30 Best Christmas Books for Kids (The Picture Books We Love)
Growing up, we loved The Gift of the Magi. Della and the combs, Jim and the watch. I can still tell you exactly how that story goes, and I don’t even own a copy.
What I do own, after four kids, is a stack of Christmas picture books, and every card marked “in our stack” came straight out of it. The rest of these best Christmas books for kids are ones I read growing up or favorites that come up on nearly every family’s list, plus a Nutcracker I went looking for because we haven’t found one we love. This post contains affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission if you buy through them, at no extra cost to you.
The thing I’ve learned about Christmas books is that length matters more than anyone tells you. Some of the most beautiful ones are too long for a short story time, so I’ve said so on the ones where that’s a problem. I’ve also grouped the Nativity stories together and the non-religious picks together, so you can find what fits your family.
But the real question is this: which Christmas books will your kids actually sit still for?
Quick Picks: The Best Christmas Book for Every Kid
| Looking for | Pick | Why |
|---|---|---|
| ⭐ Favorite overall | The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey | I read it growing up, and now I read it to my kids |
| A classic | The Polar Express | A Caldecott Medal winner, and not religious |
| The littlest listeners | Little Blue Truck’s Christmas | About 175 words, with trees to count |
| A truck-obsessed kid | Construction Site on Christmas Night | For fans of Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site |
| Not religious | Red and Lulu | Two cardinals and the Rockefeller Center tree |
| A sweet, simple Nativity | The Birds of Bethlehem | Tomie dePaola, told through the birds |
| A story about giving | The Christmas Train | A true story from Thomas S. Monson’s childhood |
| Older kids | The Christmas Candle | A really beautiful story with a lot of text |
| Something to pull out and play with | The Crayons’ Christmas | Letters, games and punch-out ornaments |
| A December read | How Winston Delivered Christmas | 24 and a half chapters to read through the month |
How to Pick the Best Christmas Books for Kids
Start with how long your kids will actually sit. A toddler needs a few lines per page and something to point at, which is why the truck books work so well at that age. The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey runs about 2,800 words, and that’s a different kind of night.
Then think about what kind of Christmas picture book you want. We have both religious and non-religious ones in our stack, so I’ve sorted them for you below. If you want to make a tradition out of it, you don’t need new books. In my holiday traditions post I shared the book advent calendar idea: wrap 25 books and let the kids open one each night leading up to Christmas. They can be Christmas books you already own.
Classic Christmas Picture Books
If you’re starting a Christmas stack from scratch, start here.
The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg
Best for: ages 4 to 8 · In our stack
It’s a classic, and it earned that. A boy climbs aboard a train to the North Pole on Christmas Eve and comes home with a bell only believers can hear. Chris Van Allsburg won the Caldecott Medal for it, and the dark, snowy paintings look the way Christmas Eve should feel. It isn’t religious, if you’re wondering.
How the Grinch Stole Christmas! by Dr. Seuss
Best for: ages 4 to 8
This one had to be on the list. The Grinch steals every last present from Whoville, Christmas comes anyway, and the rhyme is just as fun to read out loud as you remember.
The Night Before Christmas by Clement C. Moore
Best for: ages 2 and up · In our stack
The poem everyone knows, and there are dozens of editions to choose from. We especially love anything illustrated by Tomie dePaola, so his sturdy board book version is the one I’d point you to, since little hands can turn the pages themselves. [CONFIRM: which edition is in your stack?]
A Charlie Brown Christmas by Charles M. Schulz
Best for: ages 4 to 8 · In our stack
This is the TV special in book form. Charlie Brown feels left out of all the holiday cheer, and his friends help him figure out what Christmas is really about. It’s a good one to read right before you watch the show.
Mr. Willowby’s Christmas Tree by Robert Barry
Best for: ages 3 to 7
Mr. Willowby’s tree is too tall for his house, so he trims off the top, and that treetop gets passed along and trimmed again until a family of mice takes the last little piece. Kids love guessing who ends up with it next.
The Jolly Christmas Postman by Janet and Allan Ahlberg
Best for: ages 4 to 8
We like this one. The postman delivers Christmas cards around nursery rhyme and fairy tale land, and real envelopes are built into the pages, so kids can pull out the cards and letters themselves. Just keep an eye on the little pieces.
The Nutcracker by Susan Jeffers
Best for: ages 4 to 8
I wanted a Nutcracker on this list, and I’ll be upfront: we have a couple of different ones and I don’t love any of them. So I went looking for a better one, and this is where I landed. Susan Jeffers keeps the retelling to just a few lines per page, and Kirkus Reviews expected it to become the standard choice for reading to young kids before seeing the ballet. I haven’t read this exact one with my kids yet, so this pick comes from research and not our bookshelf. If your kids want the music too, The Story Orchestra: The Nutcracker has buttons that play Tchaikovsky as you read: shop it here.
Christmas Books for Toddlers and Preschoolers
These are the ones you can finish before someone wanders off.
Little Blue Truck’s Christmas by Alice Schertle
Best for: ages 2 to 5 · In our stack
If your kids already love Little Blue Truck, this one is an easy add to the stack. Blue delivers Christmas trees to his animal friends, counting from one to five along the way, and keeps one for himself. It’s only about 175 words, so it works for the littlest listeners.
Llama Llama Holiday Drama by Anna Dewdney
Best for: ages 3 to 5
We like the Llama Llama books, and this one fits the week when everything feels like too much. Llama Llama gets overwhelmed by the shopping and the baking and has a full holiday meltdown, and Mama calms him down.
Bear Stays Up for Christmas by Karma Wilson
Best for: ages 2 to 5
Bear’s friends keep waking him up so he can help find a tree, bake and hang stockings, and along the way he finds out how fun giving can be. If your kids know the other Bear books, this is the Christmas one.
Construction Site on Christmas Night by Sherri Duskey Rinker
Best for: ages 2 to 6 · In our stack
If you have a son who loves the Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site books, that’s all you need to know. It’s the same world of trucks at Christmas time, and the rhyme makes it easy to read out loud.
If You Take a Mouse to the Movies by Laura Numeroff
Best for: ages 3 to 7 · In our stack
This one isn’t sold as a Christmas book, but once the mouse gets his popcorn he wants to string it, and that leads to a Christmas tree, a snowman and a whole lot of decorating. It’s Christmas themed enough that we keep it with our Christmas books. If your kids know If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, they’ll know exactly how this goes.
Non-Religious Christmas Picture Books
All of these are about Christmas without being religious.
Red and Lulu by Matt Tavares
Best for: ages 4 to 8 · In our stack
This one isn’t religious. It’s about New York and the Rockefeller Center tree, and we like it. Two cardinals make their home in a big evergreen until it gets cut down and carried off to the city with Lulu inside, and Red has to go find her.
Pick a Pine Tree by Patricia Toht
Best for: ages 3 to 7 · In our stack
Also not religious. It’s a rhyming story about picking out a tree, getting it home and decorating it together, so it’s a nice one to pull out the week you go get yours.
Dasher by Matt Tavares
Best for: ages 4 to 8
This is an origin story for Santa’s reindeer, from the same author as Red and Lulu. Dasher and her family are stuck in a circus until she escapes, follows the North Star and finds Santa, who is still getting around with a horse named Silverbell.
The Crayons’ Christmas by Drew Daywalt
Best for: ages 3 to 7
We’re huge fans of all the Crayon books over here. This one comes with letters in envelopes to pull out, plus games, punch-out ornaments, a poster and a pop-up tree, so it’s part book and part activity.
The Christmas Wish by Lori Evert
Best for: ages 3 to 7
As a photographer, I had to include this one, because it’s told in photographs. A little girl named Anja skis off to become one of Santa’s elves, and winter animals help her along the way. Per Breiehagen took the photos with his daughter Anja and his wife, the author.
The Wild Christmas Reindeer by Jan Brett
Best for: ages 4 to 8
Teeka has to get Santa’s reindeer ready for Christmas Eve, and nothing goes right until she starts working with them more gently. Jan Brett’s detailed pictures give kids plenty to look at while you read.
[PHOTO: one of the kids reading from the Christmas stack]
Nativity Stories and Religious Christmas Books
We especially love anything illustrated by Tomie dePaola, so he gets the first two spots here.
The Birds of Bethlehem by Tomie dePaola
Best for: ages 4 to 8 · In our stack
This is a sweet, simple one with beautiful illustrations. Pairs of birds notice that something strange is happening and pass the news along, so kids get the Nativity story from a different angle than the usual one.
The Story of the Three Wise Kings by Tomie dePaola
Best for: ages 4 to 8 · In our stack
We love this one. It’s Tomie dePaola’s retelling of the wise men following the star, with the soft, simple illustrations we love him for.
Humphrey’s First Christmas by Carol Heyer
Best for: ages 4 to 8 · In our stack
Humphrey is a camel in the kings’ caravan, and he spends most of the book grumbling about his lost blanket, which gives you a great voice to do out loud. Then he gets to the manger. The illustrations are rich and detailed, so there’s plenty to look at while you read.
More Than Just a Star by Emily Belle Freeman and David Butler
Best for: ages 4 and up · In our stack
This one is religious. A young shepherd asks his father what signs to watch for around the birth of Christ, and his father names them and gives him a keepsake bag. The dust jacket has a nativity scene and symbols of Christ to cut out, plus a pocket in the back to store them (just know you’ll be cutting up the dust jacket).
The Legend of the Candy Cane by Lori Walburg
Best for: ages 4 to 8
A stranger rides into a small prairie town one dark November night, and a girl named Lucy befriends him and hears the legend of the candy cane. It’s a religious story about what the candy cane stands for, so keep a box nearby when you read it.
Christmas Stories About Giving
If you want a Christmas book that turns the conversation away from the wish list, start with these two.
The Christmas Train by Thomas S. Monson
Best for: ages 6 and up · In our stack
We love this one for its focus on giving. It’s a true story from Thomas S. Monson’s childhood. At about 10 he wanted an electric train and money was tight, and when his mother gave a cheaper set to a neighbor boy, he begged to keep the oil tanker car for himself. What he does next is the whole point of the book.
The Gift of the Magi by O. Henry, Illustrated by P.J. Lynch
Best for: ages 8 and up
This is the one we loved growing up. Della sells her hair to buy Jim a chain for his watch, Jim sells the watch to buy combs for her hair, and I still remember the combs and the watch all these years later. I don’t own a copy right now, so I went looking for the edition I’d buy, and it’s this hardcover with P.J. Lynch’s illustrations. O. Henry’s story is more grown-up than most picture books, so I’d save it for kids old enough to follow it.
For Older Kids Who Can Sit Still
I’d save these for older kids or a night when nobody’s in a hurry. (For the nights nobody can sit still, we have our favorite audiobooks for kids.)
⭐ The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey by Susan Wojciechowski
Best for: ages 6 and up
This one is phenomenal. I read it growing up, and now I read it to my kids. Jonathan Toomey is a woodcarver living alone with the memory of the family he lost, until a widow and her son ask him to carve a set of Christmas figures. It’s about 2,800 words, so it’s a long one. P.J. Lynch, who also illustrated the Gift of the Magi above, won the Kate Greenaway Medal for these illustrations, and this edition comes with a free audio narration by James Earl Jones.
The Christmas Candle by Richard Paul Evans
Best for: ages 6 and up · In our stack
This is a really beautiful story, but it’s a lot of text, about 1,350 words or 15 minutes out loud, so it’s for older kids or kids who can sit still. Thomas buys a candle on a snowy Christmas Eve on his way home, and its light changes how he sees the strangers he meets on the road. By the time he gets there, he’s given away his cloak.
Angela and the Baby Jesus by Frank McCourt
Best for: ages 6 and up · In our stack
This one is good, but it’s really long, so it’s hard to get through in a short story time. Frank McCourt, the Angela’s Ashes author, tells the story of six-year-old Angela in Limerick, who worries that the baby Jesus in her church’s manger will be cold on damp December nights. It’s now sold as Angela’s Christmas, so that’s the title you’ll see when you shop, and Netflix made it into a short film.
How Winston Delivered Christmas by Alex T. Smith
Best for: ages 6 to 8
This one works more like an advent calendar than a bedtime book. It has 24 and a half chapters to read through December, with Christmas crafts in between, and it’s 176 pages, so it’s more of a chapter book. Winston is a mouse who finds a boy’s lost letter to Santa and sets out to deliver it.
The Forgotten Carols by Michael McLean
Best for: older kids and the whole family · In our stack
This one isn’t a kid’s book, but we love it at Christmas time. I loved it as a kid, and now my kids love it too. Michael McLean’s story follows a nurse caring for an elderly man who claims to be 2,000 years old, and we love the music.
Conclusion: Which Christmas Picture Book Would I Buy First?
If you’re starting your own stack, I’d start with a Tomie dePaola. The Birds of Bethlehem is simple enough for little kids and beautiful enough that you won’t mind reading it again. If you’d rather start with something non-religious, go with The Polar Express. And once your kids can sit still for it, get The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey, the one I’ve loved as a kid and as a mom.
You don’t need all 30. Pick two this year and add one every Christmas, the holiday book collection idea from my baby’s first Christmas post, and before long you’ll have a stack of your own. You can find the rest of our holiday posts on my Christmas page, and if these are going under the tree, my gift guides for 3 year olds, 4 year olds and 5 year olds have more ideas.
Best Christmas Books for Kids FAQ
Our favorites include The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey, The Polar Express, The Birds of Bethlehem, The Story of the Three Wise Kings and The Christmas Train. The best one for your family depends on your kids’ ages and how long they’ll sit for a story.
Little Blue Truck’s Christmas, Llama Llama Holiday Drama, Bear Stays Up for Christmas and Construction Site on Christmas Night are all good picks for preschoolers. The Night Before Christmas works too, especially in a board book edition.
The Polar Express, Red and Lulu, Pick a Pine Tree and The Birds of Bethlehem all work well at this age. Kindergarteners can usually sit through a longer story, but I’d still save the longest books for later.
Yes. Red and Lulu, Pick a Pine Tree, Dasher, The Polar Express and How the Grinch Stole Christmas! are all about Christmas without being religious, and so are the truck books.
The Birds of Bethlehem is our sweet, simple pick, and we love The Story of the Three Wise Kings too. Both are by Tomie dePaola, whose illustrations we especially love.
The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey, The Christmas Candle and Angela and the Baby Jesus are all long, so I’d save them for older kids or a night when nobody’s in a hurry.
Wrap 25 Christmas books and let your kids open one each night leading up to Christmas. They don’t need to be new, so the books you already own work fine.
