Hi everyone!
I have written about children’s books for Christmas perhaps more than any other type of book. It’s a perfect time of year for lavish illustrations, tender stories, and remembrances of Jesus. You can find my traditional favorites here on my blog as well as this post at Story Warren.
Below you’ll find some newer favorites. I am always looking for magical additions to the list of Christmas picture books. As always, you can find all of my picks from this newsletter in my storefront on Bookshop.org.
“…the incarnation of God is an infinitely greater thing than anything I would dare to write.” (JRR Tolkien, Letter 237)
Nativity: Cynthia Rylant. You might know Cynthia Rylant from The Relatives Came or When I Was Young in the Mountains. This book is simply a retelling of Christ’s birth and the Sermon on the Mount, adapted from the King James Bible. There is not much text. The beautifully painted illustrations are the star of the show here. They are lovely:
The Third Gift: Linda Sue Park, illustrations by Bagram Ibatoulline. Here is a fictional story of the merchant who sold myrrh to the three kings who visited the Christ child. I’d recommend this one for older kids, as there is some discussion of myrrh’s use in preparation for burials. The illustrations depict the harsh Middle Eastern landscape, and the people depicted are photo-realistic.
The Birds of Bethlehem: Tomie dePaola. We love Tomie! This book depicts the birds from Bethlehem telling one another what they’ve seen: a long line of people coming to town; a man and his wife housed in a stable; a sky filled with angels. With simple text and pictures, this might be a help to kids to learn to retell the Christmas story. It’s really sweet.
Mr. Willowby’s Christmas Tree: Robert Barry. This is a cute little story of how one too-big Christmas tree for a grand house gets trimmed down, providing house after house with a Christmas tree. If you have kids at the age where they love a pattern or repetition (like If You Give a Mouse a Cookie), they will enjoy this one. Good for a read-aloud!
A note on purchase links: I’m a happy supporter of independent bookshops, so the links I provide will almost always go to my affiliate link at bookshop.org. For my local readers, I heartily recommend you buy them through our favorite, Goldberry Books, but you might have a shop closer to you. Of course, you can always find these selections on That Big Website That Ships Quickly, But Not As Quickly as It Used To, and Remember How They Sucked Us All In By Being a Bookstore to Begin With? I’m also a big fan of saving money and patronizing your local library. Happy reading!