Great Kids' Christmas Books
/I’ve already been working on my Christmas Eve service, even as we’re in the midst of Advent. As in the past, I’m planning to do a children’s time and have started mulling the possibilities.
There are so many excellent children’s books with stories that will impact the whole congregation. This post is meant as a launch pad as you do your own planning or even gift giving. Feel free to add a comment with your own favourite story that tells the message of Christmas. Here are 10 of my favourites, in no particular order:
10. Saint Nicholas: The Real Story of the Christmas Legend by Julie Stiegemeyer
A gentle way of talking about Saint Nicholas/Santa Claus that affirms how good he was and how he was also a follower of Jesus.
9. Granny Mae’s Christmas Play by Bob Hartman
A delightful story about how the nativity is brought to life by Granny Mae in and around her house. I used this as a springboard for a script as part of my Saint Nicholas P.A. Day program and we had a blast.
8. The Gift of the Magi by O. Henry
A classic I remember acting out in church one Sunday many years ago wearing a long, yellow yarn wig. Some of the language is dated, but it can be easily retold in modern words that are relevant to your group. A wonderful story about personal sacrifice for the sake of the other.
7. The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson
I wrote a short script based on this fantastic book and it’s been the basis for many church Christmas pageants. Again, google the title and you’ll find summaries and ideas for how to get across this short chapter book in a short amount of time. Or, read a chapter or two each Sunday with your Sunday school, giving a short précis Christmas Eve of what’s already happened before finishing it off.
6. The Legend of the Candy Cane by Lori Walburg
Who doesn’t love going into a candy store? This book tells the story of Jesus through the symbol of the candy cane. Again, can be condensed for shorter attention spans and don’t forget to make candy canes available as a reminder of the story (check with parents and guardians first, of course, before handing them out to each child).
5. The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey by Susan Wojciechowski
A gentle tale of a man struggling with grief at Christmas who finds hope through a young boy and his widowed mother as he carves a crèche scene for them. I love the illustrations in this book.
4. The Legend of the Three Trees by Catherine McAfferty
A wonderful story about how God can use us in many ways that is told through the different roles of three trees in Jesus’ life. This can be found in both board book and picture book form.
3. Martin the Cobbler by Leo Tolstoy
I have seen different versions of this, including a phenomenal claymation telling of the story. Each shares how a poor cobbler was challenged to look for Jesus outside his window and realized later that Jesus had come in the people he helped. Google the title to find different ways of sharing this story.
2. The Christmas Story by Rhona Davies and Tommaso d’Incalci
A gorgeously illustrated book with each pair of facing pages telling a ‘chapter’ of the story of Jesus’ birth. It begins with the angel Gabriel and ends with a home in Nazareth.
1. Unwrapping the Greatest Gift by Ann Voskamp
Beautifully told and illustrated, this book covers key Bible stories that are part of the Jesse tree and which lead up to Christ’s birth. Voskamp has an engaging, lyrical and loving way of making scriptures and tough stories accessible to children.
So, there it is! That’s my list! As you prepare for Christmas of course there is no story better than the accounts we find in the gospels of Christ’s birth, but if you want to augment them, these are some great options.
Happy reading, and may you be inspired and inspire others through the messages of hope, peace, joy and love found in these books and the Story.