Top Twelve Children's Christmas Books

These are a great selection of children's Christmas books. When I was a child the snowman was always my favourite book and film. Who can forget the 'We are walking in the air' song from the snowman film. It wasn't Christmas in my house until the Coca Cola lorry advert had been on the TV and the snowman film had been on, Then it was Christmas. There are quite literally thousands of Children's Christmas books. It's difficult to narrow it down to just twelve, but here are my top twelve children's books from 12-1 I think are worth a mention.

12) How the Grinch Stole Christmas ~ Dr. Seuss

This tells the story of the disgruntled Grinch and his attempts to steal Christmas from the citizens of Who-ville. It has fun, wacky rhymes and silly illustrations. It has been a seasonal holiday favourite with young readers for many a year.

11) The Elf On The Shelf ~ Carol Aebersold and Chanda Bell

Ok number eleven on the list was suppose to be about the book the elf, but then I discovered Elf on the Shelf which is an awesome book and game that comes with a little Elf. It's sort of like Hide and seek for the Elf. More Epic than Dickens, i think so!

10) Horrible Christmas~ Terry Deary

This is from the horrible history series and contains all the weird, wonderful and gross facts kids have questions about at Christmas. In this new-cover edition of the bestseller from 2011, Horrible Christmas tells you all the festive facts your kids ever wanted to find out. Such as why making Christmas pudding used to be a crime, how to get rid of carol singers. It also has foul but festive foods at Christmas and horrible seasonal stories.

9) Winnie the Pooh's Christmas~ Isabel Gaines

Anything with winnie the pooh on is great right? So a whole Christmas book with Winne the Pooh in it has got to be epic for any child! (and adult) Winne the Pooh at Christmas= fun times for everyone!

8) Twelve days of Christmas~ Jan Brett

"On the first day of Christmas
My true love gave to me
A partridge in a pear tree."

For many centuries young and old everybody has been singing this song. It's a Christmas carol, a parlor game, and a delightful counting song. It is a favourite song for all at Christmas. The Twelve Days of Christmas dates back to English origins in the sixteenth century (although the music is reputed to be French.) The first publication date for The Twelve Days of Christmas was 1780.

7) Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer ~ Robert. L. May

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer is a fictional Reindeer character we have all come to know and love, with his glowing red nose. He is known as the most popular Reindeer belonging to Father Christmas. Rudolph is the 9th Reindeer in the sleigh lineup and his nose glows so brightly that it lights up the path for the sleigh flying through the winter sky at night. Father Christmas can see where he is going thanks to Rudolph and his bright red nose.

6) The Polar Express ~ Chris Van Allsburg

A boy boards a mysterious train, late on Christmas Eve. The Polar Express is bound for the North Pole. When the boy arrives there, Santa offers him any gift he desires. The boy asks Santa for one bell from the reindeer's harness. It turns out to be a very special gift, for only believers in Santa can hear it ring.

5) Letter's from Father Christmas ~ By J. R.R Tolkien

The Lord Of The Rings Author (Tolkien) brings us this delightful Christmas book in a letters book format. Originally, Tolkien used to write personal letters to his own children at Christmas with stamp marks from the North Pole on the envelope, so that his children would think the letters were from Father Christmas. Tolkien did this every year for his children for many years. Inspired by this comes his idea for the Letter's from Father Christmas book.

4) The Nightmare before Christmas ~ Tim Burton

Every child should be shown the weird and wonderful world of a Tim Burton creation. You either love his work, or hate it. I love him and admire every creation he has ever created. Film, book, poem. Thank you Tim.

3) A Christmas Carol ~ Charles Dickens

A true Christmas classic by Dickens, the king of everything epic. We all know the story of Ebenzer Scrooge and the three ghosts of Christmas past, present and future. (I love the Patrick Stewart film version) This story makes us all feel sorry for litle Timmy and Scrooge makes us all feel like being more generous and giving at Christmas. Very heart warming and a true Christmas great!

2) The Night Before Christmas~ Clement C. Moore Whitman

'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house,
not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.'

We all know the famous Christmas poem, but do we know it right to the end? This is a beautiful poem made into a lovely colourful story book. The Night Before Chistmas will be continued to be read for generations to come, for years and years, because the greats never leave us!

1) The Snowman ~ Raymond Brigg's

The snowman has to be the classic children's Christmas book of all time. This is a beautiful story that every child will love. It's about a little boy who discovers a snowman has come to life. The book has no words and is a little different from the film. However the main plot still remains the same. The little boy shows the snowman around his house and then they go in the garden and have a little fly around the sky. The little boy discovers the next day the snowman has melted in the back garden. If you have never watched the Snowman film before i have included a youtube film of it above for you. If you have watched it before, go on it's Christmas you know you want to watch it and sing along to 'I'm walking in the air.' :-)