Happy Holidays!

Holiday picture books are so popular in my classroom.  Of course I have a large selection of Christmas books but I also like to incorporate other cultures in our holiday studies.  I am sharing some of my favorite Christmas books and a few cultural books as well.

My favorite Christmas picture books list starts with Merry Un-Christmas by Mike Reiss.  It's the story of Noelle who lives in Christmas City where it is Christmas every day of the year except one, Un-Christmas Day.  Noelle is extremely bored with Christmas and can't wait until it is Un-Christmas Day so she can go to school and do all the things we think of as normal.  The message of the story is that Christmas is special because it comes only one time a year.  This book would be a great starting point to discuss what makes Christmas special and a good introduction to one of my favorite writing projects for the holidays.  Students write a recipe for their perfect Christmas.  They include measurements (1 Christmas Tree, 8 strands of lights, 3 cups of fun, etc.) and tell how to combine them to create their perfect Christmas.

Another wonderful Christmas picture book is Auntie Claus by Elise Primavera.  It is about a girl named Sophie who is very curious about where her Auntie Claus goes every year from Halloween until New Year's Day.  She stows away and travels with Auntie Claus, winding up at the North Pole.  She is mistaken for an elf and is told to go get the BB and G list (bad boys and girls) for Santa.  She finds her brother's name on the list and imagines how sad he will be to get no presents.  She erases his name but there is still a gap so she makes a sacrifice for her brother: she writes her own name instead.  This is a wonderful book to teach the true meaning of the Christmas holiday, giving.  Look for the sequels, Auntie Claus and the Key to Christmas and Auntie Claus, Home for the Holidays.

My last Christmas book pick is The Longest Christmas List Ever by Gregg and Evan Spiridellis.  It begins on Christmas morning with a boy named Trevor who opens his presents, throws them aside, and starts on his Christmas list for next year.  He spends all year adding more and more to the list and finally goes to the post office to mail it, only to find out it would take six trillion dollars to mail it to Santa!  He goes home dejected, realizing that he asked for too much and now he would get nothing.  He wakes up on Christmas to a special present and realizes that "it takes love - not toys - to bring Christmas cheer".  This is another great book to teach the meaning of Christmas.  It is also written in couplets so it would be a great book to inspire poetry.

Stay tuned for my cultural holiday book picks!