Tis the season for holiday picture books! I’m sharing 6 of my favorites in today’s post. These are great picture books for your students to enjoy during the month of December. I’d love to hear your favorites!
If you wish to purchase any of these, I’ve linked them in my Amazon store front here 🙂
Reindeer on Strike by Holly Lansley Illustrated by Clare Fennell
This is a fun one to read during Christmas. The illustrations are very eye catching and the rhyming pattern that the story is written in will make it engaging for kids to follow along. Great for teaching theme, cause and effect, and rhyme patterns.
I’ve Got the Christmas Spirit by Connie Schofield-Morrison Illustrated by Frank Morrison
Y’all know how much I loved I’ve Got The School Spirit, but the Christmas edition of this series is the one that got me hooked in the first place! This is the perfect story to share with your students in December. It’s also great for teaching onomatopoeia!
Tough Cookie by Edward Hemingway
Tough Cookie is such an underrated book. It is definitely the funniest one on this list. Your kids won’t be able to stop laughing when you read this story. It’s about a cookie that meets a Fox and tells him that he won’t ever be able to catch him. It starts like the Gingerbread Man nursery rhyme, but it takes a turn when the Fox catches him very easily because duh-the fox is quick! When the fox begins to eat him, he realizes that he isn’t tasty. In fact, the fox breaks his tooth! As the story goes on, it is revealed that the cookie is actually an ornament! The realization will shock your students when you go back and see that he has a little hole in his head for a ribbon to go. It is such a fun and engaging story! Also great for teaching characterization, setting, and theme.
The People Remember by Ibi Zoboi Illustrated by Loveis Wise
This story is perfect for discussing Kwanzaa. It is filled with numerous famous and noteworthy African Americans who accomplished amazing things and changed the world. It also tells the struggles Black people have faced and have had to overcome. The illustrations add so much to this story, which is told by the brilliant Ibi Zoboi. Your kids will love this one. It’s a great one to read in December since Kwanzaa is celebrated for seven days starting on December 25 and lasting until January 1, but it’s also one that could be used throughout the year to share these important people and stories.
**Thanks for my gifted copy of this book, Harper Kids! (partner)
Little Red Sleigh by Erin Guendelsberger Illustrated by Elizveta Tretyakova
The cover of this one caught my eye, but the story is even better! Little Red Sleigh is about a sleigh who wants to work with Santa to deliver Christmas presents. It spends most of the book trying to reach the North Pole to ask Santa for the job, but on Christmas Eve it gets stuck playing with a little girl and her friends as they race up and down the snow covered hills. The sleigh receives a note from Santa on Christmas morning and learns a very important lesson. This is a sweet story that is perfect for teaching theme.
My favorite Christmas picture book is Red and Lulu. This story is just the best. If you haven’t read Red and Lulu, add it to your lists immediately! It’s about two red birds who live in this giant tree in a family’s front yard. One morning, Red goes to find breakfast and when he returns, he discovers Lulu and the tree are gone! He follows the tree to the city where he spends days searching. Eventually he is reunited with Lulu and the reader discovers that their tree has become the famous Rockefeller tree in New York City. The author’s note is so fun to share after reading this. It’s such a wonderful story. I’ve created a Quick Questions resource to go along with it if you need an activity.
Have you read any of these holiday picture books? I’d love to hear your favorites!
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