We are coming up to the tail end (or should that be tale as we are taking about books and reading) of the year. That time of year where the days are darker longer, much colder with terrible weather and of course, Christmas, so the best thing to do is grab your hot water bottle, snuggle up on the couch under a blanket or in bed cocooned in the duvet and dive into a good book to take you away from those winter blues and get into the festive spirit with some Christmas Reading.
Books are not just for Christmas! Christmas themed books are perfect to help everybody get in the festive spirit, especially children. They also make a great present or stocking filler and classic titles such as The Night Before Christmas are perfect if you are putting together a Christmas Eve box.
From new releases this year to old favourites and classics, books with a Christmas theme with bring festive joy and thrills to households for years to come (and they don’t just have to be read at Christmas).
At What’s Good to Read we have just started our Christmas reading, from the classic The Night Before Christmas to the humorous A Snowflake’s Guide to Christmas, we are getting into the festive season. You can see the books we have been reading below and can click on the links to read our full reviews.
So just remember, in the words of Clement Clarke Moore “‘Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse…” because they were all curled up, engrossed in a fascinating Christmas book.
The Night Before Christmas
illustrated by Robert Dunn
‘Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse… The famous opening line from the poem The Night Before Christmas (aka A Visit From St. Nicholas) written by Clement Clarke Moore in 1822, over 200 years ago. A classic children’s book and is still read today on Christmas Eve to children the world over.
The Christmas Pig
by J. K. Rowling
J. K. Rowling’s The Christmas Pig is a very charming and heart-warming story that is filled with magic and adventure and some beautiful insights into a child’s imagination. Children aged 8 and above, as well as adult readers, will not be able to stop themselves from turning just one more page to follow Jack and the Christmas Pig’s adventure through the cities of a magical land.
A Snowflake’s Guide to Christmas
by Dave Skinner
A Snowflake’s Guide to Christmas is a light-hearted survival guide for the liberal minded modern millennial to navigate the perils of the ethical and political Christmas festivities.
Whether you are a wide-a-woke snowflake or a noflake, this survival guide will steer you through the Christmas season, including New Year, with lots of humour.
The Owl Who Came for Christmas
by John Hay
Christmas is coming, and the decorations are going up…
But one family is about to discover an unexpected visitor snuggled up in their Christmas tree… A little owl called Rosie!
The Christmas Show
by Rebecca Patterson
The Christmas Show is a humorous children’s picture book that children will laugh out loud with. It is a story that young children and their parents will easily be able to identify with.
Merry Christmas Gus
by Chris Chatterton
Gus is a grumpy dog, especially at Christmas. He doesn’t like a thing about it. He doesn’t like the Christmas decorations, and he can’t stand Christmas Carols, itchy festive jumpers are a no-no, snow and snow games are out of the question and don’t even get him started on the mistletoe!
Gus really doesn’t like anything about Christmas! But maybe it doesn’t have to be all about him.
Sam’s Snowflake
by Gillian Shields
Sam is VERY excited. It’s Christmas Eve and Dad has set off into the forest to fetch a festive surprise. He promised to be back before the snow starts to fall but now it’s night-time and there’s no snow . . . and no sign of Dad.
Will Sam’s special, homemade snowflake help Dad to find his way out of the forest and home in time for Christmas morning?
Billy and the Balloons
by Elizabeth Dale
Billy and the Balloons is a 32-page full colour Christmas book for children (and all us young at heart adults). It is a magical story featuring Billy and his dad, a whole host of zoo animals and no Christmas story would be complete without Santa and his reindeers.
The Befana Drama
by Gianna Hartwright
The Christmas witch, the Befana, has popped candy and coal into the stockings of naughty or well-behaved children across the globe for centuries and is so famous in her little village that she even has her own festival and postbox. In fact, she’s one of the world’s greatest VIPBs – Very Important Present Bringers – and life is just perfect … until she is told that Santa Claus is taking over her present drop and her festival is going to be downsized and probably cancelled altogether! What an insult!
The Befana Drama 2:
Capriccia’s Conundrum
by Gianna Hartwright
Since Bef managed to save her Very Important Present Bringer (VIPB) patch in Italy, things have been on the up. She’s never been so popular and is about to open her own theme park, Befland, with the support of her friends, the Dubai boy band, ‘The Three Kings’. But as plans for the stupendous Befland unfold, her enemies – both new and centuries old – are out for revenge and determined to prevent its opening.
Whatever you are reading this Christmas, we at What’s Good to Read hope that you have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
