Christ-Centered Christmas Books For Kids
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Christmas is one of my favorite times of the year. But maintaining the excitement of Christmas for little ones without losing sight of the true reason for the season can be challenging in the world we live in today. That’s why one of my favorite traditions we began last year is wrapping 25 Christmas books and opening one each night between December 1-25. We do our best to find Christ-centered Christmas tales to help fix our focus on Jesus in the buildup to Christmas, and after a lot of searching and trial and error, I finally found 25 Christmas books for kids to share with you to make your search a bit easier this holiday season.
25 Christmas Books for Kids
It was a lot harder than I thought it would be to find 25 recommendation-worthy children’s Christmas books, but I think you’ll enjoy what I’ve come up with. Tried as I did to find 25 Christian Christmas books, there were only 22 I felt comfortable recommending. So you’ll find this list is separated into “Christian Christmas Books” and a few “General Christmas Books” that we also enjoy.
A quick note about Santa: While every family has different convictions, we choose not to participate in the Santa celebration. For that reason, the books in this list do not contain Santa.
If you want to join in on reading 25 Christmas books as part of an Advent tradition, I have linked the books below to purchase (I earn a small commission when you purchase through the links in this post), but you may also check them out from your local library and wrap them at home (just be sure to mark the due date on the outside of the wrapping just in case!). However, sometimes the best Christmas books are hard to come by or unavailable at the library when Christmastime nears, so buying can be worth it so long as the book is. So without further ado, here are my top 25 Christmas books for kids.
Christian Christmas Books
By Rousseaux Brasseur | Age Range: 3+
A biblical retelling of the birth of Christ beginning with Old Testament prophecies and the details/events of the first Christmas. This one gets points for biblical accuracy and staying true to the message of the Gospel. It is a bit longer, but a meaningful addition to your Christmas book list.
By Tim Thornborough | Age Range: 2-6
This fun take on the Christmas story suggests that the night of Jesus’ birth was far from silent. From shouting and singing to quiet sleeping, the story engages kids with invitations to make some noise for God’s Son, Jesus, our Rescuer. This book is a favorite and you and your kids are sure to get some giggles from this one.
By Alison Mitchell | Age Range: 2-6
This is part of the Tales That Tell the Truth series which I highly recommend! (We especially enjoy The Garden, the Curtain, and the Cross). The Christmas Promise retells the story of the first Christmas and how God kept His promise through the birth of a new King, a rescuing King, a Forever King.
4. Mortimer’s Christmas Manger
By Karma Wilson | Age Range: 3-6
A cute and comical Christmas tale of a mouse named Moritmer who is tired of his cramped, cold hole and moves into a nativity scene thinking he found the perfect new home… That is until he hears the Christmas story and discovers who truly belongs there.
By Carol Heyer | Age Range: 2-5
Humphrey the camel has lost his blanket. After some grumbling for a new one, he acquires another on his long, cold journey to Bethlehem with the wise men, but when he comes face to face with Jesus, he finds it in his heart to gift his new blanket to the newborn King. A good message about giving and the heart behind it.
By Janet Surette | Age Range: 2-6
A fun rhyming tale of the three wise men’s journey to Bethlehem. From unwrapping maps and unrolling scrolls to search for cues and clues behind the meaning of the unfamiliar star in the sky, to braving deserts filled with bandits and bugs, they eventually find the greatest treasure… Jesus.
7. Bake Through the Bible at Christmas
By Susie Bentley-Taylor & Bekah Moore | Age Range: 2-7
A fun way to engage with the Christmas story! A sister book to Bake Through the Bible, Bake Through the Bible at Christmas contains 12 Bible stories related to the first Christmas along with relevant baking activities and questions to discuss while baking.
8. Seek and Find: The First Christmas
By Sarah Parker | Age Range: 2-4
This one is so fun! My son loves to point out everything he sees in pictures as it is, but a seek-and-find is a great way to direct that. Each page contains a Bible verse related to the Christmas story along with a list of objects to find in the picture that depicts the verse. There are over 450 hidden items in this book, sure to keep your little ones entertained!
By Scott James | Age Range: 4-13
A unique take on Isaiah 11:1, “There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit." Benjamin is a watchman who takes turns watching a stump for a sign that all God's promises are coming true. But the night he grows impatient watching a stump, he hears shepherds shouting and sees a bright star. When he looks back at the stump, he finds a shoot growing from it and he is invited to meet the newborn King.
By Patricia Pingry | Age Range: 1-4
Another account of the wise men’s journey to Bethlehem. From the moment the bright star appeared in the sky on the night of Jesus’ birth to their long trek to Bethlehem and their visit with King Herod to finally finding Jesus sitting on his mother’s lap, this book tells the full journey of the wise men after that first Christmas.
11. The Night Before Christmas
By Oliver Lancaster
A Christian play on the classic poem ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas. This rhyming book tells the Christmas story and how all was far from silent and still on the night Christ was born.
By Martin Waddell | Age Range: 2-4
A short and sweet story of Kind Ox who welcomes little ones into his stable on a cold winter’s night, including: Old Dog, Stray Cat, Small Mouse, and Tired Donkey accompanied by Mary and Joseph. “That very night beneath the star’s light a little one came for the world.” While the story mostly focuses on the animals, this is a sweet story for little ones to add variety to your Christmas storybook collection.
By Ruth Meyer
A beautifully illustrated picture book that gives biblical meaning to each letter of the alphabet from A is for Advent to Z is for Zechariah. Great book for littles!
By Patricia Pingry | Age Range: 1-4
A straightforward account of the birth of Jesus Christ, our Savior. Great for little ones with a shorter attention span because of the large text and short length.
By Mindy Baker | Age Range: 4-8
A cute story of a little mouse who brings the townspeople together on Christmas Eve after the Parson gets sick and cancels the service. This book teaches that small acts of kindness can go a long way and inspire kindness in others, but ends on the important message that our deepest need is for a Savior, Jesus Christ.
By Max Lucado | Age Range: 2-5
Itsy and Bitsy are two small mice that hear a King is coming to Bethlehem, but when they go looking for Him, they are told they are not important enough to meet a King. After returning to their stable discouraged, they find baby Jesus in the manger, the King who came to them.
By Jill Roman Lord | Age Range: 4-8
A repetitive and well-illustrated retelling of what happened on the first Christmas right up to the grand moment of Jesus’ birth.
18. Shh… Baby Jesus Is Sleeping
By Lisa Tawn Bergren | Age Range: 0-3
A simple bedtime book for babies and toddlers that quietly hushes all the baby animals in the stable as they honor the arrival of baby Jesus, the Savior.
19. A Very Merry Christmas Prayer
By Bonnie Rickner Jensen | Age Range: 0-4
The heart of this book is gratitude for the various parts of the Christmas season, but especially for the gift of Jesus Christ. Each page contains a prayer of thanksgiving that connects our modern-day Christmas to the Nativity and the Gospel.
By Charles M. Schulz | Age Range: 0-7
Charlie Brown is a Christmas classic. While everyone is enjoying the holiday celebrations, Charlie Brown can’t help but feel something is missing. But he soon learns the true meaning of Christmas, the birth of our Savior, at a local Christmas play.
21. The Berenstain Bears and the Joy of Giving
By Jan & Mike Berenstain | Age Range: 2-6
Brother and Sister Bear are more excited about the gift of getting than of giving. But after learning the true meaning of Christmas at the Christmas Eve pageant of the Nativity story, they learn the value of generosity and gratitude.
22. The Best Christmas Gift Ever
By Melinda Rumbaugh | Age Range: 1-4
If you grew up on VeggieTales, you may enjoy this festive book about giving and receiving gifts at Christmastime, but with the reminder that our greatest gift ever is the gift of God’s Son, Jesus.
General Christmas Books
23. Curious George Christmas Carols
By H.A. Rey | Age Range: 4-7
My son really enjoys Curious George, so I had to add one from the series to our Christmas list. It’s not Christian, but many of the songs in the book focus on the birth of Christ. It does come with a CD (if anyone still listens to CD’s), but I haven’t listened to it myself. I will say, the reviews for the music are not great, really bad actually, but the book itself is a great way to learn some classic Christmas carols with Curious George.
24. The Twelve Days of Christmas
By LeUyen Pham | Age Range: 3-7
This is a really cool multi-cultural retelling of the classic song The Twelve Days of Christmas. Each day depicts people, attire, and instruments from around the world. Plus, we enjoy books that can be sung, it makes reading a bit more fun!
25. Construction Site on Christmas Night
By Sherri Duskey Rinker | Age Range: 2-4
Part of the Goodnight, Goodnight Construction Site series, this rhyming book tells how Excavator, Bulldozer, Crane, Dump Truck and Cement Mixer finish their work on Christmas night and receive a gift at the end of a long day’s work. When all is finished, we see that they have built a new fire station for all the fire trucks. A great addition for little ones who are all about trucks and tractors.
