Children's books for Christmas 🎄

Can we read? Special edition: Christmas

Christmas is a lovely time of year, and it can also be hard — and often, it’s both.

Wherever you find yourself this season, may you have the eyes to see the beauty and the magic — even if you have to make more of an effort than usual.

I hope you find some fresh new titles here to enjoy with your family.

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Mrs. Wishy Washy’s Christmas by Joy Cowley, illustrated by Elisabeth Fuller (2005)

This review first appeared in my 2020 special edition on Christmas: Part 2 — I have edited and updated it here.

When both my children were toddlers they insisted on reading this on repeat (they come by their obsessive reading tendencies honestly 🤷🏻‍♀️) and it’s not surprising: Mrs. Wishy-Washy brings that out in littles.

Cowley has created a truly lovable, quiet character in Mrs. Wishy-Washy, and in every title — this one included — her barnyard of animals always serve as the perfect foil. Here, when Mrs. Wishy Washy tells them to take a bath, they’re appalled at the idea of a cold one out in the yard, so when she leaves for town, they take matters into their own hands and head inside the house — right into the pink tub, complete with “pink towels, a little pink rug and water as warm as a friendly hug.” You can imagine the farmer’s surprise when she arrives home.

What I like most about each of Cowley’s Wishy Washy titles is two-fold: Fuller’s warm, friendly illustrations and Mrs. Wishy Washy’s clear love for her animals (it’s a perfect match). She’s a forgiving lady (and certainly more lighthearted than I would be) — “Fiddle-dee-dee! I’m not as mad as I ought to be. Cow, pig, duck, it’s the time of year for peace and happiness and good cheer.” Absolutely.

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Christmas for 10 by Cathryn Falwell (1998)

This review first appeared in my 2020 special edition on Christmas: Part 1 — I have edited and updated it here.

This is our #1 Christmas title — the one we’d keep if we had to get rid of all others.

Like its predecessor, it’s a counting book that tells the story of one family’s preparations for Christmas — topping the Christmas tree with a star, playing instruments together, listening to Grandma’s stories, wrapping presents with Grandpa, stringing popcorn chains. Falwell’s “for 10” titles are about as simple as it gets and yet they’re incredibly appealing — I really cannot tell you how much my children love them, even long after they’ve outgrown this type of book (which is really for babies and toddlers). The multi-generational family life is so warm and inviting, and the affection, togetherness, and joy so apparent, it’s not hard to understand why.

This is a Christmas book that spreads a feast of love, pure and simple. And that’s an uncommon gift, indeed.

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Mog’s Christmas by Judith Kerr (1976)

If you’re familiar with Mog, you’ll understand immdiately when I say I laugh out loud every time we read this book (yes, me, not my children) — and if you’re unfamiliar, I’m so happy to introduce you to this hilarious, silly cat that defines catness in all its vibes and attitudes.

This story is enjoyable even though yes, it’s 47 years old — but some things are timeless, no? And when Mog wakes up one day and nothing is right in her house — everyone is busy, there’s too many people, and (gasp!) just when things can’t get worse, a tree walks in the door — she does what any overwhelmed and fed up feline would do: she climbs onto the roof and refuses to come down, until she finds a, uh, very direct way back into the fray (one you’ll have to discover for yourself).

Kerr’s retro pen-and-colored-pencil illustrations are cheerful and funny and have lasting appeal for toddlers and preschoolers, who are fascinated by Mog just being Mog. (No matter your age, it’s really hard not to love Mog.)

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Esperanza Caramelo, The Star of Nochebuena by Karla Valenti, illustrated by Elisa Chavarri (2023)

I received a copy of this book from Random House Children’s Books — opinions are my own.

This sweet Nutcracker-meets-Nochebuena story, inspired by Arenas Valenti’s own abuela’s magical cake-topping sugar figurines, brings preschool and early elementary readers into the secret, sparkly world of Lita’s Pastelería, where during the night, the ornaments come to life to sing, dance, and party through the bakery until the shop’s cat takes an unfortunate interest in the events.

But Esperanza is “no stranger to hope” — and besides, Nochebuena is a night when anything is possible — and so the spun-sugar friends get to work to save the celebration.

This delightful tale glitters with magic (and the magic of Chavarri’s colorful pencil and digital illustrations), making it a lovely read for the most magical time of year.

(This is also available in a Spanish edition.)

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Uncle Vova’s Tree by Patricia Polacco (1989)

In yet another perfect book based on Polacco’s own life, here she recounts the special tradition she, her brother, and her cousins had with her Great Uncle Vova and Aunt Svetlana every year.

Polacco’s family followed the Russian Orthodox calendar and every Epiphany, relived their traditional Georgian, Russian, and Ukrainian-Jewish customs — making paper stars and cooking kutya (a sweet porridge) while their grandmother decorated their tree in secret, feasting together. Afterward, they’d head to the woods to decorate a single tree with strings of berries and popcorn, and bags of suet and grain, for the birds — a symbol celebrating coming to America and putting down roots in a new land.

Polacco infuses this tale with her signature warm watercolors and as much love as pages can hold and then reveals this memory is as bittersweet as it is beautiful, because Uncle Vova passes away before next Christmas. But when the family is gathered at this time of year once again, they look out the window at “his tree” and see something miraculous — something that reminds them their loved one is still with them, and his memory is a blessing they’ll keep with them forever.

This book is a heartfelt holiday remembrance — and honestly, a comfort read — for anyone who has lost someone they love deeply. It’s not sad, but rather, focuses on the joy of being together at Christmas, and all the memories worth keeping.

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Otto and the Secret Light of Christmas by Nora Surojegin, illustrated by Pirkko-Liisa Surojegin (2016)

This review first appeared in my 2021 special edition on Christmas: Part 1 — I have edited and updated it here.

If J.R.R. Tolkien had written a Christmas tale for the youngest children, a gentle adventure story full of nature and wonder and magic, this would be it.

Otto — a small man or large gnome, it is never specified, who wears a leather hat with two horns that express his mood, “like the ears of a dog” — one day leaves his seaside home and sets off on a northerly quest to find the light of Christmas.

He meets many wild and mysterious creatures on the way, from the King of the Forest to a pack of woodland animals and their symbiotic tree companions to fairies, great majestic bears, and more. His encounters with each comprise a short but deeply satisfying chapter until he finally comes to the end of his searching and, with Father Yule, finally finds the light of Christmas.

Nora Surojegin’s words flow beautifully and well alongside Pirkko-Liisa Surojegin’s gorgeous, lush watercolors, making this a pleasure to read aloud and to look at — this beautiful book will warm the heart of anyone in your life between the ages of 4-12yo.

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Amazing Peace: A Christmas Poem by May Angelou, illustrated by Steve Johnson and Lou Fancher (2008)

I often make it a point to be clear that the books I review here are not religious in nature, because my family doesn’t belong to any specific faith tradition, and yet, this one is chock-full of the great religions of the world and the birth of Christ and I have never once made it through without tears.

Alongside Johnson and Fancher’s gorgeous oil, acrylic, and fabric-on-canvas illustrations, Angelou brings the full force of her formidable talent to this poem about the promise of peace at Christmas, which is tremendously powerful.

Near the beginning, she writes,

We question ourselves. What have we done to so affront nature?
We interrogate and worry God.
Are you there? Are you there, really?
Does the covenant you made with us still hold?

Into this climate of fear and apprehension,
Christmas enters.

(It does, and isn’t that lovely? I never get tired of how lovely.)

But it’s her heralding of peace that gets me:

It is Christmas time, a halting of hate time.

On this platform of peace, we can create
a language
To translate ourselves to ourselves and to
each other.

It’s absolutely breathtaking — everything you’d expect from Angelou, but somehow, even more. Don’t miss this one.

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🎄 Special offer!

Instead of my normal enormous booklist here, this year I came up with something different: my first-ever Can we read? Children’s Picture Books for Christmas instant download.

I put together 32 pages’ worth of reviews — covering 35 picture books for ages 0-10, published over a span of 55 years — which feature my most recommended titles, from board books to poetry to picks for older readers — including eight reviews that have never before been published in my newsletter.

(All of my special editions on Christmas still live behind the paywall — so this is a way to access those reviews without becoming a paid subscriber.)

This huge list of outstanding books is a great way to prep for a picture book Advent calendar or Christmas countdown, or to have at your fingertips as you place holds at your library or order from your favorite bookstore so you can have a pile of new titles to read with your kiddos in the months ahead.

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I also have a Bookshop.org list, Books for Christmas, in case you’d like to visually browse and/or support this newsletter in another way — I get a tiny commission if you use this link to make a purchase. (Thank you!)

Merry Christmas to you and your family 💚 May the season bring you peace, contentment, joy, and whatever else it is that you most need.

Sarah