Christina: In God We Trust, All Others Pay Cash by Jean Shepherd, The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson.
The Christmas Spirit on Tradd Street, Karen White. (I love the whole series)
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott (excellent, but it makes me too melancholy so I rarely read it.)
‘Twas the Night Before Christmas (Takes me back to childhood and reciting this poem before the church Christmas play)
The Man Who Invented Christmas byLes Standiford. A good read, a good movie both tell the story of Charles Dickens and how some current Christmas traditions came to be.
Skipping Christmas (basis for the movie Christmas with the Kranks) by John Grisham. A feel good book.
The Gift of the Magi by O. Henry. An ironic classic. Easier to understand the concept as an adult. As a child, it made me a little sad.
Even as an adult, I love to re-read the Little House on the Prairie books. Several have accounts of the Ingalls family Christmas celebrations, but my favorite tale is when Mr. Edwards saves Christmas in the book Little House on the Prairie.
Brenda G: I read The Mole Family’s Christmas by Russell Hoban aloud to my family each year. We also love Emmett Otter’s Jug-band Christmas, made into a movie with Muppets, also by Hoban. Everett Anderson’s Christmas Coming, children’s poetry by Lucille Clifton, is also a memorable read. Jack Prelutsky’s It’s Christmas is filled with fun poems for children and their families.
A definite personal favorite is Mama, Me, and the Holiday Tree by Jeanne G’Fellers.
Tonia: Every year I get nostalgic for the children’s book The Snowman by Raymond Briggs, Owl Moon by Jane Yolen, and The Christmas Mouse by Miss Read.
Other books I love this time of year are:
One Day in December: Josie Silver
A Christmas Carol: Charles Dickens
Little House in the Big Woods: Laura Ingalls
The Elves and the Shoemaker: Brothers Grimm
The Fir Tree: Hans Christian Anderson
The Little Match Girl: Hans Christian Anderson
Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer—I loved The Little Golden Book version
Stopping By the Woods on a Snowy Evening: Robert Frost poem
The Mitten: Jan Brett
The Snowy Day: Ezra Jack Keats
Twas the Night Before Christmas
Jeanne: If I take time to think, I would come up with a lot of different answers. Most would be books I read in Story Time (still love Merry Christmas, Thomas by A. Vesey), but otherwise I think of Connie Willis’ fantasy and science fiction stories. I think my favorite is “All Seated on the Ground” in which a team is trying to communicate with a group of aliens who have landed during the Christmas holidays. Alas, it isn’t included in her collection entitled Miracle and Other Christmas Stories but there are some very good tales in that book as well. Last year I listened to John Scalzi’s seasonal collection, A Very Scalzi Christmas which features stories, interviews with notable holiday figures, and so forth. It was quite entertaining.
Christmas at the Cat Café by Melissa Daley was a sweet book, too. It’s told from the point of view of a rescue cat who worries about her kittens and her human family. It’s set in England, which was a bonus for me.
I also like learning about Christmas traditions, so I enjoyed Christmas: A Biography by Judith Flanders. It was quite the eye-opener sometimes! Oliver Cromwell and the Puritans tried to abolish it. Also, alcohol was usually involved. Lot of alcohol. Lots and lots. It was definitely not the children’s holiday it seems to be now! I was also surprised by the large role Washington Irving played in shaping the way that Americans celebrate Christmas.
And a fond shout out to The Cajun Night Before Christmas by Trosclair. Santa has gators instead of reindeer!
Michelle: I love these Christmas children's books:
Christmas for 10 by Cathryn Falwell
Shhh! by Julie Sykes
The Night Before Christmas (pop-up) by Robert Sabuda
Olive, the Other Reindeer by Vivian Walsh and J. Otto Seibold
Abby: My favorite is Dash & Lily’s Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn
Garry: My favorite is The Winter Solstice: The Sacred Traditions of Christmas by John Matthews.
Selena: I love reading Christmas books at Christmas. I love A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith which has the Christmas tree scene in it. I like Agatha Christie’s Hercule Poirot's Christmas because I love a good cozy Christmas mystery. Also I remember really liking Truman Capote’s A Christmas Memory. I like to read Christmas romance novels even Harlequin because they are like candy and I can read them in a couple of hours. There are usually a lot of them available on Libby/READs. Those just make me happy like a Hallmark Movie.
Christy: I loved loved loved listening to Tinsel Tales: Favorite Holiday Stories from NPR. A delightful way to pass the time while cooking or wrapping presents.
I'm also currently reading Midnight in Everwood by M.A. Kuzniar, a retelling of the Nutcracker story. I've been in the mood for some dark, wintery fairy tales, and so far I'm liking it!
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