This Year's Christmas Books

It's ironic that I always review our book advent after Christmas is over. Maybe one year I'll do it in November and it'll be worth sharing with friends. Our 2019 list had a lot of new titles with just a few of our favorites thrown in, so I will review all of them. I already have our 2020 books wrapped, and I have started my list for 2021, so this little tradition is really taking off. We love it. 

Each of our first six books were on popular demand at the library and had to be returned by mid December. 

Pick a Pine Tree is an easy to read rhyme that celebrates the fun of taking a pine tree home and turning it into a Christmas tree. The artwork is adorable and my kids enjoyed reading it a few times over. 

The Most Wonderful Gift in the World is a heart-warming tale about friendship. The artwork is beautiful and the message even better. It's one I'd definitely add to our "own" list. 

When Santa Was a Baby didn't make my kids chuckle as much as I'd expected, but the more we read it the more they enjoyed the goofy nature of baby, toddler, and little kid Santa. He sure was destined to be the Jolly guy. The artwork here is modern classic and tells the story as strongly as the words. 

Red and Lulu has become my favorite Christmas bird book and my favorite book about the Rockefeller tree (and there is no shortage of competition in both those categories). It was a must buy for this bird watching family of mine. Author Matt Tavares was a surprising new discovery this holiday season. 

The Crayon's Christmas delighted Nell and helped me fulfill my goal of having more character books in this year's line up. This book is very interactive, which becomes somewhat constrictive in the library copy. I decided to go ahead and buy it since my kids love it so much. Next year they can really play with all the little takeout pieces. 

Dasher is an incredibly beautiful story of hope and freedom. I'm not sure Ben saw it that way, but the kids knew right away that it reminded me of my favorite American hero: Harriet Tubman. I purchased it as well (right before Christmas Target had a buy 2 get 1 free sale on Christmas books -- I splurged). Tavares artwork in both this and Red and Lulu is stunning, and the storytelling is delightful for readers of all ages.  

The Friendly Beasts is a Christmas song I did not grow up with. I'm still not really sure how the tune goes, but I did enjoy this artwork better than other editions. Our copy came with a CD as well, I meant to put it on in the car one day, but never did get around to that. 

Christmas Songs is an absolute MUST purchase book for anyone doing this tradition. I asked for recommendations on facebook back in November and my friend Katie shared this title. When I looked it up on Amazon I couldn't pass up the price (like $8). At half the price, it's worth at least four times as much as our Usborne Christmas Songbook (which I'm actually going to get rid of now). The kids used this book to Christmas Carol (via Alexa) to each of their grandparents. It is truly phenomenal! I want to buy the bedtime lullaby version now too. 

The Christmas Tale of Peter Rabbit quickly disappeared into Nell's room. She's always been fond of that tricky little bunny. This is not a work by Potter herself, but it honors the character she taught millions to love. It's an easy to read book with pages and pages of beautiful drawings. 

Presents Through the Window was Mara and Coraline's favorite. It was also likely the most read book of the season. They each had it roughly memorized before we gave it back to the library. It's a sweet little message about making the best of Christmas even if you don't get the gift that's quite right for you. 

The Donkey's Christmas Song has been one of my favorites for years. I finally broke down and bought a used copy on thriftbooks.com (an excellent place to build your supply of holiday books). Mara absolutely loved this and asked me to read it to her in her bed almost every night. It's such a sweet story. I highly, highly recommend it. 

Oskar and the Eight Blessings is a perfect way to include a little Chanuka in your Christmas reading list. I always appreciate a story that takes my kids back to Christmas's of the past, when life was more humble and children more free. This sweet story is full of NYC history and magic. I'm not sure how my mom came across it, but I'm glad she passed it on to us.

The Wish Tree isn't directly a Christmas book, and would actually make a wonderful January read. It's certainly about giving and the winter season, so it fit well into our collection. The photos tell the best story and my kids loved all the details in each picture. It's definitely worth adding to your library list. 

A Christmas Wish has a little caption on the back that I just love. "Be Kind. Be Brave. Believe" With a story line similar to the classic, Polar Express, this one is sure to captivate kid's imaginations. The images are incredibly realistic. I plan to gift each of my girls' their own copy when they leave home someday. 

The Twelve Days of Christmas was a new one for our family. Susan Jeffers is a favorite holiday author/artist for us, and without her version of the Nutcracker in our line up, I felt like this read was needed. I will keep looking for her Christmas books in the future. 

Christmas is Here is another early favorite of ours. I think we discovered it that very first year, and I'm certain it has been in our lineup every year since. So simple and beautiful. I'm not fond of books that tell the Holy Family's story with European looking characters. Moving forward, this the only way my kids are ever going to see an Anglo looking nativity in our book collection. It's lovely. 

A Christmas Carol is the one Usborne book I bought years ago that was actually worth the price. Our kids love this simplified retelling of the most classic Christmas story. Ben and I enjoy it as well. I had to tape together some pages this year, that's how well it's been loved in our house. 

The Nutcracker is a pretty big deal at our house, thanks to the Paine's fantastic holiday transformation. We have always read Susan Jeffers version in the past, but as mentioned above we switched things up this year. I had to have some Mary Engelbrett artwork during the holiday season (usually in the form of "Twas the Night Before Christmas"). I love the artwork here, of course, but I do prefer the Jeffers version of this story.  

Shooting at the Stars was a new book for us. The story of the Christmas truce of 1917 was not. I knew Reid would be intrigued by this, and he did ask many questions. Thankfully, there was a very detailed note at the back of the book, so we learned just about all we could of this famous Christmas story. 

The Three Trees was our Christmas Eve read and oh how I loved introducing this beloved book to my children. They each picked up on (even predicted) the trees dreams fulfilled. I just love this amazing story and can't wait to read it again and again each year (though it's super fitting for Easter as well). 

The First Christmas Night follows the patterns of Twas the Night Before Christmas, but obviously shares the story of the Saviors birth. I didn't love it as much as I'd hoped. There is another book that does the exact same thing called "Twas the Eve of Christmas" that I plan to read in coming years. It had more culturally accurate artwork and better ryhming, in my opinion, but I couldn't get my hands on a library copy until close to Christmas. 

Mortimer's Christmas Manger stars a sweet little Christmas mouse, so my kids love to tease me about how much I should hate little Mortimer. For reals though, why are mice such popular kid's book characters? I'll always enjoy this goodwill find as long as we have kids under age 6 or so, though I think even teens need a good picture book read to them at bedtime every now and again. 

A Savior is Born is just perfect for this rock loving family. I would recommend reading this book with the Bible by your side, as it guides you through the nativity story so well. This is such a unique Christmas picture book, I think it really helps change things up in the minds of children. 

B is for Bethlehem is another MUST have in my opinion. The two women who came up with this poem are brilliant. There is no other Christmas book quiet like it. I love, love, love this one and have had it in our lineup every year since we began this tradition. I should probably buy 3 more copies right now, just so I can ensure each of my kids get to pass this treasure on to their own family someday. It is Christmas picture book perfection.