10 books to read to your kids this holiday season
Reading to children is one of the best ways to help them build language skills, learn about the world and form important connections with you.
Child Mind Institute reported on a study done by Ohio State University that claimed, “Young children whose parents read to them daily have been exposed to at least 290,000 more words by the time they enter kindergarten than kids who aren’t read to regularly. And depending on how much daily reading time kids get, that number can go up to over a million words.”
The institute continued, “All that exposure likely makes it easier for kids to expand their vocabularies and understand the variety of texts they’ll need to read as they get older, both inside school and out.”
10 best holiday books to read to your kids
The holiday season is the perfect time to start or continue reading to your children. Here are 10 of the best books with holiday themes and messages that will help you and your child experience the joys of the holiday season.
1. ‘The Best Christmas Pageant Ever’
Author: Barbara Robinson.
Publication date: 1971.
Grade level: 3-7.
The Herdman family is known for having the worst children in the history of the world. When the 11-year-old narrator, Beth, and the community find out the Herdman kids want to participate in the local church Christmas pageant, they’re shocked. Since the Herdmans had never heard the nativity story before, they help the community and the cast see it through a fresh perspective. In the end, the pageant turns into an unexpected success, leading the narrator to say it was the best Christmas pageant ever.
Notable quotation: “When they got to the part about swaddling clothes and the manger, Imogene asked, ‘You mean they tied him up and put him in a feedbox? Where was the Child Welfare?’”
2. ‘Little Women’
Author: Louisa May Alcott.
Publication date: 1868.
Grade level: 5-12.
“Little Women” follows four sisters, Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy, through their transition from childhood to womanhood in 19th century New England. Their father serves in the Civil War, causing their mother to raise them pretty much on her own. The novel focuses on largely on Jo’s close friendship with their neighbor’s wealthy grandson, Laurie. This book has been adapted at least six different times for the screen, most recently in Greta Gerwig’s 2019 version.
Notable quotation: “There are many Beths in the world, shy and quiet, sitting in corners till needed, and living for others so cheerfully that no one sees the sacrifices till the little cricket on the hearth stops chirping, and the sweet, sunshiny presence vanishes, leaving silence and shadow behind.”
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3. ‘The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe’
Author: C.S. Lewis.
Publication date: 1950.
Grade level: 5-8.
This first of seven books in Lewis’ “Chronicles of Narnia” series introduces the four Pevensie children, Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy, who have been evacuated due to air raids in World War II. While staying with a professor in the English countryside, they happen across a magical wardrobe that acts as a portal to the fantastical realm of Narnia. At first, Lucy ventures in alone and befriends a faun named Mr. Tumnus. She brings her siblings back with her, and they find out they are destined to end the evil White Witch’s reign, who makes Narnia “always winter but never Christmas.”
Notable quotation: “‘Logic!’ said the Professor half to himself. ‘Why don’t they teach logic at these schools? There are only three possibilities. Either your sister is telling lies, or she is mad, or she is telling the truth. You know she doesn’t tell lies and it is obvious that she is not mad. For the moment then and unless any further evidence turns up, we must assume that she is telling the truth.’”
4. ‘A Christmas Carol’
Author: Charles Dickens.
Publication date: 1843.
Grade level: 5-12.
Ebenezer Scrooge begins this novella as a cold-hearted businessman who hates Christmas. Throughout the story, he’s visited by his old business partner, Jacob Marley, and then three other spirits. They tell him if he continues the way he’s headed, he’ll end up just like Marley, in chains, forced to wander the Earth forever. Scrooge wakes up on Christmas morning a changed man, delighted to find he’s been given another chance at life.
Notable quotation: “‘I don’t know what to do!’ cried Scrooge, laughing and crying in the same breath; and making a perfect Laocoön of himself with his stockings. ‘I am as light as a feather, I am as happy as an angel, I am as merry as a school-boy. I am as giddy as a drunken man. A merry Christmas to every-body! A happy New Year to all the world! Hallo here! Whoop! Hallo!’”
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5. ‘The Greatest Gift’
Author: Philip Van Doren Stern.
Publication date: 1943.
Reading level: 6-12.
“The Greatest Gift” is the book that “It’s a Wonderful Life” takes plot inspiration from. The Library of Congress describes, “In the story, a strange little man appears from nowhere to save a despairing family man, George Pratt, from a Christmas Eve suicide attempt, restoring Pratt’s joy of living by helping him realize his value to those around him. Through the help of the strange man, Pratt’s joy of life is revived.”
Notable quotation: “‘I understand right enough,’ the stranger said slowly. ‘I just wanted to make sure you did. You had the greatest gift of all conferred upon you — the gift of life, of being a part of this world and taking a part in it. Yet you denied that gift.’ As the stranger spoke, the church bell high up on the hill sounded, calling the townspeople to Christmas vespers. Then the downtown church bell started ringing.”
6. ‘Mr. Popper’s Penguins’
Authors: Richard and Florence Atwater.
Publication date: 1938.
Grade level: 3-5.
Book Rags describes this book’s plot, “‘Mr. Popper’s Penguins’ is the story of a house painter named Mr. Popper who is gifted a penguin from a South Pole explorer. One penguin turns into twelve penguins, and Mr. Popper puts on a stage show with the penguins to help pay for their upkeep.” The book was turned into a film in 2011, starring Jim Carrey.
Notable quotation: “Mrs. Popper sighed. ‘I sometimes wish you had the kind of work that lasted all year, instead of just from spring until fall,’ she said. ‘It will be very nice to have you at home for a vacation, of course, but it is a little hard to sweep with a man sitting around reading all day.’”
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7. ‘Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone’
Author: J.K. Rowling.
Publication date: 1998.
Grade level: 4-6.
Harry Potter has lived with his abusive aunt and uncle since his parents died when he was a baby. The book begins on his 11th birthday, when he discovers he is actually a wizard. Letters arrive inviting him to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. At Hogwarts, he befriends Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley, and he learns about the actual story of how his parents died. The plot revolves around Harry, Ron, and Hermione taking it upon themselves to protect “the sorcerer’s stone” that they believe someone is trying to steal.
Notable quotation: “It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to our enemies, but just as much to stand up to our friends.”
8. ‘Miracle on 34th Street’
Author: Valentine Davies.
Publication date: 1947.
Reading level: 3-7.
Doris Walker is a divorced mother living in New York City who hires an old man to play Santa Claus at Macy’s after realizing her original Santa is intoxicated. When the new Santa calls himself Kris Kringle and claims to be the actual Santa Claus, he creates a stir. As Kringle begins to convince Doris’ daughter, Susan, he’s the real Santa, Doris’ neighbor, Fred Gailey, defends him in a court case debating if he’s who he says he is.
Book Trends wrote, “When many kids grow older, they do not believe in Santa. It is almost the same with Susan, except she is much younger. She is a skeptical child who does not believe in fairytales or magic. We can relate to the feeling when we get up on Christmas to find presents under the tree.”
Notable quotation: “‘Faith is believing in things when common sense tells you not to,’ he replied. ‘And you’ve just got too much common sense.’”
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9. ‘The Gift of the Magi’
Author: O. Henry.
Publication date: 1905.
Grade level: 5-12.
This is a short story that tells of a financially struggling couple, Jim and Della, who want to buy each other Christmas gifts despite having little to nothing. Della sells her hair, and Jim sells his family’s watch to pay for the gifts. Della buys a platinum fob chain for Jim’s watch, and Jim buys expensive combs. When they exchange gifts, they realize what they bought each other is now useless. However, they realize that the love in their relationship is more valuable to them than any material possession they could receive.
Notable quotation: “There was clearly nothing to do but flop down on the shabby little couch and howl. So Della did it. Which instigates the moral reflection that life is made up of sobs, sniffles, and smiles, with sniffles predominating.”
10. ‘A Boy Called Christmas’
Author: Matt Haig.
Publication date: 2015.
Grade level: 3-7.
Book reviewer Sys and Chrys describe “A Boy Called Christmas” as “the origin story of Santa Claus. The reader gets to see the world through 11-year-old Nikolas’s eyes, and it’s not a kind world. He journeys to the far North in search of elves and his missing father, and throughout his journey, experiences immense hardship. Things get a little easier after rescuing a missing elf boy and being accepted in Elfhelm (the elven village). While in Elfhelm, he finds out who he is meant to be and how he can use his gifts — by becoming the jolly red-clothed man we all know and love — Father Christmas.”
Notable quotation: “To lose someone you love is the very worst thing in the world. It creates an invisible hole that you feel you are falling down and will never end. People you love make the world real and solid and when they suddenly go away forever, nothing feels solid any more.”
