Christmas-Themed Children’s Books We’re Enjoying This Holiday Season

I love reading special books around Christmastime. Last year Emma was too young, but this year shes singing Jingle Bells and O Christmas Tree and getting into the spirit of Christmas. Here are some excellent books recently released from Sterling Books for Kids that are putting us in the mood for the holidays!

Twas the night before Christmas when all through the house, not a critter was stirring, not even a mouse.

Little Critters The Night Before Christmas takes the classic poem The Night Before Christmas and tweaks it just a very tiny bit with everyday English. Almost all of the words are the same but this one is easier to read and easier for little ears to understand. It also stars favorite Mercer Mayer characters and charming illustrations. It also comes with a read-along CD with accompanying music. This one is a favorite!

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This one is a board book and it is sparkly! You cant see it in this cover picture, but every single page including the front and back cover is covered in sparkles that glimmer when you turn it this way and that. My 2-year-old is fascinated. 🙂 It follows a little boy on Christmas as he enjoys the shine and sparkle of all that make Christmas magical for children: icicles and snow, tinsel and gifts, cookies with glitter sprinkles, and Christmas lights. This is a sweet book that very young children will love to look at!

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Another board book, this one is preferred over the sparkly book even because of the adventure these five animals have in the snow, and the fact that Emma and I can repeat catchy phrases like Jingle-jingle, crunch-crunch (describing the sound of the horse and sleigh moving through the snow) and Jingle-jingle, swoosh-swoosh! as they slide down a hill moving faster and faster every moment. Then, Wheeeeeeee! as they Jingle-plop into the snow. All of this makes the adventure much more fun for a 2-year-old. 😉 And I love the illustrations and interaction, so its a win for me! I recommend this one.

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This book is part of a series of books that is based on the popular holiday song, The 12 Days of Christmas, but changes the traditional words to fit a certain city. In this case, Washington, D.C.! For example, instead of ten lords-a-leaping there are ten agents spying and to explain this wacky substitution is a personal letter from a girl named Olivia to her parents telling her parents all about her adventure at The International Spy Museum and what she learned. Way cool! The entire book is really a series of letters along with all of these interesting facts and information on places in Washington, D.C. I really like this book and want to collect the rest of the series. I would recommend this one for kids ages 6-12. I enjoyed the way the author teaches us in a way that is both entertaining and piques your curiosity about the history of the city! This one gets 5 out of 5 stars.

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You can read my full review and enter to win this excellent Christmas book by clicking here! Giveaway ends December 9, 2010.


Thanks to

for providing the books above for review! You can follow them on Twitter here. This post is 100% my own opinion, thoughts, and experiences, and was not edited or reviewed by anyone. I do not feel obligated to write a positive review Ill always share my honest thoughts on products.I was not compensated monetarily for this post. I am an Amazon affiliate and will earn a small commission if you purchase through my link. 🙂

See full review, giveaway, and disclosure policy here.