What better way to get in the Christmas spirit than to read a classic or new Christmas tale each night leading up to December 25? There are lots of options to make this a special tradition for your family. You can visit Daviess County Public Library and stock up on enough books for the season or you can buy the books (secondhand stores would be ideal for this!) and wrap them up, letting your kiddos unwrap a book each night. This is sure to get them ready for Christmas!
The Day Santa Stopped Believing in Harold
by Maureen Fergus
Santa has a problem. Santa doesn’t think Harold is real. He wants to believe in Harold. Getting Harold’s letters, eating the cookies he leaves out, feeding his carrots to the reindeer… what would Christmas be without that? But Santa’s just not sure.
Christmas Stories
by Laura Ingalls Wilder
Join the original pioneer girl in this Little House chapter book, adapted for younger readers from Laura Ingalls Wilder’s beloved classics.
The Twenty-four days before Christmas
by Madeleine L’Engle
This year, Vicky Austin’s family is preparing for the birth of a new brother or sister. Vicky is worried that the baby will come early—what kind of Christmas Eve would it be without Mother to help them hang up stockings and sing everyone to sleep with carols?
We Believe in Christmas
by Karen Kingsbury
On Christmas we give and get presents, we sing songs and we decorate our homes. But what is Christmas really about? Is our happy holiday a Holy Day?
A Boy Called Christmas
by Matt Haig
11-year-old Nikolas—nicknamed “Christmas”—has received only one toy in his life: a doll carved out of a turnip. But he’s happy with his turnip doll, because it came from his parents, who love him. Then one day his father goes missing, and Nikolas must travel to the North Pole to save him.
Christmas Trolls
by Jan Brett
This year, decorations and presents are mysteriously disappearing, when Treva follows a small creature making off with the Christmas pudding. She discovers two trolls who want to have Christmas, but don’t understand it.
The Nutquacker
by Mary Jane Auch
A duck is so impatient to discover the farm animals’ secret of Christmas that she almost misses the celebration.
The Snowy Day
by Ezra Jack Keats
No book has captured the magic and sense of possibility of the first snowfall better than The Snowy Day. Universal in its appeal, the story has become a favorite of millions, as it reveals a child’s wonder at a new world, and the hope of capturing and keeping that wonder forever.
Humphrey’s First Christmas
by Carol Heyer
We’ve all heard the story of the three wise men who brought their gifts to Baby Jesus. But what about the camels who carried them? Here is the story of Humphrey the camel and his long, cold journey to Bethlehem. Humphrey has lost his blanket and schemes to acquire a new one. When the party reaches its destination, Humphrey is so drawn to the love surrounding Baby Jesus that he finds himself selflessly giving his new blanket to the Christ child.
Letters from Father Christmas
by J.R.R. Tolkien
Every December an envelope bearing a stamp from the North Pole would arrive for J.R.R. Tolkien’s children. Inside would be a letter in a strange, spidery handwriting and a beautiful colored drawing or painting. The letters were from Father Christmas.
Dream Snow
by Eric Carle
It’s December 24th, and the old farmer settles down for a winter’s nap, wondering how Christmas can come when there is no snow! In his dream he imagines a snowstorm covering him and his animals—named One, Two, Three, Four and Five—in a snowy blanket. But when the farmer awakens, he finds that it has really snowed outside, and now he remembers something! Putting on his red suit, he goes outside and places gifts under the tree for his animals, bringing holiday cheer to all.