Christmas is just over a month away now and some people might even have started on their Christmas shopping already! Whether you’re a super-organised Christmas shopper or not though, you might want to start considering what everyone in your family will be getting on Christmas morning.
If you have kids, there could be no better present for them to rip the wrapping paper off on Christmas Day than some fantastic new books than can keep them going throughout 2013. If you want to make sure their gifts tie-in with the season as well, you could select from our top five list of classic Christmas books for kids:
A Christmas Carol
Charles Dickens will forever hold the title of the best children’s Christmas book with ‘A Christmas Carol’. We all know the tale of the moneygrubbing Ebenezer Scrooge who is visited by the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future on Christmas Eve, and wakes on Christmas Morning a changed man. There are simplified versions of the book for younger readers, or you might want to give older children a copy of the full text so that they can read it all by themselves. The book also teaches an important lesson that kids can learn from – money doesn’t buy happiness, and people should always treat others how they would like to be treated.
The Night Before Christmas
Clement Clarke Moore’s beautiful poem describing the night before Christmas is one many people will be familiar with. The opening lines of the poem ‘Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house/Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse’ instantly draw readers into the lengthy poem, and kids especially will be rapt by the depiction of Father Christmas flying through the skies on his magical reindeer-drawn sleigh on Christmas Eve. If you want your kids to be able to enjoy the amazing atmosphere of Christmas, get this book for them!
How the Grinch Stole Christmas
Dr Suess is one of the best children’s authors in history, writing quirky and child-friendly poems about all manner of things. ‘How the Grinch Stole Christmas’ is a fantastic children’s book for the Christmas season and is sure to delight kids all through the year. The Grinch is a creature living in a cave above the town of Whoville where the Whos live. These merry creatures love Christmas, but the Grinch is constantly annoyed by the sounds of their festivities. To stop them from any more merrymaking, the Grinch sneaks into the town in the dead of night and steals all of their Christmas presents and other Christmassy items, but the Whos are still able to enjoy an excellent Christmas even without these material things. In the end, the Grinch is won over by the Whos and is welcomed into their friendly community, despite what he’s done.
Wenceslas
Everyone’s heard the Christmas carol ‘Good King Wenceslas’ and this book by Geraldine McCaughrean gives kids the story behind this famous carol. It explains how Good King Wenceslas gave money and food to the poor on Boxing Day, and his many other noble feats during the Christmas season.
The Snowman
This book by Raymond Briggs is perfect for kids that haven’t yet learnt to read, as it’s completely wordless. Parents can work through the book with their kids by pointing at the beautiful illustrations explaining what they mean. The book tells the story of a boy who builds a snowman which then comes to life. Thrilled, the boy shows the snowman around his house and then the snowman takes him on a magical adventure, flying through the skies. A must for any imaginative children!
This post was contributed by Julia Stanley a freelance writer and read-a-holic who loves to buy great fiction online as it allows them to find the best fiction books at cheap prices.