CHARLESTON, S.C - Who else's Christmas traditions include reading books together as a family? From well-worn classic stories that take most of the holiday break to read to some modern-day favorites that can be finished in a night, year after year these books come down from the shelf to take up their place by the fireplace or the tree where everyone gathers to celebrate and immerse themselves in these stories.
With holiday celebrations being affected by the ongoing pandemic, we thought it would be a good idea to share some classic reads and new titles that are perfect to add to your ongoing tradition, or even start a new one. Who knows, you might even end up with peppermint chocolate popcorn or some figgy pudding (if you're really having a Dickensian Christmas!) to make for a perfect family reading experience.
Let's get to the list!
The Year of the Perfect Christmas Tree by Gloria Houston
A warm, heartfelt story that captures the family feeling of Christmas. It is 1918 when the Great War swoops in on Pine Grove and sends Ruthie's father overseas. In the spring he and Ruthie had picked out the perfect balsam tree; it is the family's turn to provide a tree for the town celebration. But now it is Christmas and father, though he's expected, is not home to cut it down. Despite offers from others to provide the tree, Mama insists on keeping Papa's promise. She and Ruthie trek up the mountain and singing carols, chop down the balsam and deliver it to the church. Then, while Ruthie sleeps, Mama makes her daughter an angel costume cut from her own wedding dress and a matching outfit, fashioned from the silk hose Papa sent, for Ruthie's doll. The Christmas program is special, but the most precious moment comes when Ruthie receives her wished-for present-- Papa's return. Movingly told, Houston's story is based on a family tradition, and is strikingly illustrated by Caldecott Medalist Cooney. Using solid shapes and warm colors that range from earthy browns to icy-tinged blues, she paints in a folk-art style that does justice to the affectionate, down-home feeling of the story. A beautifully wrapped present for readers of all ages.
The Night Before Christmas by Jan Brett and Clement Clarke Moore
One of Jan Brett’s all-time bestselling Christmas classics comes to life with this deluxe package that includes a DVD featuring Brett’s gorgeous artwork paired with original music performed by the Boston Pops Orchestra, and text read by award-winning narrator Jim Dale. Introduce your family to a holiday tradition they’ll treasure for years to come.
With over thirty four million books in print, Jan Brett is one of the nation's foremost author illustrators of children's books. Jan lives in a seacoast town in Massachusetts, close to where she grew up. During the summer her family moves to a home in the Berkshire Hills of Massachusetts.
As a child, Jan Brett decided to be an illustrator and spent many hours reading and drawing. She says, I remember the special quiet of rainy days when I felt that I could enter the pages of my beautiful picture books. Now I try to recreate that feeling of believing that the imaginary place I'm drawing really exists. The detail in my work helps to convince me, and I hope others as well, that such places might be real.
As a student at the Boston Museum School, she spent hours in the Museum of Fine Arts. It was overwhelming to see the room-size landscapes and towering stone sculptures, and then moments later to refocus on delicately embroidered kimonos and ancient porcelain, she says. I'm delighted and surprised when fragments of these beautiful images come back to me in my painting.
Mr. Willowby’s Christmas Tree by Robert Barry
Give the gift of holiday spirit with this classic picture book that celebrates how one Christmas tree brings joy to a whole forest of critters!
Christmas is here and Mr. Willowby's tree has arrived. There's just one big problem: The tree is too tall for his parlor! He cuts off the top so it will fit, and soon the top of that tree is passed along again and again to bring holiday cheer to all the animals in the forest.
Kids will love watching the tree move from home to home, and families will appreciate the subtle message of conservation and recycling, as the tree top spreads joy to all.
This heartwarming story is the perfect way to start the yuletide season, and a warm addition to any family's festive holiday traditions.
The Crayons' Christmas by Drew Daywalt
The holiday season is underway at Duncan’s house, and with it comes a flurry of mail—for his crayons. In envelope- and package-style pouches that occur throughout, readers will find crayoned correspondence and holiday cards, along with decorations, a foldout game, and other interactive items. Peach’s parents, living the good life in Florida, send much-yearned-for clothes in paper-doll format, including a jazzy purple tux. Duncan isn’t totally neglected: Gray, who is visiting relatives in Tennessee, sends Hanukkah greetings and a punch-out dreidel; Neon Red and Esteban include a mixed-up map of their world travels. Some readers may yearn for a little more of the obstreperous, opinionated personalities evident in Daywalt and Jeffers’s previous books, but the crayons’ ending offering—a pop-up tribute to the boy “who had always given them love, respect, and even a home”—rounds out the book’s meaningfully handmade feel.
The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus by L. Frank Baum (9 different versions to download!)
A classic Christmas children's book by the author of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.
In this timeless holiday tale for children of all ages, L. Frank Baum imagines the life of Santa Claus as only he could. From his childhood in the enchanted Forest of Burzee to his time in the Laughing Valley-where he invents the first toy as a gift for his neighbor's child-Santa's singular journey through life reveals how he became the iconic figure of joy and generosity we all know and love. As we travel along with him, we learn many of Santa's secrets-from the reason he slides down chimneys to how he makes his famous annual trip around the world in a single night. We also learn the origins of popular traditions, such as decorating Christmas trees and hanging stockings. A beloved tale of fantasy, adventure, and spirit, The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus is a truly classic piece of children's literature.
Madeline’s Christmas by Ludwig Bemelmans
Nothing frightens Madeline--not tigers, not even mice. With its endearing, courageous heroine, cheerful humor, and wonderful, whimsical drawings of Paris, the Madeline stories are true classics that continue to charm readers even after 75 years!
It's the night before Christmas and everyone is sick in bed. All except brave Madeline, who is up and about and feeling just fine. Taking care of eleven little girls and Miss Clavel is hard work, but when Madeline finds help from a magical merchant, the girls embark on a Christmas journey that will surely make them forget their sniffles and sneezes.
Ludwig Bemelmans (1898-1962) was the author of the beloved Madeline books, including Madeline, a Caldecott Honor Book, and Madeline's Rescue, winner of the Caldecott Medal.
The Twelve Days of Christmas by Emma Randall
In this charming and traditional staging of the classic carol, a girl with a long braid of brown hair and a variety of colorful winter dresses, coats, and capelets celebrates Christmas in her country village. Set against white backdrops and framed by dainty borders of flowers, ribbons, and music notes, Randall's ornamental illustrations call to mind Eastern European folk art while conjuring an ever-growing and multiracial cast of milkmaids, dancing ladies, feather-capped pipers, and other festive arrivals, including the requisite geese, doves, hens, and other birds. The girl's "true love," a boy wearing a neckerchief and cap, finally makes an appearance after the 12th day of Christmas, once the busy assortment of drummers, leaping lords, and others has departed, closing this holiday celebration on a quiet note of quiet, with the promise of spring suggested in flowers peeking up through the snow.
The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey by Susan Wojciechowski
"Christmas is pish-posh," grumbles Jonathan Toomey, the best wood carver in the valley. He's a Scroogelike recluse; but he's a gentle grouch, it turns out, and he hides a sad secret. He's transformed, not by Dickensian ghosts, but by an eager seven-year-old boy and his widowed mother who ask him to make them a Christmas creche. The story verges on the sentimental, but it's told with feeling and lyricism (he "traveled till his tears stopped" ). Lynch's sweeping illustrations, in shades of wood grain, are both realistic and gloriously romantic, focusing on faces and hands at work before the fire and in the lamplight. In a beautiful, elemental scene, the angry wood carver stands on the threshold of his home, disturbed by the gentle widow and her son who want his help and will transform his life.
The Christmas Wish by Lori Evert
In the tradition of The Snowman, The Polar Express, and the many books of Jan Brett this cozy Nordic tale filled with extraordinary photographs will have readers of all ages believing in the magic of Christmas. This is one to pull out every year and savor.
Long ago, a brave little girl named Anja wanted to be one of Santa's elves. So she leaves a note for her family and helps her elderly neighbor prepare for the holiday, then she straps on her skis, and heads out into the snowy landscape. From a red bird to a polar bear to a reindeer, a menagerie of winter animals help Anja make her way to Santa. A generous trim-size, matte cover, and foiled title make this a special book for the holiday season.
Llama Llama Holiday Helper by Anna Dewdney
Celebrate the holidays with Llama Llama and all his friends in this beautifully illustrated picture book, based on the hit animated Netflix series!
Look out, world--Llama Llama is a TV star! The beloved character, made famous by Anna Dewdney's best-selling picture books, is the star of his own original series, now airing on Netflix.
In this beautiful picture book, Llama Llama and Mama Llama are just about done with getting ready for the holidays. So Llama decides to help out his friends -- hanging wreaths, decorating trees, and baking cookies. Join Llama, Gilroy, Nelly, Euclid, and Luna as they celebrate their favorite time of year.
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
There's a new version of A Christmas Carol on every holiday list, but this one is special. It is Dickens' own performance text, cut and adapted by him for reading aloud in 90 minutes. All the great lines are here (well, almost all), including Scrooge's ever contemporary advice on what to do with the poor ("Are there no prisons?" ). The book's spacious design, with thick paper, clear type, and 21 sepia-tone illustrations done in watercolor and colored pencils, is great for group sharing. The pictures are comic and scary but never overwhelming. They pick up the theatrical, larger-than-life scenarios: the brooding, scowling miser alone at his desk; the ghostly visitors; the Cratchit family ecstatic over Christmas dinner.
There's an Elf in Your Book by Tom Fletcher
HO, HO, HEY! There's an ELF in YOUR Christmas book! Get ready for another lively, interactive read-aloud in the Who's In Your Book series!
Do you have what it takes to make Santa's Nice List? An elf is here to test you in this participatory read-aloud. Don't let the elf trick you into being naughty! Just follow his instructions to sing a Christmas carol, clap, BURP... Hey, wait a second! Children will be delighted to join in on the holiday fun.
Bestselling author and musician Tom Fletcher, the creator of the successful West End show The Christmasaurus, has once again paired up with illustrator Greg Abbott to create a creature that readers will fall in love with--and want to play with--again and again!
Christmas in the Country by Barbara Collyer and John R. Foley
On the 20th anniversary of their first collaboration, Newbery Medalist Cynthia Rylant and Caldecott Honor artist Diane Goode reunite for a story about the joy and warmth of Christmastime.
Cynthia Rylant returns to her Appalachian roots in this story of a young girl who lives with her grandparents in the country. As in her very first book, WHEN I WAS YOUNG IN THE MOUNTAINS (for which illustrator Diane Goode received a Caldecott Honor), Rylant evokes the warmth of the joyful Christmas season and celebrates the greatest gift of all--the love of family. Diane Goode's cheerful watercolors capture the festivities of the season, from Christmas trees loaded with homemade ornaments to the snow-covered countryside. A warm, evocative portrait of a loving family and a favorite season.