Favorite Christmas Books?

[BeachBum]

My DS is 3 and I am always on the look out for good books. I got a lot of great suggestions from the Halloweeen/ Fall book thread so I thought I'd start one for Christmas / Winter Holidays.

Two we really like are
Gingerbread Baby by Jan Brett (and we bought the sequel but haven't read it yet). This one has a good bit of text / story.
and
Mrs. Wishy-Washy's Christmas by Cowley and Fuller is a more basic rhyming type book. But it does have a lot more story than the others in this series that I've read.

Oh and how could I forget Bear Stays up for Christmas by Karma Wilson. This one is part of the Bear Snores On series.

[brittone2]

My dad reads The Night Before Christmas to the kids each year on Christmas Eve. His grandfather did this, and he's done it for DS since DS's first Christmas.

We have a huge box full of Christmas books (I also include some general winter-themed books in there and some Hannukah books, etc. for a little more variety), but my favs are currently escaping me for some reason!!!

[LarsMal]

I haven't gotten mine out yet, but I just got DS "Night Before the Night Before Christmas" by Natasha Wing. It's cute- all about everything going wrong, but realizing Christmas is about love and being together.

I also like "One Winter's Day" by M. Christina Butler. Kind of a long one, though!

I'll add more when I drag them out!

[Pennylane]

My all time favorite is "Mr Willobys Christmas Tree". I loved it as a child and now read it to my DC.

I read a really cute idea a few months ago about wrapping all your Holiday books and having the children open one a day until Christmas. I thought it was such a neat idea, but I only have 15 books so far. Looking forward to getting lots of ideas from this thread!

Ann

[boolady]

Bear Stays Up for Christmas
Polar Express
Who is Coming to Our House? (really, really cute introduction to the story of Christmas)
Ten Christmas Lights (just a fun counting book)

[Bean606]

The pop-up of The Night Before Christmas by Charles Sabuda is the current favorite.

Others he likes are: The Mitten and The Hat by Jan Brett (more winter than Xmas, but in our Christmas collection); AlphaZoo; An illustrated version of Jingle Bells.

[lfp2n]

My and DDs all time favourite last year was Father Christmas by Raymond Briggs, its written in comic format and its so funny and cute!

We also did Night before Christmas and another good one is
Harvey Slumfenburger's Christmas Present

Lucy DD 3/03

[WatchingThemGrow]

We read all the differently worded nativity stories from the various childrens bibles we have.

[fauve01]

my mom (a second grade teacher) gave DD her copy of "That's not Santa!" and DD loves it! it's a silly "hello Reader" level 1 book.

my mom said she bought it at target a few years back.

http://www.amazon.com/Thats-Santa-Hello-Reader-Level/dp/0590481401/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1227652359&sr=8-1

DD also loves the Olivia christmas book.
http://www.amazon.com/Olivia-Helps-Christmas-Ian-Falconer/dp/1416907866/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1227652447&sr=1-1

we have some others stashed with the Christmas decorations, but i ahve not dragged them out yet. i got a couple good ones at costco a couple years ago--giant board books. one had the story of santa, what he does, etc. one was the Christmas/nativity story.

i'll post again when i get the other books out. looking forward to seeing others' suggestions!

edited to add: can't believe i forgot this book that also live on DD's shelf all year round (and gets lots of reading time!)
Merry Christmas Dragon
http://www.amazon.com/Dragons-Merry-Christmas-Dav-Pilkey/dp/0439548489/ref=pd_bxgy_b_text_b

while not favorites, we've been rechecking the Henry and Mudge and Franklin (big into them lately) Christmas books from the library a lot lately too.
http://www.amazon.com/Henry-Mudge-Merry-Christmas-Ready/dp/0689834489/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1227653006&sr=8-1

http://www.amazon.com/Franklins-Christmas-Franklin-Paulette-Bourgeois/dp/1550744666/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1227653057&sr=1-1

i see at amazon there is a toot and puddle christmas too, but we have not read it yet.

hth~
anne

[Thatchermom]

Mr. Willowby is in our top three, too! Last year as we were trying to cut off the base of our too-tall for our house tree, DS was saying "It IS so nice to have a tree exactly like Mr. Willowby!"

We also love Santa Mouse (our Christmas Eve favorite), and DS loves Santa, the Number One Toy Expert, though it isn't my personal favorite. I'll have to look through our box, we have a lot that we love!

[Bens Momma]

My all time favorite is "Mr Willobys Christmas Tree". I loved it as a child and now read it to my DC.
Ann

:yeahthat:

I LOVED that book as a child!! Whenever I tell people about it, no one has ever heard of it! Great to know someone else shares an appreciation for Mr. Willowby!

Momma to 2 ACTIVE DS :bouncy::bouncy:

[MamaKath]

Some of our favorites...
The Nativity
One Winter's Day
Dear Polar Bear

[Bens Momma]

Got so excited about Mr. Willowby I forgot to share some of our favorites:

Mr. Willowby's Christmas Tree
Bear Stays Up for Christmas
The Donkey's Christmas Song
Who is Coming to Our House?
The Sweet Smell of Christmas (Scratch & Sniff book, old but brings back fun memories from my childhood!)
The Three Bears' Christmas
One Winter's Day
The Polar Express
Twas the Night Before Christmas (illustrated by Ives)

I love books...can't wait to start reading these!!

[overcome]

Oh there are too many to list/recall.

I adore
Christmas in the Manger, by Nola Buck and Felicia Bond
also....
Who is Coming to Our House? by Joseph Slate
The Night Before Christmas, Illustrated by Jan Brett
The Night Before Christmas, Illustrated by Mary Engelbreit
Get Dressed Santa, Tomie DePaola (Funny simple book about santa getting all bundled up for his trip and then, uh-oh, realized he needs to use the bathroom...not as crude as it sounds when I read that back)

Last year I read this idea here on the boards....Wrap up 24 Christmas books and open one a day until Christmas. We did it last year and it was fun! I wrapped them back up last year before putting away all the wrapping paper, so they are ready to go! Can't wait.

[schums]

The Sweet Smell of Christmas by Patricia Scarry and J.P. Miller. It's a scratch and sniff book. My parents had this when I was a kid, and we loved it. We have a copy now, and DC LOVE it. Highly recommended.

[overcome]

The Sweet Smell of Christmas by Patricia Scarry and J.P. Miller. It's a scratch and sniff book. My parents had this when I was a kid, and we loved it. We have a copy now, and DC LOVE it. Highly recommended.

Oh yes!! Me too! Me too! I couldn't believe it when I saw it because I loved it as a kid.

[Cam&Clay]

The Polar Express...still cry every time I read it!

Susan
DS1 age 10 years
DS2 age 11 months

[SASM]

Last year DD1's (at 2.5) favorite book was "Three Bear's Christmas". I really enjoy "Snowmen at Night" and "Snowmen at Christmas"...great theme and artwork! Both kids really liked "Little People's Christmas is here" b/c of the windows. "Polar Express" and "The Night Before Christmas" are obvious. :) "Stella Queen of the snow" is also cute but not Christmas...just winter.

Have fun and happy holidays!

Ohhh...I forgot about "Are you Grumpy, Santa?" My kids love this book...it is our "grumpy mood" book during the holidays, instead of reading "What are you so grumpy about?". :)

[catpagmo]

I have bought the Hallmark holiday series books for the last few years, and they are great! I just bought the most recent one today. They cost $2.95 when you purchase 3 cards. Otherwise, I think it's $10.00. One is kind of Christmas-y, and the others are more winter themed.

The Snowbelly Family of Chillyville Inn, by Cheryl Hawkinson
Snow Happy to be Here! The Slightly Silly Story of the Snowblatt Family, by Cheryl Hawkinson
Snow Place like Home! The Incredible Snowkids of Marshmallow Mountain, by Diana Manning

Also, my DD likes:
The Little Engine that Could and the Snowy, Blowy Christmas, by Watty Piper

[jyllebean]

We just bought the Night Before Christmas by Mary Engelbriet and it is beautiful. DD loves looking at the illustrations. It is on sale at B&N for 20% off and we used the 40% off coupon in the bargains thread and it was $9. It's really beautiful! I think I like it as much as DD.

[bubbaray]

I just got these two today:

The Bear Stays Up For Christmas (http://www.amazon.ca/Bear-Stays-Christmas-Karma-Wilson/dp/1416958967/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1227847992&sr=8-1)-- we LOVE this series! Hope the Christmas one is as good as the others we have!!

Merry Christmas Stinky Face (http://www.amazon.ca/Merry-Christmas-Stinky-Face-McCourt/dp/0439731232/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1227848251&sr=8-6)-- hoping for good things from this one too!

[egoldber]

I can't believe no one has mentioned The Seuss classic How the Grinch Stole Christmas!

[fauve01]

I can't believe no one has mentioned The Seuss classic How the Grinch Stole Christmas!

LOL! you're right, that is funny!

i didn't mention it becuase i don't like reading it. i do like watching the original cartoon show though.

anne

[elaineandmichaelsmommy]

We own:

The sweet smell of christmas
The polar express
The night before christmas
Stranger in the woods

We don' read How the grinch stole christmas. For some reason watching the one narrated by borris karloff is a favorite for us.

[kayte]

LOL! you're right, that is funny!

i didn't mention it becuase i don't like reading it. i do like watching the original cartoon show though.

anne


That is my ALL TIME favorite book to read aloud. I used to read it at least once a day near the holiday season when I taught Kindergarten---heck, I used trade classes with the teacher next store to read it to her kids too. I love the cadence of the lines. I think it is poetry.

Our little one is just not quite old enough to get the story but she will sit through a reading because of the sound and rhythm of the words. (She is a big Seuss fan -- 'And to think that I saw it on Mulberry Street' has a very similar beat)

Funny how different things appeal to different people.

[egoldber]

The Grinch is one of my favorite Seuss read alouds. :)

[MamaKath]

I forgot about one of my kids favorites...

Ernest's Special Christmas (scroll down to the bottom of this page to see it
http://www.minitack.com/wi3E.htm )

[DrSally]

I guess everyone loves "Bear stays up for Xmas", so I should check that one out. DS is really loving Oliva helps with Xmas.

[Dcclerk]

We like the Grinch and Bear Stays Up for Christmas gets a little play around here, but our current favorite is Auntie Claus.

http://www.amazon.com/Auntie-Claus-Elise-Primavera/dp/015201909X/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1228193918&sr=8-1

It is really whimsical and cute. I like the general point of the message, and the world they live in seems like so much fun. My kids have asked to read it every day for the last week or so.

[oneplustwo]

We love the version of Twas the Night Before Christmas that's illustrated by Matt Tavares. The book feels like a treasure in my hands.

The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats is a favorite winter book.

A new one we're going to start borrowing from the library every year is How Santa Got His Job by Stephen Krensky. We read it for the first time last year and the kids loved it.

The Grinch is a year-round favorite in this house.

[Fairy]

I picked up Bear Stays Up for Christmas last night at BN, it was so sweet. However, I can't find The Sweet Smell of Christmas, and I knowDS would love it. Seems I can only get it from Canadian sellers? I think? I'm always gunshy about buying from "sellers" whomever they are on Amazon. Sometimes I do, but I did have one bad experience that has made me think twice. Anyone seeing this in stores right now? My BN didn't have it, but we were in a hurry, so I didn't ask her to check others. If they're not in the brick and mortars, I'll consider ordering it. Anyone?

[KBecks]

Amazon has carries it in their own stock.

http://www.amazon.com/Sweet-Smell-Christmas-Scented-Storybook/dp/0375826432/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1228234671&sr=1-1

ETA: Great, great thread. We don't have many holiday books because I feel like I should keep them separate and only bring them out for each season (I don't like mixing up the holiday books) but I haven't done that yet. I am giving the kids a child's nativity and book about Christmas for St. Nick and will probably do books as a St. Nick tradition (as well as a Christmas tradition).

I love the idea of wrapping up the books for one to read each day in December (although that is a lot of books). Our kids are so into unwrapping right now.

[KBecks]

Oh and one of my favorite movies is something like Emmet Otter's Jug Band Christmas.....

But I digress to other media.

[Melaine]

Someone else said this, but Mr. Willowby's (sp?) Christmas tree is SO cute. I've been so happy to find some really sweet Christmas books at Goodwill, in perfect shape. Apparently not all people adore Christmas books the way I do!

[Ceepa]

Bought Sweet Smell of Christmas yesterday and read it to DC last night. They both thought many of the smells were too strong. Especially the pine tree gave me a headache. :(

[DrSally]

I thought I saw it on Amazon's own stock as well. Hopefully the smells will dissipate a bit as the book ages a little

[Ceepa]

I'm sure the smell will get better with time. I put the book on the porch to air out a bit. It didn't help that both DC insisted on scratching the smelly patches like crazy, releasing a ton of the odor on each page. :) But the story is sweet.

[lubdubdeb]

Our absolute favorite is Mortimer's Christmas Manger.

It is by Karma Wilson, who writes the Bear series. It is the story of Mortimer, a little mouse who tries to move into a family's nativity and move out the "statues." Along the way he learns about the baby Jesus and ends up getting his own new home as well.

It is so cute, I get chills when I read it. My 5 yr old has been reading it almost daily in December for 3 years.

[Fairy]

Amazon has carries it in their own stock.

http://www.amazon.com/Sweet-Smell-Christmas-Scented-Storybook/dp/0375826432/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1228234671&sr=1-1



This totally did not come up for me last night. Where was I? Overtired at 1am, that's where! Thanks muchly :-)

[KpbS]

Our faves

B is for Bethlehem A Christmas Alphabet by Isabel Wilner
Christmas! by Peter Spier
Counting to Christmas by Nancy Tafuri
The Twelve Days of Christmas Illus. by Jan Brett
I Spy Christmas A Book of Picture Riddles by Marzollo/Wick
My Merry Christmas And the Real Reason for Christmas Joy by Linda Clearwater

[Corie]

Bought Sweet Smell of Christmas yesterday and read it to DC last night. They both thought many of the smells were too strong. Especially the pine tree gave me a headache. :(


I remember getting sick as a child from a scratch-n-sniff book.
I would never buy one for this reason.

But I am super sensitive to scents.

[SASM]

Bought Sweet Smell of Christmas yesterday and read it to DC last night. They both thought many of the smells were too strong. Especially the pine tree gave me a headache. :(
I saw this the other day at Borders and it smelled fine. I was actually tempted to but it...and I am VERY sensitive to scents.

Has anyone mentioned "My Penguin Osbert"? That is my kids' current fave. :) LOVE the message about consequences and responsibility. :)

[rlu]

Mousekin's Christmas Eve by Edna Miller.

We love the Mousekin books, but they are out of print. Luckily our library system has quite a few of her books. They remind me of Jane Yolen's Owl Moon, with beautiful illustrations and a good amount of lyrical text.

We decided in lieu of wrapping the Christmas books, we just pull out a few new ones each couple days to put in the "seasonal" basket for DS to find. I'll need to review what we have to refresh my memory about my favs, but Mr. Willowby's is one we enjoyed last year.

Adding Karma's Bear book to my library search - we love her series.

DH reads The Night Before Christmas at MILs every Christmas for everyone as part of our celebration.

[Fairy]

I picked up the Sweet Smell of Christmas last week, and DS has been carting it around for days. It's in his backpack at school now! Here's something interesting. each and every one of those smells made me tear up with a nostalgia I didn't know was there. I have no idea what I was remembering, but smells induce memory big time, and I smelled those and just got weepy. Every single one, especialy the candy cane and the orange. I know for 100% sure that I had scratch & sniff with those smells as a young kid, but I have no idea where, and the book was not familiar at all; as a Jew I doubt I had it. I've asked my parents,a nd they're clueless and don't have any idea. But I recognized them very specifically, and it was instant recognition and instant nostaligic tears. Maybe I had stickers with those smells. Truly floored me.

Good book :-)

[DrSally]

Fairy, that's cool. Too bad you can't remember what it was from. Smells go right to the emotional center of the brain and bypass the logic area. It sounds like a neat book, but I was at Marshalls and saw another scratch n sniff Xmas book and one was open, and, boy! It sure did smell strong and not even of a particular scent. Sounds like this one is better, just wish I could get a look at it before ordering it.