Different ones have asked for more read aloud ideas, especially my very favorites, so I thought I would list them by age (today\u2014ten or so and up) and by category (i.e. \u201cBible-related\u201d; traditions; devotional; etc.) with *** by my \u201cvery-most-favorite-if-we-only-read-a-handful-of-christmas-books-this-year-this-would-be-one-of-them\u201d! Hope this helps you as you prepare to celebrate the birth of Christ with your sweet children.<\/p>\n
Note: Many of the books on this list make for wonderful devotionals for anybody\u2014not just for read alouds!<\/p>\n
Key:<\/p>\n
***Wouldn\u2019t want to go a Christmas without it<\/p>\n
**Great<\/p>\n
*Good enough to make it on my list! \uf04a<\/p>\n
Note: I have included \u201cout of print\u201d ones because you can often pick them up used or at the library.<\/p>\n
Note: Every time I review books, I forget to include this note. It is actually not proper to place quotation marks around book titles (major works). However, when I post to the blog, my italics (the proper way to note book titles) go away. Thus, I surround book titles with quotation marks on here. Maybe I will get more savvy as I blog longer, but so many things about the internet\/blogging elude me!<\/p>\n
\u201cBible\/Devotional\/Nativity-Related Stories\/Retellings\u201d<\/p>\n
*\u201dOne Incredible Moment: Celebrating the Majesty of the Manger\u201d by Max Lucado I do various Christmas “devotional” types of books with the family each year. I love different writers’ inspirational thoughts on Christmas. This year I am doing Max Lucado’s “One Incredible Moment: Celebrating the Majesty of the Manger” with the two little guys in the mornings. Very cool book! https:\/\/www.christianbook.com\/incredible-moment-celebrating-the-majesty-manger\/max-lucado\/9781404104044\/pd\/104046?event=CF<\/a><\/p>\n **\u201dCome and Behold Him\u2026An Invitation to Christmas Worship\u201d by Jack Hayford. I am re-reading this one aloud this year\u2014and I read it fifteen years ago to my olders too. It is so inspirational and worshipful. https:\/\/www.jackhayford.org\/products16-314\/ComeandBeholdHim<\/a> <\/p>\n *\u201c\u201dThe Case for Christmas: A Journalist Investigates the Identity of the Child in the Manger\u201d by Lee Strobel–Just started a new Christmas book that I highly recommend for those with older kids who want “devotional” type of Christmas reading that is on the more serious side: Case for Christmas by Lee Strobel. We have a lot of his other books; some of his dvd’s; and some audios–but this one is just the perfect size for Christmas reading and toting around. Warning: Read small portions at a time; it\u2019s fairly heady. https:\/\/www.christianbook.com\/case-christmas-lee-strobel\/9780310254768\/pd\/54762<\/a><\/p>\n ***\u201dCosmic Christmas\u201d by Max Lucado. We have read this short (sixty pages without much text on each page?) almost every year for the last six or eight as we drive to a relatives since it only takes an hour or so to read aloud. It tells the story of Christ\u2019s birth from heaven\u2019s viewpoint\u2014with Satan and angels battling. An extremely cool nativity story that our teens love. https:\/\/www.thomasnelson.com\/consumer\/product_detail.asp?sku=0849915309&title=Cosmic_Christmas<\/a><\/p>\n **\u201dThe Birth\u201d by Gene Edwards; similar to \u201cCosmic Christmas\u201d but lengthier and in more detail. Gene Edwards is a master storyteller. https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Birth-Gene-Edwards\/dp\/0940232960c<\/a> <\/p>\n ***\u201dA Christmas Longing\u201d by Joni Ereckson Tada. My favorite Christmas devotional\u2014short entries, very poignant and moving. Love it! \u201cTraditions and More\u201d Types of Books<\/p>\n **\u201cStories Behind the Great Traditions of Christmas\u201d by Ace Collins; I have read from this ever Christmas for years and years. We never read the entire book\u2014just a dozen entries or so each year. We use it in part in place of our history during December\u2014it is so interesting! **\u201dStories Behind the Best-Loved Songs of Christmas\u201d by Ace Collins **\u201dChrist in the Carols: Thirty-One Devotionals for Christmas and Advent\u201d by Christopher and Melodie Lane; more devotional than educational, this book about Christmas carols has shorter entries than the previous one. It is a beautiful little book. **\u201dUncle John\u2019s Bathroom Reader: Christmas Collection\u201d Portable Press; Yes, Uncle John\u2019s! This is like all of the other Uncle John books\u2014informative essays about everything, except this one is Christmas only. Such interesting tidbits\u2014secular and Christian about Christmas past and present. We get a kick out of this one! \u201cOther Christmas Stories or \u2018Set at Christmastime Type Stories\u201d<\/p>\n *\u201dThe Max Lucado Christmas Collection\u201d by Max Lucado; just got this one in the mail today! Was recommended by a friend\u2014and I love Max Lucado\u2019s writing style, so I\u2019m sure we\u2019ll love it! **\u201cA Christmas Reader: A Collection of Family Favorites for the Holiday Season\u201d compiled by Gail Harvey; has many classic stories too. I have read from this one off and on for twenty years! *\u201dStartling Joy: Seven Magical Stories of Christmas\u201d by James Calvin Schaap re-titled \u201cFinding Christmas: Stories of Startling Joy and Perfect Peace\u201d \u2013a little longer \u201cshort stories\u201d than the Christmas in My Heart series, but still filled with heart-warming ones. **\u201dChristmas in My Heart: A Treasury of Timeless Christmas Stories\u201d compiled and edited by Joe L. Wheeler. One of my favorite Christmas collections is any of the Joe Wheeler Christmas story books. There are so many of them, so there are many out there for sale used too. Check out the extensive list of collections at his site below. These are heart-warming short stories for Christmas read alouds, gift books, and more! (This is the same author I wrote about earlier with the many wonderful \u201cGreat Stories Remembered\u201d books.) https:\/\/shop.cbn.com\/cbn\/item.Christmas-in-My-Heart-A-Treasury-of-Timeless-Christmas-Stori.9780842336451.htm<\/a><\/p>\n ***\u201cChristmas Stories from the Heart\u201d by Alice Gray. One of our top three “Christmas compilation” books. Heart-warming, amazing Christmas stories for family read alouds. I can’t recommend this one highly enough for ALL Christian families who love to read and share stories together. (Note: Older editions have different covers. Libraries also carry this one.)
https:\/\/www.christianbook.com\/a-christmas-longing-joni-tada\/9781590523926\/pd\/23924?item_code=WW&netp_id=337802&event=ESRCN&view=details<\/a><\/p>\n
https:\/\/www.christianbook.com\/stories-behind-the-great-traditions-christmas\/ace-collins\/9780310248804\/pd\/48809\/1152152255?item_code=WW&netp_id=305628&event=ESRCN&view=details<\/a> <\/p>\n
Instead of our regular history unit studies during December, we have always done various Christmas tradition books. This one is one that we have used often (and are using this year). It is so interesting to learn about the history of customs, songs, and traditions. This is a good book for Christian families with older children (say, ten or eleven and up).
https:\/\/www.christianbook.com\/stories-behind-best-loved-s<\/a><\/p>\n
https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Christ-Carols-Thirty-one-devotionals-Christmas\/dp\/0842335218<\/a> <\/p>\n
https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Uncle-Bathroom-Reader-Christmas-Collection\/dp\/1592234844<\/a><\/p>\n
https:\/\/www.christianbook.com\/the-max-lucado-christmas-collection\/max-lucado\/9781595548528\/pd\/548528?item_code=WW&netp_id=613417&event=ESRCN&view=details<\/a> <\/p>\n
https:\/\/www.alibris.com\/search\/books\/qwork\/1088046\/used\/A%20Christmas%20Reader<\/a> <\/p>\n
https:\/\/www.christianbook.com\/finding-christmas-stories-startling-perfect-peace\/james-schaap\/9780800719395\/pd\/719390\/1152152703?item_code=WW&netp_id=625969&event=ESRCN&view=details<\/a><\/p>\n
https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Christmas-Stories-Heart-Alice-Gray\/dp\/1576736962<\/a><\/p>\n