Favorite Christmas Read Alouds

Christmas is coming so it’s time to stock your shelves with favorite Christmas read-alouds and children’s books for kids to read. I collected seven of my favorite Christmas stories for you to add to your collection. Six of them are fictional about the Christmas holiday. One of them is a nonfiction book about how Christmas is celebrated in other countries. I have a separate blog post about Christmas Around the World and I added about six books to that blog post, too, that are more specific to Christmas Around the World. If you’re interested in reading that blog post, click here to open the page and read it after you read through this one! And next week, I’ll be back to blog about great Hanukkah and Kwanzaa books, too!

All the books below come with an affiliate link to Amazon.

Favorite Christmas Read Aloud #1:

How to Catch an Elf by Adam Wallace and Andy Elkerton

What I love about this book: part of a series, beautiful illustrations, rhyming and rhythm, action

Synopsis: Elf is helping Santa deliver gifts and he shares his experiences of tricks and mazes that he has to work around. Kids are trying to catch him at all the houses he visits on Christmas Eve. Throughout the story, you see how chaotic the Elf’s night is with Santa.

Favorite Christmas Read Aloud #2:

The Little Red Elf by Barbara Barbieri McGrath

What I love about this book: fractured fairy tale, dialogue, illustrations, irony

Synopsis: This is a perfect book to use while teaching comparing fictional stories. It’s a fractured fairy tale for Little Red Hen, and the two go perfectly together. Little Red Elf is looking for friends to help her grow and decorate a Christmas tree, but no one is willing to help her. Then, she wants to get involved with baking cookies and wrapping gifts, but no one wants to help again. However, they all want to celebrate Christmas with her. Unlike Little Red Hen, she allows them to get a gift in the spirit of Christmas, but they all get a Little Red Hen as their present.

Favorite Christmas Read Aloud #3:

Snowmen at Christmas by Caralyn Buehner

What I love about this book: character traits, personification, illustrations, part of a series, rhyming and rhythm,

Synopsis: A boy builds a snowman and wonders how they celebrate Christmas. What he envisions is humorous ideas of snowmen having holiday fun. He thinks of ways that snowmen are just like us, walking along the Christmas festooned streets and decorating Christmas trees. There are even snowmen reindeer and a Santa snowman to celebrate with them.

Favorite Christmas Read Aloud #4:

Olive, the Other Reindeer by J. Otto Seibold and Vivan Walsh

What I love about this book: play on words, humor, self-confidence, and fitting in lessons,

Synopsis: Olive was a dog who realized that she should be one of Santa’s reindeer because of mistaken lyrics she heard on the radio. So, she hops on some buses and trains to make her way to the North Pole. Once there, Santa and his reindeer welcome Olive and let her join them. When things start going wrong, Olive proves that she is a useful addition to the reindeer even though she isn’t really supposed to be there.

Favorite Christmas Read Aloud #5:

Celebrate Christmas by Deborah Heiligman

What I love about this book: nonfiction, great for research, diversity and culture

Synopsis: This book takes us on a trip around the world, teaching us about Christmas in other countries. It shows us how people celebrate Christmas differently. If you’re interested in more Christmas Around the World read-alouds, I have a list of other books on this blog post.

Favorite Christmas Read Aloud #6:

Santa Bruce by Ryan T. Higgins

What I love about this book: part of a series, quotes, and dialogue, humor

Synopsis: Bruce is ready for hibernation through the winter, but his friends and family wake him up to enjoy the holidays. When Bruce wraps up in a hat and jacket, he is mistaken for Santa Claus. Even though Bruce denies that he is Santa Claus, the animals all tell him what they want and believe that he will deliver the gifts on Christmas. His friends and family convince him to act like Santa Claus and what results in their attempts is hilarious.

Favorite Christmas Read Aloud #7:

The 12 Sleighs of Christmas by Sherri Duskey Rinker

What I love about this book: illustrations, rhyming, great vocabulary, high-interest level

Synopsis: The elves at the North Pole are prepping for Christmas that is coming soon. When they’re preparing, they notice that Santa’s sleigh is still wrecked from last year. So, the elves all team up in pairs to create the best sleigh for Santa this year. The 12 teams create all sorts of different modes of transportation but realize none are quite right. One elf simply repairs Santa’s old sleigh and they realize how perfect the sleigh is for the job.

Here are the quick links for all affiliate Amazon links:

And here are a few more Christmas reading activities: