Favorite Christmas Books to Read Out Loud

-Gina Moretto Wright

A Wish to Be a Christmas Tree by Colleen Monroe
“I LOVE the story A Wish to Be a Christmas Tree. It’s about a Christmas tree that is too old to be picked/cut down, and he just wishes he was someone’s special tree for Christmas. The animals that live in his tree hear this and decide to decorate him and show him that he IS special to them.”
-Christina Collinsworth

The Christmas Magic by Lauren Thompson
“To me it is so poetic and simply profound. I have yet to use it with students, though. I have read it to my daughter (now 4 3/4) the last two Christmas Eves, and I get choked up each time.”
-Sandra Leiser

“I love to read The Christmas Magic. I love the story, and the illustrations are amazing.”
-Tonya Ballew Dye

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson
“It’s a story about an ‘unruly’ family, the Herdmans, that collide with the yearly pageant head on. It’s funny and touching. I just learned there is a picture book version, as well. My other VERY favorite is The Polar Express.”
-Nancy Loberg Reinhiller 

“The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson because it gets to the real meaning of Christmas. The Herdman children learn what Christmas is really all about. I read this out loud to my 3rd and 4th graders, and we discuss the vocabulary and the story with comprehension questions.”

-Leah Anne Neidert Fisher


There is also a picture book version of this wonderful classic.

 

Merry Christmas, Little Critter by Mercer Mayer

“This is one of my favorites since I was a child because I always thought Little Critter was so cute! In this story he tries and tries to make it a great Christmas for his parents, and he keeps making mistakes, getting tangled up in the Christmas lights, etc. The message is that no matter what, the people you love will appreciate what you try to do for them on Christmas! 🙂“

-Love to Teach Third Grade 

 

Silver Packages by Cynthia Rylant

“It is about the Christmas train that runs through the Appalachian Mountains. The main character hopes for a special gift each year but always receives what he needs instead. It focuses on hope, perseverance, giving, and receiving.”

-Deborah Hughes Freeman

Red Ranger Came Calling by Berkeley Breathed
“Awesome to make those believe to believe even more and those non-believers cross back to the believers’ side. So awesome! I usually ask for a secret poll on a card of who believes before I read and then again after I read. I always get about 50-50 to start and way more believers after.”

-Marla Rosenthal
Prancer by Stephen Cosgrove Taylor

“I love all of the above but also use Prancer. The kids predict if it is really Santa’s reindeer or not, vocabulary, persuasive writing – she writes a letter to Santa that is published in the newspaper that helps get the whole town believing – and, of course, we compare and contrast the movie to the book. I like it because most of the kids have never heard of it, unlike Polar Express or The Grinch.”
-Robin Runnels Muse

Mooseltoe by Margie Palatini

Little Match Girl by Hans Christian Anderson

“Auntie Claus and The Key to Christmas are two of my favorites. Picture books for older children for the holidays and still keeps them wondering.”

-Tricia Jacobson Gout


Stranger in the Woods by Carl R. Sams II and Jean Stoick

“It’s not necessarily a Christmas book, but the LD teacher and I (an SLP) gave taken on Stranger in the Woods. I have created almost three weeks’ worth of activities to do with the book. We will use it with 4th grade this year, and they will research information about one of the animals from the story and write about it. We work on pre- and post-test vocabulary. I will probably also make up a word search and crossword puzzle. I think it’s hard to keep the kids engaged during this time before break! You have to make the work fun!”

-Shelly Gehring Gervase 

Snowmen at Night by Carolyn Buehner

“Snowmen at Night for visualization (I don’t show the pics and have my students close their eyes as I read… Then, they get to draw a picture on dark blue or black paper using white chalk and crayons).”

-Lisa Travis


You can also get Snowmen at Christmas by Carolyn Buehner.

Llama Llama Holiday Drama by Anna Dewdney
“So cute and so true! Too much before the holidays causes lots of drama!”
-Maria Reierstad

Other suggestions include:

Welcome Comfort by Patricia Palacco

The Christmas Menorahs: How a Town Fought Hate by Janice Cohn

The Story of Holly and Ivy by Rumer Godden

The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey by Susan Wojciechowski

A Wish for Wings That Work: An Opus Christmas Story by Berkeley Breathed

And finally, I was surprised that no one mentioned The Snowman by Raymond Briggs, though that is possibly because the movie version is even better.

Is your favorite missing from this list? Please tell us what it is with a comment.

Editor’s Note:  This post was originally published in December 2012 and has been recently updated and revamped. Also, I used Amazon affiliate links, which means that if you purchase, Amazon gives me a small percentage – however, your price does not increase in any way.