Children's Christmas Books

Christmas time has a habit of putting my children into a permanent state of excitement. It can be adorable to watch but come bed-time I need to find some way of settling them. Reading books aloud to my kids can be the perfect anti-dote to that never-ending exuberance. Here are a few of our favourite children's Christmas books which I will be reading to my over-excited children on Christmas Eve in the hope of calming them down.

Who's That Knocking on Christmas Eve

by Jan Brett

A remote hut in Norway, high above the Arctic Circle, is overrun every Christmas by greedy trolls, attracted by the delicious smells of the Christmas meal wafting across the snowy mountains. However, this year the girl in the hut who is cooking the Christmas meal receives a surprise visit from a boy and his pet polar bear, who proves very effective at frightening the trolls away.

The beautiful illustrations in this book, which is one of our favourite children's Christmas books, create a vivid impression of a Christmas in a remote, harsh but beautiful landscape far away from the commercialised Christmases my children are used to. It is a book which stimulates the senses - the northern lights shimmering in the sky, the cold, Arctic winter outside, the warmth of the fire in the hut, the delicious smells wafting from the hut and the ugly, raucous trolls gobbling up the food.

"Merry Christmas, Big Hungry Bear!"

by Don and Audrey Wood

A little mouse hears about the big, hungry bear who loves Christmas presents and so the mouse quickly starts barricading his house so that the bear cannot steal his presents. But then he hears how the big, hungry bear never gets any Christmas presents, not even from Santa Claus. So the little mouse bravely sets off to the bear's cold, dark cave to give the bear some of his own presents.

This book is perfect for younger children, with only a sentence or two on each two-page spread. It cleverly shows the mouse passing through a whole range of emotions - pride at all his presents, fear when hearing of the big, hungry bear, determination to protect his presents, pity when realising that the bear never receives presents of his own and pleasure at creating a little happiness for the bear.

The Night Before Christmas

by Clement C. Moore, illustrated by Christian Birmingham

No Christmas Eve would be complete without a reading of this classic Christmas poem. I love the traditional illustrations in this version and a reading of it never fails to enchant both me and my children.

The Jolly Christmas Postman

by Janet and Allan Ahlberg

The Jolly Postman is on his Christmas rounds delivering cards and packages to Red Riding Hood, Humpty Dumpty and the Gingerbread Boy, amongst others. One of the most interactive children's Christmas books available, in this book your child gets to open the postman's deliveries, revealing cards as well as a jigsaw to make, a board game to play and a little book to read, all tucked into the pocket pages.

The Polar Express

by Chris Can Allsburg

This Caldecott Medal award winner tells the charming story of a little boy who looks out of his window on Christmas Eve to see a train standing there. Boarding the train, he finds it packed with other children all on their way to the North Pole to see Santa Claus. They are not disappointed! This is one of the most well-known children's Christmas books and has now also been released as a successful movie. The beautiful images never fail to conjure up the magic of Christmas for me and my children.

How the Grinch Stole Christmas!

by Dr Seuss

The Grinch hates Who-ville's Christmas celebration and so devises a plan to stop Christmas from coming this year. On Christmas Eve he dresses up as Santa Claus and steals all the presents, decorations and food from every house in the town. Imagine his amazement when Christmas comes anyway and he hears every Who in Who-ville singing, even though they didn't get any presents. It finally dawns on him that Christmas may not just be all about presents. Activities based on children's Christmas books can also be fun to try at Christmas time - click to try activities based on this book.