Now I am not one to read many books based on characters in movies or television – to be honest I don’t find them well-written or will good stories. But I really enjoyed this Frozen take on The Night Before Christmas. If you have an Olaf fan (or Elsa or Anna) in your house, this is a great book to have!
I got it from the library, but if you were to buy a copy it comes with a CD of the audio by Josh Gad. Even just reading the story I could hear his voice. It’s a nice and clever twist on the traditional poem.
Rory the dinosaur is very excited for Christmas and is getting ready with his dad on their tropical island. It seems everyone is in the holiday spirit: the hippo, the sloth, the random brown bear-type thing, the snake and the wild boar (I feel this island is hilarious). Rory desperately wants a Christmas tree but their island trees are either too big or not sturdy enough or be the home of a blue bird.
Rory is pretty disappointed but his friends cheer him up by carolling and by the morning he has the perfect tree: his dad! His dad has decorated himself up with lights and ornaments to make Rory happy.
I like this one because we don’t often see just a father and son household especially a holiday one.
This is by far one of my favourite Christmas books as well as one of my favourite series’ about our dear bear and his friends. In the Christmas one, Bear’s friends want to keep him awake for Christmas which is obviously difficult given that all he wants to do is hibernate.
Bear manages to stay up for Christmas and experience the magic with his friends who have made him the perfect present for his hibernation.
A Homemade Together Christmas
by Maryann Cocca-Leffler
This is the story of Luca, a little pig, his sister Rosie, and their parents deciding to make presents for Christmas. Momma, Dad and Rosie get to work right away but it takes Luca until Christmas Eve night to figure out what he can make.
This is another sticky sweet one but as I encourage my kids to make presents for Christmas – it’s a perfect read to inspire why we make our gifts and the true meaning of Christmas.
Ten Little Elves
by Mike Brownlow with pictures by Simon Rickerty
There are several books in the Ten Little series – like dinosaurs or monsters or pirates – and this is their Christmas version.
Santa needs ten elves to go get medicine for the sick reindeer on Christmas Eve. Nine elves meet with some catastrophe stopping them from completing their task (it’s okay – they all end up with Santa at the end) leaving just one elf to get to the doctor and back. It’s counting. It’s rhyming. It’s Christmas. George loves it over and over again.
The Knights Before Christmas
by Joan Holub with pictures by Scott Magoon
This is another fun take on the classic Moore poem involving three brave knights protecting the king and his castle. When an intruder in red with eight dragons (they clearly have never seen reindeer before), the knights do all they can to stop him from getting in the castle. But Santa never gives up and makes sure that he will get their gifts to them even if he has to catapult them in.
The Christmas Eve Tree
by Delia Huddy with pictures by Emily Sutton
This is both a lovely and sad book about a little fir tree who isn’t given the chance to grow and is scraggly and scrawny. A little boy asks a shopkeeper to give it to him instead of throwing in the garbage, and as it is Christmas Eve the shopkeeper allows the boy to take it. We find out that the little boy is homeless and takes the tree to his cardboard home under the bridge. With a bit of change, he buys candles to light on the tree and soon he is surrounded by other homeless people singing songs. Eventually, there is a small crowd joining in and the Christmas spirit is alive and well.
We never find out the fate of the boy, but the tree is planted by a street sweeper and against all odds – grows tall and strong in a park where people enjoy him for years to come.
The message is obviously lovely and I adore the illustrations.
Christmas for Greta and Gracie
by Yasmeen Ismail
If you have a pair of siblings in which one is very talkative and one is very quiet – this book is perfect for you.
Greta and Gracie are sisters who are very excited about Christmas. Greta is the older sister and therefore she is chitty-chatty and a <tad> bossy. Gracie is quiet and loves to listen. Over the season, Greta tells Gracie what to do and how to do it. But on Christmas Eve, it’s her quiet nature that allows Gracie to meet Santa Claus.
I really like the illustrations and it’s a very truthful account of what an older sibling is like – at least in my household.
The Not Very Merry Pout-Pout Fish
by Deborah Diesen with pictures by Dan Hanna
Pout-Pout fish is back for this Christmas story in which he wants to get the most perfect presents for his friends. On Christmas Eve, he can’t quite find the perfect things and is left without any presents to give. Miss Shimmer fish to the rescue again when she tells him the most meaningful gifts are homemade because they come straight from the heart.
Lovely lesson and my kids love Pout-Pout fish with all the rhyming and repetition.
This book takes you from the excitement and anticipation right to when you are sad Christmas is over.
Fritz and his dog (and parents) searches out the perfect Christmas tree in the forest and they take it home. He has so much fun decorating it and staring at it with his dog. He loves his tree so much. When Christmas is over and the tree has dried out and needs to be made into compost, Fritz is very sad. One little branch of the tree is left over that Fritz takes to his room so that Christmas can live with him all year long.
I hope you enjoy these choices! Pour a glass of egg nog and snuggle up next to the Christmas tree with your little monsters,
Happy Reading,
Curious in Wonderland
Recent Comments