Hellobee

I love an excuse to buy books for my kids, and what better reason is there than Christmas?? My kids get books for Christmas and birthdays whether they like it or not (it’s never been the latter!). The books listed in this guide are either books we already own, or plan to buy as we enter the holiday season.  Because my kids are 2 and 4, I’ve narrowed down the focus to books ideal for toddlers and preschoolers. I stuck to books with familiar characters by well-loved authors, then branched out from there. More likely than not, you’ll recognize quite a few of these beloved characters!

For the young toddler set, I looked for board books that aren’t too lengthy, with cute characters and easy rhythm. For the preschoolers and up, I chose books that require a longer attention span, with more complex storylines.

T O D D L E R – Books for the 2 and under crowd

1.  Bear Stays Up for Christmas  – This book looks and sounds adorable.  It’s about a bear who tries to stay up for Christmas since he’s never been able to see it due to his hibernation habit!

2. Llama Llama Jingle Bells – This book just came out this year – it’s a board book perfect for little hands to hold.  And of course, it features our favorite Llama around!

3. Where is Baby’s Christmas Present? – At almost 2 years old, Jaren is still a huge fan of lift-the-flap books. We already own several Karen Katz lift-the-flap books and this one is no different. It features the same cute baby, looking for what else? Her Christmas present!

4. Fa La La – Leslie Patricelli books are another big hit in our home. We already own Potty and Yummy, Yucky… and this one is similar except it’s about a baby who cannot contain his Christmas excitement over decorating a tree, a gingerbread house, presents, and more!  Bright pages, cute illustrations, and simple phrases with lots of room for imagination… this book is great for toddlers!

5. Counting Christmas – We have a variation of this book called Counting Kisses, and both my kids loved it. We’re just Karen Katz fans in general, so this piqued my interest. This one teaches toddlers all about counting as they count down towards Christmas.

6. Spot’s First Christmas – We already own a Spot lift-the-flap book, and this one is similar except it’s Christmas themed. Jaren loves lifting the flaps, and it’s so well made and sturdy that I don’t really worry that he’s going to ruin the flaps.

7. A Charlie Brown Christmas – How can anyone resist the Peanuts gang, and this classic story? In this particular board book, they tell the story from Snoopy’s point of view. If it were up to me, every home would own some variation of this sweet children’s book (or at least watch the movie)!

8. Elmo’s Merry Christmas (Lift-the-Flap) – My kids love Elmo, and this is a fun lift-the-flap book that allows kids to discover what their favorite Sesame Street characters are up to as they head into the holiday season.

9.  The Sweet Smell of Christmas – I never read this as a kid, but apparently it is a classic sniff ‘n smell book that brings back the essence of Christmas with its smells of pine, peppermint, hot cocoa, and others. I’m intrigued! Sounds like a book all kids can appreciate.

10.  Duck & Goose, It’s Time for Christmas!  – We own two other books from the Duck & Goose series, and they’re really cute. They’re very well-illustrated with a simple storyline between a duck and a goose. This particular book is about Duck and Goose getting ready for Christmas. It’s easy to read and follow along to, making it ideal for the 2 and under crowd.

P R E S C H O O L E R S – Books for the 3-4 year crowd

1. The Polar Express – This was my all-time favorite Christmas book as a child. The illustrations are gorgeous, and the entire book evokes a sense of dreaminess and wonder. It really feels like you’re transported into another world. It captures the magic of Christmas in every way, and every home should own a copy of this classic children’s book.

2. Olivia Helps with Christmas – Olivia is Noelle’s favorite heroine right now! We already own the original Olivia, and Olivia and the Fairy Princesses, and those are big hits in our home, so I was ecstatic when I discovered that there was a Christmas themed Olivia. We bought this book for Noelle this Christmas, but I am so tempted to give it to her before then! This particular book dictates how Olivia and her family prep for Christmas, and the anticipation leading up to it all. You can just imagine the shenanigans Olivia is up to this time around! The beautiful illustrations, and simple storytelling is all here. If you and your child love the other Olivia books, you’ll fall in love with this one too.

3. Pete the Cat Saves Christmas – This is a twist on The Night Before Christmas featuring the ever-so-popular Pete the Cat! Not only does it retain Eric Litwin’s classic storytelling to a great beat, but it shares a sweet message – that the spirit of Christmas is really about giving, and you can give your all regardless of how small you are. Surely that’s a message all parents hope their kids will take to heart.

4. How the Grinch Stole Christmas – I’ll be honest — I’m not a huge fan of Seuss books, but I do love this classic Seuss book. There’s something about that Grinch that just puts a smile on my face.

5. The Berenstein Bears and the Joy of Giving – This will be the book that I’ll give to introduce my kids to the Berenstein Bears since we haven’t owned any up until now. I loved this family of bears growing up, and hope they will too! The thin pages and cute illustrations are perfect for little hands. The longer storyline with more elaborate sentence structure is great to read to your preschooler as they continue to expand their reading repertoire.

6. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer – Who doesn’t love a Little Golden Book? This classic children’s story about a unique reindeer and his special relationship with Santa will bring the warm fuzzies to children and adult alike. Little Golden books also have longer sentences, and you’ll even find paragraphs in here, but that just means it will be well loved for years to come!

7. Llama Llama Holiday Drama – Llama Llama Red Pajama was actually Jaren’s first favorite book, even though he was so young at the time.  He was so enchanted by the illustrations and rhythm that it was the book he kept going back to ever since he started with the opinions. This one features a very impatient little llama who just wants Christmas to come already – “Stringing lights is not much fun. How come mama isn’t done? Is the big day coming soon? Llama llama starts to swoon…“.  I can’t wait to give them this book for Christmas, and add to our growing collection of Llama books!

8. The Night Before Christmas – This is a pop-up book based off the classic tale with the same name.  My kids own a few other pop-up books that they love, and this would make a great holiday-themed addition.

9.  Merry Christmas, Curious George – It’s so hard not to fall for this silly, curious monkey. It’s worth checking out what he’s up to during the holidays in this Christmas themed version of Curious George.

10.  Richard Scarry’s Best Christmas Book Ever! – This is another Richard Scarry book made up of several short stories. An easy read with very nice illustrations. If your little one is a fan of Richard Scarry and Busytown, then this book is worth checking out!

Do you have any holiday book recommendations that didn’t make my list?