Favorite Christmas Read Aloud Books FREE ACTIVITIES
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Traditions make the holiday season so special.
One of our very favorite traditions is wrapping 25 adorable Christmas books and putting them under our tree.
Each morning, we take turns choosing a wrapped book and opening it.
We then sit by the fire and read. It is the best way to start our day every morning in December.
I do this in the classroom too! I wrap 20 books (four weeks) and we open and read one each day.
I created FREE printable activities to go with these books as well.
I have read A LOT of Christmas books, and I chose 25 of our favorites to share on this blog post.
They are a wonderful variety that teach history, morals, character and some just tell a story that make your kiddos laugh.
This is truly the best way to discuss all of the wonderful themes this time of year: gratitude, giving is better than receiving, the true meaning of Christmas, family, serving others, traditions, friendship and of course adorable silly stories kids love as well.
*Three books on this list mention Jesus, so if you plan on using these in the classroom, you can skip those three.
Let’s get started!
The Christmas Wish has the most incredible, real life photographs.
A brave little girl named Anja decides she wants to be one of Santa’s helpers.
She leaves a note for her family and sets off on an adventure to find the North Pole.
The photographs in the book are breathtaking, and the kids will love seeing her adventures with a real polar bear, reindeer, inside an ice cave and so much more on her exciting journey.
The crayon books are always a huge hit with my kiddos, and The Crayon’s Christmas is no different.
The pages have folded up Christmas cards, letters and ornaments from the crayons where we get to read about how Duncan, the crayons and their families are celebrating the holidays.
I love the giggles that always come from reading the Crayon Books. Their personalities are absolutely adorable.
Free printable that correlates with this book at the bottom of this post.
The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey is absolutely a must read.
Jonathan is an incredibly talented woodcarver. He lost his wife and child, and now he stays to himself and doesn’t smile. Many people stear clear of him simply thinking he is grumpy.
One cold, snowy day, a young widow and her son knock on his door. They have a small request that leads to a beautiful friendship and Christmas miracle.
This is a longer story, but I love to turn the lights out and read with a lamp. Have the children spread out and lay down to listen as this will help them focus. After the first few pages, they will be totally engrossed in the story.
Mr. Willowby’s Christmas Tree came highly recommended by another teacher friend.
The children think it is hilarious because there is a HUGE problem.. the tree doesn’t fit in his parlor! So what does he do? He cuts off the top of course!
Instead of throwing it away, the tree top slowly continues to get cut smaller as it is shared and passed on to different animals’ homes in the forest.
Younger children love the rhyming and repetitive story line. We talk about the theme of the book - sharing with others to spread joy.
This book is a must have for the holiday season! Just read the reviews and you’ll see why.
Discussions can be about recycling, giving away what you do not need, sharing with others, one man’s trash is another’s treasure, friendship and so much more!
The ree printable that correlates with this book at the bottom of this post.
All children absolutely adore the Little Blue Truck. The Christmas book is just as delightful as the original.
It is a super quick, easy read, but still has a great message, adorable pictures and we love the rhyming words. My kiddos always pick up this book to read on their own and look at, so I know they love it.
The Little Blue Truck is always a good friend, and in this book he delivers Christmas trees to all his little friends!
It is the perfect book to then discuss friendship and how to be a friend.
Free activities that correlate with this book at the bottom of this post.
The Baker’s Dozen is the perfect book to read on Saint Nicholas’ Day (December 6th).
Van is a baker and values honesty, so when a women insists that a dozen means she should get 13 cookies he is bewildered. The woman puts a curse on his bakery, and Van knows he needs the help of Saint Nicholas.
The illustrations are beautiful, and afterwards you can either bake Saint Nick cookies or decorate them. It is a wonderful book to discuss how giving is better than receiving.
Don’t forget to set out the gold chocolate coins on the night of December 5th!
I have my children put their shoes outside the door, and when the wake they discover the gold coins Saint Nicholas left for them.
If you’re reading this in the classroom, read it on the 6th of December, and while you’re reading have students place a shoe in the hallway. Ask an aide or another teacher to place a gold chocolate coin in their shoe while you’re reading. It is magical.
Free activities that correlate with this book are at the bottom of this post.
We love Jan Brett, so of course we enjoyed Who’s That Knocking on Christmas Eve?
At first I wasn’t sure about the book because it is about unfriendly and unruly trolls who always cause trouble for Kyri on Christmas Eve. Once again, they knock down her door and eat the feast she has prepared.
The book is based on a traditional Norwegian folktale, and special guests include a polar bear save that saves day. The trolls call the bear a little kitty, and kids think this is hilarious.
The illustrations are beautiful.
This adorable story is set at Johnny’s grandparents in New England. Johnny and his family have come to visit for Christmas, and he is simply over the moon excited.
Except, there is a huge problem. He cannot find the little wooden horse that has been in his family for years. I love this nostalgic story about digging through grandma and grandpa’s attic looking for treasures.
When Johnny finally finds the wooden horse, it is broken. How can he fix it so his little brother Liam can enjoy it?
This story will keep your kiddos attention!
If you love the bear series books, you have to get Bear Stays Up for Christmas.
Christmas is in winter, and what do bears do in the winter? Sleep of course!
But Bear’s friends want him to celebrate Christmas, so they do everything they can to keep him awake including singing, decorating, and getting a Christmas tree.
This story is adorable and simply delightful… and your kiddos will be giggling. It is the perfect book for talking about friendship and it has a cute surprise.
Free activity that correlates with this book is at the bottom of this post.
If you want to teach your children about the Rockefeller Christmas Tree then THIS is the perfect book.
Henry is a young boy who lives during the depression. They live in a cold shack, and he and his father work to make money by selling Christmas trees. They end up giving a tree to construction workers who were building the Rockefeller Center.
This story is wonderful for learning a little about American history, kindness and “passing it on.”
Henry gets his wish for a warm home from the generosity of others, and when he grows up, he repays that kindness. I love how this book comes full circle!
Have you read Pick a Pine Tree?
It is written with an adorable, whimsical rhythm and it is all about picking out a tree and then turning it into something magical with decorations. If you’re reading this at home, you can read this right before you decorate your own tree!
If you’re using this in the classroom, use the FREE ACTIVITY so students can decorate their own tree.
This book is excellent for teaching new vocabulary words too.
The end of the book has a special surprise!
Free activity that correlates with this book is at the bottom of this post.
This 30th edition Polar Express has beautiful illustrations!
This is a classic book that everyone adores.
Turn off the lights and serve hot chocolate while you read!
This may be one of my very favorite books to read during December. The Christmas Lizard is about Oscar, a lizard who is trying to figure out why his house is suddenly decorated with red, green and glittering decorations.
He gets out of his cage and climbs up the Christmas tree. Oscar runs into different characters on the Christmas tree who all explain what Christmas is about. Each one says something different: Santa, parties, gifts, toys and decorations.
Oscar becomes confused, because each character is saying Christmas is for celebrating all these different reasons.
At the top of the Christmas tree, he talks to the Angel who explains that we celebrate Christmas with all of these things, but the real reason for Christmas is Jesus and His love for us.
My children are so engaged with the book and always ask to read it again and again.
***This book talks about Jesus and may not be appropriate for your classroom.
This book can be hard to find, so if you’re having trouble ordering it, you can watch here on YouTube!
All the Colors of Christmas is an adorable story that children love to listen to because it connects everything at Christmas time to colors.
It rhymes and has an easy rhythm to follow, so even really young children will sit and listen.
“Christmas is RED.
It's a bright shiny sled.
It's candy canes,
and toy store lanes.
It's sprinkles on sweet bread.”
***This book does talk about Jesus and may not be appropriate for your classroom.
The Apple Tree Christmas is a wonderful story about family values and being together.
A sweet family lives on a farm, and an old apple tree provides them with applesauce, apple cider, apple butter, pies and even decorations for their Christmas tree.
Katrina loves to sit and draw in the tree for hours, while Josie enjoys swinging from the branches.
When an ice storm splits the tree in two, the family is devastated. But wait until you see how this dead tree proves a Christmas surprise for the entire family.
This book is such a wonderful feel good story about family, character, attitude and perspective.
You will love reading The Tree That’s Meant to Be. The underlying message is that you are perfect just the way you are.
A little tree is left all alone in the forest. All the trees around him have been chosen by families for Christmas. The tree is small and crooked and he doesn’t like feeling so different than others.
I love the theme of inclusion as all the forrest animals gather around the little tree to celebrate his differences and make him feel included.
Free printable that correlates with this book at the bottom of this post.
God Gave Us Christmas may not be suitable for your classroom, but we love to read it at home.
It is part of the whole God Gave Us… series so my children love that they recognize the format and patterns.
It is a sweet book about a polar expedition to find out how and why God gave us Christmas.
My older children love the Little House series, and this beautiful picture book makes it so my younger kiddos can enjoy the timeless stories too. This picture book simplifies the chapter books so well.
I love that this book shows how simple Christmas used to be (and still can be.) It inspires children to imagine Christmas without all the stuff we have today, and how creative Mary, Laura and their family were to make Christmas special.
The Night Before Christmas is a classic everyone has to have!
It truly makes the season feel magical and children love the anticipation of the story line. This version is a redo of the classic book written in 1823.
The rhyming words and beautiful illustrations make it easy for children to stay engaged.
This book is a class favorite! The Gingerbread Girl is the Gingerbread boy’s sister! The little old man and woman decide to bake again. They are worried about what happened last time when the Gingerbread Boy became a treat for the fox… but this time they made a little girl hoping she wouldn’t run off.
Well guess what? She does! And she has a cute rhyme she sings too.
“With a leap and a twirl.. I am the GINGERBREAD GIRL!”
There is a cute twist at the end…. kids LOVE how she manages to outsmart the fox.
Free printable that correlates with this book at the bottom of this post.
NEW UPDATE: 2023 I finally prepared all of my Gingerbread Man themed materials ready to share with you!
After you print all of the freebies on this blog post, be sure to hop over HERE to see all of my brand new Gingerbread Man crafts, bulletin board ideas, games, worksheets, gingerbread house templates… and more!
Or CLICK HERE to see all of the new units on TPT!
We love Otis… so of course An Otis Christmas keeps their attention.
It is Christmas Eve and Otis gets a present… a brand new horn!
There is a blizzard, and heavy snow is falling. Horse is ready to give birth to her foal, but she is having trouble. Otis must save the day and go get the doctor. His new horn comes in handy!
Your kiddos will be on the edge of their seat for the entire story.
This is the cutest book, and it is part of a series! You’ll see why it is a New York Times Best Seller. Snowmen at Christmas is about how snowmen celebrate Christmas. What do they do after dark when we are sleeping?
The kids cannot wait for you to turn the page and see what they do next.
There is an adorable mouse on every page that the kids love to hunt and find, and the illustrations are beautiful.
Free activity that correlates with this book is at the bottom of this post.
The rhyming, rhythm and adorable construction site vehicles make this book so fun. They have adorable personalities, and they are working hard to build a home for the firetrucks.
But each vehicle ends up getting their own Christmas surprise too! However, the book does not mention Santa. The focus and storyline is on giving and helping others.
This last post is actually a video based on a book! We all love the “If You Give a Mouse a…” series, and now you can show this movie that streams on Amazon Prime!
If you need a few minutes while you’re making Christmas ornaments or working with a student 1:1, you can show this adorable video.
Mouse and his friends are trying to save the Christmas Pageant!
I hope this post has been helpful for you! It is so time consuming to find the good books versus the ones that are not worth your time and money.
It can be so expensive to build your classroom library.
Have you heard of Amazon Teacher Wishlists?
Simply go to Amazon and:
Click the right hand corner where it says Accounts and Lists
Click Create a List
Once it is created, click the three little dots to customize the list (for example, change the shipping to your school!)
ADDING ITEMS: go shopping as usual on Amazon (if you want these books, click the links right here on this blog post), but when you find what you want, instead of clicking add to cart, right underneath that button click add to list! It is so easy!
SHARE WITH OTHERS: when you’re under my lists, you’ll see the link to invite people by adding their email or addresses, or you can copy the link and email it to parents!
As a teacher and a parent, I can’t tell you how wonderful Amazon Teacher Wishlists are!
FREE DECEMBER LESSON PLANS & RESOURCES
I share everything that I am teaching in December!