen to this story the night before Christmas, because it just really helps get you into that Christmas spirit. That and the Santa Clause movie.

 Dear Santa, Love, Rachel Rosenstein by Amanda Peet – This is such a sweet book about a little Jewish girl who LOVES Christmas. She writes to Santa asking if he will bring Christmas to her. It is a good way to teach children about people who celebrate different winter holidays other than Christmas.

 The Best Parts of Christmas by Bethanie Murguia –  This is such a sweet story too. Fritz loves Christmas and knows that the best parts happen around the tree. This year he gets to pick out the perfect tree. But then Christmas is over, the tree is dead, and Fritz isn’t ready to say goodbye. Without the tree can he still enjoy his favorite part of the season?

 Snowmen at Christmas by Caralyn Buehner – Ever wonder what the snowmen do the night before Christmas? This cute book will tell you just that. They celebrate with all the other snowmen. The illustrations are so pretty in this short story. Definitely going to become a Christmas classic in our house.

 Santa Claus the World’s Number One Toy Expert by Marla Frazee – Do you ever wonder how Santa can match the perfect toy to the exact right child every year? This book will tell you it is because he is the world’s best toy and gift expert. Definitely, one to read with your family.

I loved reading tons of different Christmas books to bring you this list. We started checking out books from the library in early November. There are MILLIONS of Christmas books out there. Have you read any of these? Did I miss one of your family’s favorites? Let me know in the comments.