Twelve Little Books of Christmas

Recommended by Mary Campbell Children’s Christmas books are generally focussed on younger children – there’s no shortage of stories based on the Nativity story itself or tales of Santa and his elves.  By the time kids hit teenage years, it’s generally all about Christmas movies.  Or at least that was certainly the case in our house until a couple of years ago when my daughter discovered ‘Mistletoe and Murder’.  ‘Mistletoe and Murder’ is the fifth book in the ‘Murder Most Unladlylike’ series written by Robin Stevens.  The heroines of the books are Daisy Wells and Hazel Wong who set up their own detective agency at Deepdean School for Girls.  In ‘Mistletoe and Murder’, Daisy and Hazel are spending Christmas in snowy Cambridge but are distracted from the festivities by a murder in Maudlin College.  The books (there are 10 in the series) are aimed at 9-12 year olds though my 15 year old will still happily curl up this Christmas on the sofa with a mincepie, a hot chocolate and her copy of ‘Mistletoe and Murder’.

Recommended by Claire Weeks Like the debate over whether Die Hard is a Christmas movie (it is), it could be debated whether Stickman is a Christmas book (it is).  My favourite of all the Julia Donaldson books, the appearance of Santa (a “stuck man”) and a heartwarming ending are all the Christmas credentials this book needs.

Recommended by Rupert Ticehurst

I read A Christmas Carol every year and, when my children were younger, I read it to them every December. The full text is a bit much for young ones, so I just acted out the dialogue (I love the meeting between Scrooge and his nephew: “What reason have you to be merry? You’re poor enough.”; “What reason have you to be morose? You’re rich enough.”). The book is obviously dated, and younger readers would probably do better with an abridged version (of which there are many). Once they have read the book (or, better, had it read to them), they can watch A Muppets Christmas Carol (which confusingly has two Marleys). A far more challenging TV adaptation of A Christmas Carol (definitely not for children, as it is a bit grim) is produced by FX: this stars Guy Pearce, who is brilliant, and is not a cheesy everything-ends-well version. It was on iPlayer for the last few years, but it has been dropped by the BBC, which is a shame because it is a breathtaking adaptation. You can however find it on YouTube.

Recommended by Claire Weeks Beautifully illustrated, like all Judith Kerr’s family favourites, the disruption of Christmas throws Mog’s routine into chaos – we all know how that feels!  Unlike Mog, I do not generally choose to spend the night on the roof…

Recommended by Claire Weeks A more modern choice, but one that is great for bedtime in the lead up to Christmas and has real rhythm that makes it a delight to read.

Recommended by Millie Raftery and Clare Powell The original book was narrated entirely through pictures so, as a child, the wordless storytelling lets you use your own imagination to essentially make up your own story. I used to love this book, probably as there was no chance of me getting the words wrong! – Millie Raftery

Recommended by Rupert Ticehurst When my children were young, I read this poem to them every evening in the build up to Christmas – I would leave off the last word of each line and they would take it in turns to give me missing the word (‘Twas a night before Christmas, when all through the ……. Not a creature was stirring, not even a ……..). Now that my children have grown up, I still bring the book out at Christmas, and they humour me by giving me the last word from each line. It is a lovely Christmas poem, and I cannot imagine any child not loving it. There are various readings of the poem on the internet, including one with the King: ‘Twas the night before Christmas…

Recommended by Claire Weeks, Stuart Smyth and Mary Campbell Not just a book!  Funny for children and adults alike, it contains puzzles, letters and other delights. – Claire Weeks

Recommended by Jennifer Chambers A festive story about the build up to Christmas and finding the perfect present for someone you love – my children loved the sentiment and the beautiful illustrations!

Recommended by Rebecca Fisher Whether you are a child or an adult, most dream of a snow days!  This is the story of Danny who is the only boy who goes to school on the Snow Day to find his least favourite teacher being the only teacher in school.  Danny’s day certainly does not turn out how he expected.  This is a beautiful and moving story and one that both my children and I adored. 

Recommended by Claire Weeks, Clare Powell, Mary Campbell, Susan Turnball and Rupert Ticehurst (see below) A true classic.  My favourite when I was young and now I am a parent myself.  Magical. – Claire Weeks I loved this as a child and still read it every Christmas Eve. – Clare Powell

Recommended by Ceris Gardner It evokes wonderful memories of being a very small child at Christmas: getting freezing cold and wet playing in the snow (in the days when we had snow at Christmas!), the huge excitement, unwrapping presents and, typical of Dylan Thomas, the prose is fabulous.