Pour some hot cocoa and snuggle with your little ones around the fire with one of these newly released children’s books. These whimsical reads about Santa, snow and dreidels will warm your hearts and make the season extra special.
1. Gingerbread Christmas
By: Jan Brett
Gingerbread Baby and his friend, Matti, take his gingerbread band to the Christmas Festival where they are a hit, until the aroma of gingerbread reaches the children, signaling it’s time to run away. Clever Matti uses snow to disguise the gingerbread instruments while Gingerbread Baby leads the audience on a merry chase to the smartest hiding place ever—a giant Christmas tree.
2. Very Christmas
By: Simone Mets
When Santa’s workshop is destroyed by a ferocious storm, even the richest man in the world is stumped for a way to save Christmas. Just when everyone seems to give up all hope, the unstumpable Ava Buttons, together with her friends, discover a way to make Christmas wishes come true.
3. Dreidels on the Brain
By: Joel Ben Izzy
Joel is wishing for one lousy Hanukkah miracle, but instead he seems to just be getting chopped liver. His dad is sick and his parents don’t have any money to give Hanukkah presents. Through the course of the eight days of Hanukkah, though, Joel discovers an appreciation for small miracles in his life, with a little help from an unusual stranger he meets on a bus.
4. North Pole Ninjas: MISSION: Christmas!
By: Tyler Knott Gregson and Sarah Linden
Santa has a team of special elves, selected for their ability to help carry out top-secret missions that are all about helping, giving, caring and listening. Anyone who receives this box is called upon to help carry out those missions with a bit of stealth and an open heart.
5. The Night Before the Snow Day
By: Natasha Wing and Amy Wummer
It’s nighttime and snow is falling hard. Will the town be snowed in? Will there be a snow day? Odds are looking good in this newest “Night Before” book for the kids who dream of snowball fights, sledding and the possibility that it may snow again tomorrow.
6. The Great Spruce
By: John Duvall and Rebecca Gibbon
Alec loves to climb little apple trees, wide willow trees and even tall locust trees. But the great spruce, with its sturdy trunk and branches that stretch up to the sky, is his favorite. Together with his grandpa, a young boy finds a way to save his favorite tree in this heartwarming Christmas tale.
7. Happy New Year, Spot!
By: Eric Hill
Spot isn’t old enough to stay up until midnight, but he finds a way to celebrate the New Year early with his family. Bring your party hats and noisemakers as you join Spot in celebrating the New Year.
8. Hanukkah With Mazel
By: Joel Edward Stein
A poor artist who has nobody with whom to share Hanukkah discovers a hungry cat in his barn and becomes inspired to turn every night of Hanukkah into something special.
9. The Biggest Smallest Christmas Present
By: Harriet Muncaster
Clementine is a teeny-tiny girl who lives with her average-sized family. Every year, Santa brings Clementine and her brother amazing toys, but they are never the right size for Clementine. But when Clementine finally figures out how to play with those not-quite-right gifts, she comes up with the perfect way to show Santa who she is…and to get the toy of her dreams.
10. Baby Touch and Feel: Christmas
By: DK Books
Help your baby experience the magic of Christmas! This jolly treat will get your baby excited for the holiday season as he or she feels Santa’s velvety hat, the Christmas decorations, a red-nosed reindeer and much more.
11. Stowaway in a Sleigh
By: Roger Mader
When Slipper finds Mr. Furry Boots in her house, she does what any cat would do and investigates. But curiosity gets the best of her when she finds herself on a trip she hadn’t planned on taking. Join Slipper as she discovers that there’s no place like home—especially for Christmas.
12. Potatoes at Turtle Rock
By: Susan Schnur and Anna Schnur-Fishman
Annie leads her family on a nighttime journey around their farm to celebrate the first night of Hanukkah. At each stop along the way she uses riddles (and potatoes) to mark old traditions and start new ones. They end up at Turtle Rock Creek, where they give thanks for the light and warmth (and potatoes) in their lives.