Ever since Addie spent her first holidays in the NICU I have collected holiday books for kids for our personal library. After 6 Christmases with Addie and 3 with Lawson, we have such an amazing collection! I love choosing a new holiday book to read to the kids and it gives us all time to slow down. The holiday season is always so fast and I really appreciate time to just sit and read with my kids.
1| Dasher: How a Brave Little Doe Changed Christmas Forever: Dasher is an adventurous young reindeer with a wish in her heart. She spends her days with her family under the hot sun in a traveling circus, but she longs for a different life — one where there is snow beneath her hooves and the North Star above her head. One day, when the opportunity arises, Dasher seizes her destiny and takes off in pursuit of the life she wants to live. It’s not long before she meets a nice man in a red suit with a horse-drawn sleigh — a man named Santa. And soon, with the help of a powerful Christmas wish, nothing will be the same.
I absolutely love this new origin story of one of Santa’s original reindeer. Dasher: How a Brave Little Doe Changed Christmas Forever is such a fun story that shares how Santa came to have his team of reindeer! It’s a great book to read aloud on Christmas Eve and the fact that there’s a female protagonist makes my heart happy. This hardcover children’s holiday book is geared for ages 4 to 8 and has beautiful illustrations of moonlit and snow-covered scenes.
2| Hanukkah Magic of Nate Gadol: In this charming holiday hybrid story, well-known children’s author
and editor Arthur A. Levine pairs with award-winning illustrator Kevin Hawkes to offer a mythical, magical take on the way Jewish families came to give and receive gifts over Hanukkah, just as their Christian
neighbors do at Christmas, thanks to a loving spirit named Nate Gadol working behind the scenes—together with a certain jolly old soul.
This children’s Jewish holiday book is a fun one that creates a fictional origin story for why American Jewish children receive presents at Hanukkah. Levine created such a great new character/spirit of Nate Gadol perfectly joins other holiday story protagonists like Rudolph, Frosty, Santa Claus, and the Grinch. With a hardcover, illustrations throughout are speckled with gold, and more, you won’t want to miss this children’s holiday book for kids ages 4-8.
3| Pick a Pine Tree: After getting the tree home, it’s time for the rituals of decorating— digging out boxes jam-packed with ornaments and tree trimmings, stringing tinsel, and, at long last, turning on those twinkling lights. Pick a Pine Tree is a celebration of family, friends, and the holiday season is as merry as the tradition it depicts.
Pick a Pine Tree has fun rhyming that is brimming with the joy and excitement of Christmastime and is perfect for ages 3-7. This cute children’s holiday book features a pop-up Christmas tree on the final page and beautiful retro illustrations. We follow the “something you want, something you need, something to wear, and something to read” rule, and this book is the perfect stocking stuffer size for a gift.
We are so glad to add these books to our collection of holiday books for kids. They all are so creatively written and have gorgeous illustrations! I can’t wait to hear all your thoughts as well and how much your families love them, too!