One of the most meaningful Christmas traditions we have around the Hill Hangout is the reading of a new Christmas children’s storybook. We started this tradition when Mary Anneliese was a little punkin’. We thought she might not understand the real story of Christmas as read from the Bible, so we looked for a storybook that was a little more on her level. Though our girls are now old enough to understand the Bible – and we read the passage of Jesus’ birth on Christmas Eve aloud – we have kept the tradition of reading a new Christmas storybook each year. It’s fun for me to choose the new book, and the girls both enjoy hearing their daddy or me read to them. Through the years, we have acquired quite a selection of stories about Christmas, so I thought you might enjoy seeing some of them.
If you have never read the God Gave Us… series by Lisa Tawn Bergren to your children, you have missed some very sweet stories. We received God Gave Us You
Liz Curtis Higgs writes another of our favorite series of children’s books. She has written a parable for several holidays, pointing out the Christian characteristic behind each of those holidays. She has one for Easter called The Parable of the Lily: Special 10th Anniversary Edition (Parable Series)
and one for Halloween/fall called The Pumpkin Patch Parable: Special Edition (Parable Series)
The Parable Series: The Pine Tree Parable
Dandi Daley Mackall has written hundreds of children’s books. She has written a fabulous series for younger children on the armor of God, the Lord’s Prayer, the Beattitudes, and so on. The Legend of St. Nicholas: A Story of Christmas Giving
You can’t have a list of Christmas storybooks without including Max Lucado’s The Crippled Lamb
The King’s Christmas List
You don’t have to spend a fortune to get good, classic children’s literature. Little Golden Books are a great source for Christmas books, and they usually run around $3.00. We own The Christmas Story
Our family has enjoyed the building holiday traditions together, and reading Christmas books together is a tradition that we all love. But, of course, the BEST Christmas story of all is found in the Bible. We love to read from Isaiah 9 and Luke 2.
For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this. (Isaiah 9:6-7)
And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. (Luke 2:8-11)
Disclaimer: Those links are Amazon Affiliate links, which means I make a few pennies if you buy the books from Amazon after clicking on the link. Although I don’t make much from the sales, every little bit helps. I thank you for allowing this mama to stay home and raise her babies 😉
Hey Ash!! We just took our huge box of Cmas books to GA this weekend! My personal favorite Cmas read is the first chapter of The Best Christmas Pageant Ever. Nothing makes me laugh out loud more or shed more tears. “They were just so all-around awful it was hard to believe they were real. We thought they’d go straight to hell by way of the state penitentiary. Until they got mixed up with my mother and the Christmas pageant.” I also love Christmas Day in the Morning by Pearl Buck. It’s a tear jerker too, but wonderful! Then the one my mom read to me, which may be out of print, is Mr. Willoughby’s Christmas Tree, about people who keep cutting the top off their too big tree, only to have it dragged off by somebody else who cuts the top off again, until it’s finally small enough for the mouse family in Mr. Willoughby’s house. It rhymes, and it’s just not Christmas until we have read it. AND there’s a great one by the author of the Mutts cartoon in the newspaper called The Gift of Nothing. Very clever with a great message. Simple text and drawings. Wonderful!
hey Ashley! Love these!! Thanks for the book ideas!! Last year, we unwrapped a Christmas book a day from Dec. 1-25th and read it together. Kiddies loved it!! These will be great additions to that! Thanks! Hope y’all are doing well!!!
Jen Prier
Hey, Jen! LOVE that idea! You could even do that with library books so that it doesn’t get too expensive. Hope you all are doing well.
Isn’t that the BEST line EVER from The Best Christmas Pageant Ever!?! Such great writing! We need to pull that one out and re-read it. Pitty Pat is probably old enough for that one now. I haven’t read some of the ones you listed, so I’ll be off to the library ASAP.