Christmas is a time for classics. It is time for grandpa’s famous eggnog and grandma’s annual pecan pie. It’s time for favorite Christmas carols around the old piano and movie marathons of White Christmas and Holiday Inn.
And it’s also time for our own family’s tradition of pulling out our favorite Christmas picture books and piling on the couch for some Advent-themed reading while the lights on the tree twinkle and shine.
Today I wanted to share some of our faith-based favorites. Some are retellings of the biblical story of Jesus’ birth while others are completely fictional, but all point children to the true meaning of Christmas.
One Wintry Night by Ruth Bell Graham
A young boy is caught in a snowstorm and takes refuge with a woman who tends to his injured ankle and tells him the Christmas story. The book can be used as a family devotional and has detailed and rich illustrations.
Christmas in the Barn by Margaret Wise Brown
A whimsical little poem about Christ’s birth.
Stable in Bethlehem by Joy N. Hulme
A counting book with beautiful illustrations for young children.
Who Was Born this Special Day? by Eve Bunting
A simple story for very young children about Jesus’ birth.
Jacob’s Gift by Max Lucado
A young carpenter apprentice in Bethlehem gives a gift to the newly born Christ-child.
The Little Spider by Sigmund Brouwer
A story about Joseph, Mary, and baby Jesus’ flight to Egypt, told through the story of the animals that accompany them.
Father and Son: A Nativity Story by Geraldine McCaughrean
A poignant and imaginative story from Joseph’s point of view about the birth of Jesus.
Humphrey’s First Christmas by Carol Heyer
This book is worth the amazingly detailed illustrations alone. Humphrey is a selfish, pompous, and easily disgruntled camel–until he meets the Christ Child, that is.
Christmas Tapestry by Patricia Polacco
A young boy named Jonathan has just moved Michigan with his family and fears a leak in the church his father pastors will ruin Christmas Eve. However, the leaky disaster will instead bring about a modern Christmas miracle!
The Tale of Three Trees retold by Angela Elwell Hunt
This traditional folktale is easily a Christmas or an Easter book and it gets me every. single. time.
What is your favorite Christmas picture book for the Advent season?
Blessings,
Danielle Ayers-Jones
We LOVE “Jotham’s Journey,” “Tabitha’s Travels,” “Bartholomew’s Passage,” and this year we are reading “Ishtar’s Odyssey” (all by Arnold Ytreeide). We are also currently enjoying “The Jesse Tree” by Geraldine McCaughrean.
We just started “Jotham’s Journey” this year, Jaime!