Our Favourite Christmas-Themed Books for Kids

We’re sure you know this too but this time of year is a great excuse to encourage your students to pick up a good festive-themed book and give them a reason to read.

For this reason, we’ve picked out seven fantastic Christmas-themed books for kids. They’re designed for different age ranges and focus on a range of writing genres. Most importantly though, they make this time of year so much fun, which is what it should be!

 

The Snowman

Raymond Briggs

Age Range: 2-6

Pages: 32

On a cold wintry day, a boy decides to build a snowman. During that night, the Snowman suddenly comes to life and an unforgettable adventure begins. A fantastic and magical journey starts for the boy and Snowman until it’s time to go home when the Sun comes up…

 

Dream Snow

Eric Carle

Age Range: 3-5

Pages: 22

A Santa-like farmer has only four animals called One, Two, Three and Four, as well as a tree called Tree. After having a dream one night that snow falls on the animals and covers them, he wakes up and remembers it’s Christmas. He delivers presents to all his animals and when doing that, finds that there’s a big surprise in store from Tree, but what could it be?

 

The Polar Express

Chris Van Allsburg

Age Range: 4-7

Pages: 32

Putting the message forward that we should be kind to all types of creatures, this book brings the Nativity to life and is told through the animals’ words. The story is based on the first Christmas night when Ox lets Old Dog, Stray Cat, Small Mouse, Tired Donkey and finally, the baby Jesus, into his stable…

 

The Biggest Christmas Tree Ever

Steven Kroll

Age Range: 4-8

Pages: 32

The day after Thanksgiving, Clayton and Desmond find the air is chilly which reminds them of Christmas. From this, they’re reminded of Christmas trees… but who will find the biggest one?

 

The Night Before Christmas

Clement C. Moore

Age Range: 4-8

Pages: 32

It’s Christmas Eve and everyone is asleep in the house. Well, except one little boy who is woken up by loud noises from reindeer on the roof! Who do you think the little boy will find when he tiptoes down the stairs?

 

How the Grinch Stole Christmas

Dr. Seuss

Age Range: 4-9

Pages: 56

The Grinch really doesn’t like Christmas, and no-one knows why. The meanest creature you’ll ever meet, he plots to steal Christmas, but things don’t really go according to his plan, and he’s in for a big surprise!

 

Letters from Father Christmas

J. R. R. Tolkien

Age Range: 6-11

Pages: 160

A collection of letters from Tolkien that he wrote to his children between 1920 and 1942 in the voice of Father Christmas, these wonderful pieces of writing tell all sorts of tales! From how the reindeer got loose and dropped presents all over the place to how he broke the moon into four pieces so the ‘man’ in it fell into his back garden, there’s so much to read about!

 

Do you recommend any Christmas-themed books to your students? Let us know by tweeting to @EducationCity