Pattern. Tradition. Intention. >> all reasons for decorating my girls’ bookshelves according to the season. When I set out to get some new Christmas books for them from our local used bookstore, Costco, and Target, I found that it was rare to find books on what we believed the season should celebrate. Jesus. Giving. Heritage. Love. Family. Tradition.
With any good children’s book, most all had great moral themes. However, the image of Santa Claus plastered everywhere spurred me to lead my kids in Breaking up with Santa and a deeper look on making the Christmas season a Happy Birthday Jesus party instead!
Truly, it’s been a season of less stress, more focus on what matters, and a deeper sense of what we elevate in our lives based on “everyone else is doing this.” FREEDOM from expectations, paving our own way, don’t we all crave it?
NOW onto the magic and fun of decorating with twinkly lights, stuffing some leftover wreath decorations into books, and arranging a space where the girls can sit and read!
The book nook has been such a treasure. It’s a 6 and 7 year old time out time of recluse. With them sharing a room, having that one spot to shut the curtains and retreat has been so good! Enjoy the 13 books I chose for the shelves this season! Let me know which ones you have already!
Room for a Little One: A Christmas Tale | The Twelve Days of Christmas | The Little Drummer Boy | There Was No Snow on Christmas Eve |
1. Animals are inviting each other into the stable one by one- to cuddle next to the new baby Jesus. Room for a Little One is a good story for sharing, seeing that despite some animals dominating over each other, they all come together for one purpose.
2. Based on the Song, The Twelve Days of Christmas, this book illustrates each days gifts. Easy read for children because of the repetition.
3. The Little Drummer Boy has been a favorite song and book of Dallas' since he was a baby! I can’t find our edition online, but linked another one. The story is the same- a poor boy beats his drum towards the Nativity of Jesus.
4. I remember as a little girl learning that it probably didn’t snow in Bethlehem. Even here in North Georgia, we have only had a few white Christmas’ in my 30 years. Still, there’s something so special about the white covering the Earth to make it clean! This book highlights what the weather was like when Jesus was born on that Christmas Eve and might be the first time you imagine it too!
| The Nutcracker | Diane Goode’s American Christmas | A Season of Joy | The Little Match Girl | The Christmas Fox |
1. The Nutcracker ballet has always been captivating! Bring it to life with this illustrated classic book.
2. You’ll find poems, stories, and even Laura Ingalls Wilder stories in this classic book, American Christmas. Turn back time, and maybe even adopt a new family tradition with this illustrated anthology.
3. I bought this book for the pretty cover (hidden, but it’s four kids walking in the snow) and J O Y in the Season of Joy title. This turned out to be another collection of short stories and poems. Making it a great book for bedtime!
4. A Hans Christian Anderson story of the Little Match Girl brings the theme of death and hope colliding. If you know of a child who has passed or want to introduce your child to the real life struggles of abuse or poverty, this is a book that will spark many conversations!
5. The Christmas Fox is a book of short, winter poems. Poetry is so good for young readers! Alliteration, repetition, and rhyming are the flow to get their minds and lips connected.
| All You Need for a Snowman | The Biggest Snowman Ever | Christmas Remembered | The Legend of the Candy Cane |
1. Maybe it’s the face that we don’t get to make many snowmen here or the magic of Alice’s book, but whatever it is, the kids love reading All You Need for a Snowman!
2. A Scholastic special, The Biggest Snowman Ever builds from the Biggest Pumpkin Ever we enjoyed reading this fall!
3. Six decades covered in Christmas Remembered! I’ll be honest, we haven’t read this one yet, but I love the different abstract artwork.
4. Have you heard the Legend of the Candy Cane- the significance of the shape and colors of this Christmas treat? Relating the candy back to Christ, it’s a great read for little ones! They love telling people about the “true reason” for candy canes!
Enjoy snatching some of these books up at a local used bookstore! I spent maybe $5 since most were bought with trade money at McKay’s. I linked the books I could find on ThriftBooks, and sometimes hardbacks are inexpensive on Amazon!
All in all, read to your kiddos. Shoot for nightly, give grace for weekly. Have an older sibling read to the younger ones. Whatever you do, you’ll never regret reading with your kids.
