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Jana at That Artsy Reader Girl gave us a holiday/seasonal freebie for Top Ten Tuesday this week. I decided to list my top ten Christmas books.
I’m not a huge fan of Christmas books for adults. They’re usually too syrupy for my taste. But I do love Christmas books for children and I have quite a collection at home. They’re in storage while we’re traveling with my husband’s job, but I usually have them on coffee tables and side tables throughout the house as part of my holiday decorations. Without further ado, here’s my top ten Christmas books, mostly children’s books with a few adult titles thrown in for variety.
Jingle Bear by Stephen Cosgrove, Illustrated by Robin James–I received my first Serendipity book when I was in kindergarten from a book fair grab bag and I’ve collected them ever since. Who can resist the doe-eyed animals and the gentle morality tales? I believe this is the only Christmas book in the series.
The Night before Christmas by Clement Moore–I own and love a lot of Christmas-y Little Golden Books but I had to choose the classic for this post.
The Shepherd, the Angel, and Walter, the Christmas Miracle Dog by Dave Barry–I listened to this short story (read by the author) last year. I think I even listened to it a couple of times. It was the perfect mix of hilarious mishap and genuine Christmas spirit for me.
The Stupidest Angel: A Heartwarming Tale of Christmas Terror by Christopher Moore–The title says it all. I wrote in my review: “If you’re feeling a little overly-sugar-and-spiced, pick this book up for a nice change of pace.”
The Littlest Angel by Charles Tazewell–I think this is my very oldest book. In fact, I think I’m the one who uploaded the cover image to GoodReads because the faint crayon marks on the title look awfully familiar. The spine is starting to peel off but it still gets pride of place when my Christmas books make an appearance. It’s a genuinely touching story about the littlest angel, who’s trying to find a fitting gift for baby Jesus.
The Christmas Box by Richard Paul Evans–I must have been in the right mood when I read this because if you described it to me now, I would say that it sounds too shmaltzy. But I honestly remember it with fondness and even bought my own copy after checking it out from the library.
“Santaland Diaries” by David Sedaris–Full disclosure: I love this short story, especially as read by the author. But when I tried to continue reading the collection it appears in, Holidays on Ice, I had to DNF the book. It was entirely too cynical. Nevertheless, “Santaland Diaries” itself is hilarious! I’ve seen a production of the one-man show and loved it too.
Little Squirrel’s Christmas by Dorothy Kunhardt–I own this series of 12 tiny books (they seriously fit in the palm of my hand) and love them. There are a couple of Christmas/winter books in the collection and it makes me happy to hunt them out when I’m bringing out my Christmas decorations.
The Christmas Day Kitten by James Herriot–Everyone’s favorite Yorkshire vet has a tale for every season. A few of the stories from his books for adults have been published a children’s books and I own and love them.
The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson–I remember loving this as a kid. It stood up well when I re-read it several years ago.
That’s my list! Have you read any of these? Which books did/would you choose? Link up every Tuesday at That Artsy Reader Girl!
I have an affiliate relationship with Malaprop’s Bookstore/Cafe in beautiful Asheville, NC. I will earn a small commission at no additional cost to you if you purchase merchandise through links on my site.
23 Comments
Oh yes, Christopher Moore, I’d forgotten he’d written this one and I haven’t read anything by him for too long, I’ll remedy that, thanks 🙂
If you like Christopher Moore, you’ll enjoy The Stupidest Angel!
I wholeheartedly agree on Christmas books. Usually the are cozy mysteries which are hard to get into or they’re a little syrupy or too romantic or religious for me. But I do love the ones for kids. My son and I have quite the list and I should put them up on my blog. Great idea! I love quite a few of those. The Best Christmas Pageant Ever is surely a classic. I can’t even recall the amount of times I read that as a kid. And I think my elementary school did the play one year too.
Yes! I looked through holiday reads on my digital library and they’re all as you said-cozy mysteries or saccharine romances. I hope you list your Christmas kids’ books!
Some of these look hilarious! I also stay away from adult Christmas books because they look too sweet, but I’m a fan of children’s books for any season.
I’m always excited when I find adult Christmas books that aren’t too sweet! Children’s books truly are awesome.
Aww… these old lovelies! Wish I could be a kid again. And there’s a Sedaris here too — off to check it out. Happy TTT 🙂
This is such a great list. I haven’t thought about The Best Christmas Pageant Ever in such a long time, but I’m thinking it’s worth a reread this year.
Such a great holiday list!
My TTT: https://memorymeetsimagination.wordpress.com/2020/12/08/top-ten-tuesday-wintry-reads/
What a great selection, I really want to check out Santaland Diaries!
Santaland Diaries is great!
I love Christmas books or seasonal books as coffee table decorations! These would look nice, and I especially love the cover of the Christmas Box.
Same! I have a basket of Christmas-themed children’s books that I set out every year, even though my kids are all too old for picture books. We still read THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS together as a family every Christmas Eve – I don’t care how old the kids are!
Happy TTT!
Susan
http://www.blogginboutbooks.com
I remember Jingle Bear! I loved that book!
Christmas picture books are the best! I love Jan Brett’s work—it’s not always Christmas-specific, but she has some great snow themed books I love. (The Mitten is probably her most popular from what I’ve seen, though The Hat and The Snowy Nap are also super cute.)
I loved James Herriot’s books when I was a kid, my Dad used to read them to me!
My TTT: https://jjbookblog.wordpress.com/2020/12/08/top-ten-tuesday-293/
I love James Herriot! And I adore David Sedaris–I listened to the debut of Santa Land Diaries on NPR all those years ago and still love it. What a fun list!
I remember The Littlest Angel. Childhood memory!
Beautiful covers. I’m sure the books are just as great.
When I was little, my school did a play version of The Best Christmas Pageant Ever! It was so much fun; thank you for making me think of it 🙂
I love the vintage-look of this compilation! Great post; The Littlest Angel sounds super sweet.
I love how many of these books have such classic/vintage looking covers. I don’t read many seasonal books but some of these look so cute!
Wish my grandkids were still that young. Those would make nice gifts this year. https://pmprescott.blogspot.com/2020/12/ttt-120820.html
Who could possibly resist those eyes on the Jingle Bear cover? This is such a sweet selection of books. Great list!