Christmas Reading – My Top 5 Recommendations

The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg

This title is both a book and a movie. However , the book is always better than the movie !

Late one Christmas Eve, a boy boards a mysterious train that waits for him: the Polar Express bound for the North Pole. When he arrives, Santa offers him any gift he desires. The boy modestly asks for one bell from the reindeer's harness. It turns out to be a very special gift, for only believers in Santa can hear it ring.

Merry Christmas , Mr.Mouse by Caralyn Buehner

When Mr. Mouse and his family move into the warm spot beneath the kitchen stove in a big house, they discover something new and wonderful: an evergreen tree decorated with lights, ginger and peppermint smells in the air, and cookies baking in the oven. They hear about a child born long ago, and a jolly man named Santa who brings gifts to celebrate Jesus’s birth on a day called Christmas. And so Mr. and Mrs. Mouse decide that their family should celebrate Christmas too.

With delightful rhyming verse, detailed illustrations (with hidden pictures to search for!), and a childlike sense of wonder, the story of the Mouse family’s first Christmas is sure to become a holiday tradition.

The Littlest Elf by Brandi Dougherty

A sweet holiday story from a New York Times bestselling duo!

From the New York Times bestselling team that brought us The Littlest Pilgrim comes a sweet new holiday follow-up filled with Christmas cheer and adorable stickers!

Oliver may be the littlest elf in the North Pole, but he has a big desire to discover his very special job in Santa's workshop! But after getting lost in the toy shop, making a mess at the book shop, and falling in the mixing machine at the bakery, is the littlest elf just too little?

Perhaps he just needs the littlest reindeer to remind him what Christmas is all about.

A Pirate’s Night Before Christmas by Philip Yates and Sebastia Serra

Twas the night before Christmas aboard the Black Sark,
Not a creature was stirrin, not even a shark!
Come aboard, young mateys, for a humorous, colorful, and thoroughly piratical retelling of “The Night Before Christmas!” On a ship of mischievous brigands—who have visions of treasure chests, not sugar plums, dancing in their heads—you wouldnt expect a visit from jolly St. Nick. Instead, here comes Sir Peggedy, with his peg leg and hook arm, cracking his whip and driving eight giant seahorses: Salty, Scurvy, Sinbad, Mollie, Cutthroat, Cross-Eyes, Roger, and Jolly. But even buccaneers can catch the holiday spirit …  Philip Yatess rollicking rhymes and Sebastiá Serras sprightly, fun-filled pictures turn Clement C. Moores Christmas perennial into a jubilant celebration. 

Santa Claus and the Three Bears by Maria Modugno

Papa Bear, Mama Bear, and Baby Bear weren't expecting any company when they went for a walk on Christmas Eve, but that's exactly what they got! Debut author Maria Modugno teams up with award-winning artists Jane and Brooke Dyer to deliver a festive twist on Goldilocks and the Three Bears, with Santa Claus stepping in as the cheerful intruder.

Leaving their pudding to cool on the kitchen table, the unsuspecting bears head outdoors for a crisp evening walk. But when they return, they are shocked at what they find! Their pudding . . . eaten! Their chairs . . . broken! Their cozy beds . . . slept in! And it looks like the culprit is still there! Fast asleep in Baby Bear's bed is someone awfully familiar. A fluffy white beard, a red jacket covered in soot, and two black boots sticking out from under the covers. Could it really be . . . ?

With sparkling prose and splendid watercolor paintings, this delicious holiday treat glows with warmth and humor that will delight readers page after page.

Merry Xmas !   I hope you can dind the time to read and enjoy the magic of Xmas.