I thought it would be fun to unwrap some great Christmas kid books for you. I know that time is running out and the count down is on... but the good news is that after Christmas you can catch
a lot of sales, purchase these books, and tuck them away for next year. I always try to stay on top of my book buying and while others are buying clothes and electronics half price on Boxing Day, I scoot off to the book section (which usually isn't that crowded) and have a wonderful time loading my cart with marked-down books for future Christmases. Be smart, buy smart and enjoy the gift of books....the gift that keeps on giving long after your Christmas tree is put away and your Christmas lights extinguished!
Here are a baker's dozen of great books I am unwrapping for you today:
How exactly does Santa keep tabs on who's naughty and who's nice? Turns out he's got a mole—the elf on the shelf—who comes packaged with a companion book. The elf mysteriously changes locations overnight, and kids love looking for him as soon as they wake up in the morning. Bonus for parents: Since the elf's always watching, you should be able to milk major good behavior out of your kids.
The Night Before Christmas
We all know the magical, evocative words of Clement C. Moore's traditional holiday poem. This gorgeously illustrated version, which uses collage papers and oil paints, adds a modern twist: Santa wears funky pants, sports dreadlocks and leaves the children traditional African gifts.
Fancy Nancy: Splendiferous Christmas
Nancy's psyched about the holidays until her ultra-fancy tree topper breaks. Can the ultimate girly-girl learn to love plain old DIY tree decorations? As always, the detailed, sparkly illustrations make this a fave among the princess set.
Nancy's psyched about the holidays until her ultra-fancy tree topper breaks. Can the ultimate girly-girl learn to love plain old DIY tree decorations? As always, the detailed, sparkly illustrations make this a fave among the princess set.
Dream Snow
Lovers of Eric Carle's classic The Very Hungry Caterpillar will recognize the same iconic collage illustrations in this wintry tale about a farmer who dreams about a white Christmas. Like Caterpillar, the pages hold extra interest for young readers, with cutouts and counting.
Olivia Helps With Christmas
The plucky piglet gets her house ready for Christmas, "helping" her parents in the most unhelpful ways possible. The charming black and white illustrations—punctuated with green and red accents for the holidays—play off the spare words to tell the whole story.
Li'l Rabbit's Kwanzaa
Brer Rabbit meets African tradition in this tale of a rabbit looking for something special to give his sick grandmother for Karamu, the Kwanzaa feast.
Happy Hanukkah, Corduroy
The sweet stuffed bear in overalls offers toddlers an introduction to the traditions of Hanukkah, from lighting the menorah and hunting for gelt to playing dreidel.
Snowmen at Christmas
The secret life of snowmen is revealed in this gorgeously illustrated tale. Snow families gather in the town square, sing carols and get their own visit from "the snowman Kris Kringle" before re-assuming their positions in the front yard as dawn breaks.
Santa Mouse
A lonely little mouse realizes Santa is always giving presents but never gets them, so he leaves a gift. His thoughtfulness is rewarded when he becomes Santa's little—very little—helper.
The Polar Express
This tale of children hopping on a night train to visit Santa at the North Pole is pure holiday magic, and the book comes with a DVD of the story read by Liam Neeson—ideal for holiday car rides or to help excited kids drift off on Christmas Eve.
Angel Pig and the Hidden Christmas
The plot of this tale hits close to home
in these uncertain economic times: A family of porkers thinks Christmas is ruined because they don't have money to buy "jeans and sneakers with fancy brand names" at the mall. Then a sneaker-wearing angel appears, encouraging them to make and bake gifts instead, and teaches them what gift-giving is really about.
Dinosaur's Night Before Christmas
Is your kid a dino nut? Then he'll love this tale of a boy who asked for a pet T-Rex, who ends up gobbling Santa and taking over as St. Nick. Kids will delight in seeing a team of flying dinosaurs pulling the sleigh and knowing—phew—Santa gets out okay in the end.
Junie B., First Grader: Jingle Bell, Batman Smells! (P.S. So Does May)
Kids love Junie B because she speaks their language—grammatical errors, G-rated bad words and all. The irrepressible Junie B. tangles with class tattletale May in this holiday version of the popular series, and then it gets "worser:" she finds out she has to be May's secret Santa. Will she get into the Christmas spirit?
Kids love Junie B because she speaks their language—grammatical errors, G-rated bad words and all. The irrepressible Junie B. tangles with class tattletale May in this holiday version of the popular series, and then it gets "worser:" she finds out she has to be May's secret Santa. Will she get into the Christmas spirit?
Have a wonderful and blessed Christmas everyone. The next few days I will be absent as I will be spending time with my friends and family celebrating the birth of Jesus. I look forward to meeting up once again and sharing amazing kids books with.
Merry Christmas everyone. Read on and read always! It's a wrap.
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