At the beginning of Advent and through the Twelve Days of Christmas we pull out some of our favorite Christmas stories, and I seem to always have a list of new ones to try. With my seven, five, and four year old boys, I pile onto the family cuddler (the biggest, ugliest chair we own but it holds us all) and we dive into the world of living books whose stories have a way of staying with you. Here are a few of this year's favorite read alouds; these books touched our hearts and stirred our affections toward the spirit of Christ in Christmas.
A young boy gets caught in a mountain snowstorm and stays the night with a kind woman who tells him the Christmas story...from the very beginning. Graham takes readers from creation to the nativity to the cross. Presents Christ's birth in light of God's great plan of redemption. We read a chapter or two at a time over several days.
The gospels of Matthew and Luke give us in the nativity story feelings of great joy and love, but in John's book of Revelation the birth of the Savior "stirs up more than excitement; it stirs evil." Lucado writes a fictional "nativity story" from an entirely different point of view, that of the angel Gabriel. You feel as if you are in the presence of heaven witnessing the battle that is not "against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places." (Eph 6:12) My seven year old was locked in as we read this riveting story together. I changed some of the language when my younger boys were listening. Here is a sample of the book; it's a great read for adults!
This book was written to inspire hope in the midst of hurt. As a widowed man carves a specially requested nativity for a young boy, the miracle of Christmas begins to heal his heart. We listened to this book on cd, and then the boys had me read it two more times...all in one day. Beautiful illustrations.
Noble takes you back to a midwest farm in 1881. My boys have their daddy's blood that drives their gravitation toward anything about farm life. We witnessed the beauty of family togetherness, simple things, and overcoming hardship. This story led to good discussion on what makes a thoughtful Christmas gift.
This book is out of print, but I bought the Kindle version for around $5. The story takes place during the Christmas season and warms your heart toward helping the poorest of the poor and teaches the importance of kindness, courage, and generosity in children.
Since my oldest was in preschool this picture book has been a favorite, and every year it's one of the first books the boys ask me to read. The lost toy drummer boy warms the hearts of others wherever he goes playing his drum and never losing courage. The book concludes with his own heart warming as he plays for baby Jesus in the nativity.
Books with Activities
I'm a huge Helen Haidle fan; she writes beautiful Christian books for children full of great depth and rich meaning. There are several versions of the legend of the candy cane, but her story is our personal favorite. The boys use beads and pipe cleaners to make candy canes while I read. Good fine motor practice for my little guys, and keeping little hands busy always seems to improve listening duration!
This book is a FAVORITE. We make gingerbread men cookies every year. Sugar cookies are fun too, but if we can't get to both, gingerbread men win out every time. A highly anticipated and expected Christmas season tradition.
This simple story is about a farmer and his animals on Christmas Eve. I found a great activity, Little Lines of Time Dream Snow, to go along with it and help my little guys practice color and shape matching as well as order of events sequencing and narration. I encouraged them to look at the pictures on the Story Timeline to help them narrate the story back to me.
Just for Fun
A Vaughan boy favorite.
Originally published in 1963 this fun Christmas classic is still going strong!
Most of these books can be checked out at your local library to see if they would be a good fit for your family. I'd love to know what Christmas books have become favorites in your home!
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