Christmas Reading Lists
By Word Alive Press
Is there a book that always says “Christmas” to you? Someone asked us this the other day and we discovered that our answers were incredibly varied. God has gifted us with a plethora of writers sharing Christmas stories to make the holidays bright, from bite-sized picture books for children to weighty novels. It can be a wonderful thing to revisit those old books around this time of year, whether it’s a book from your distant childhood or the family favourite you dig out of your bookshelf every December for another read-through; here are some of our favourites:
Amy Groening: Miracle and Other Christmas Stories by Connie Willis
I have been a big fan of Connie Wilis for years, and it has puzzled me greatly that she is not more well-known, not only in mainstream society, but to fans of science fiction, which is her usual genre of choice. Miracle is a delightful collection of imaginative Christmas stories. In many ways they are unlike any other Christmas stories I have ever read, and yet they explore the same important, deeply spiritual truths that make Christmas the important holiday that it is. Sci-fi elements aside, each story, in its own way, shows an aspect of what it means when God is with us, and being given the opportunity to read this age-old idea in another new way is wonderful; often when I am at a loss as what to bring to a gift exchange, I hunt down a copy of Miracle to put under the tree.
Kylee Unrau: The Runaway Flying Horse by Paul Jacque Bonzon
I wracked my brain for this one, but the book that I kept coming back to was a book called The Runaway Flying Horse. I don’t know why I related it to Christmas when I was a kid other than the fact that there was snow in some of the illustrations. But I loved it, first because it was about a carousel horse that escaped, and tried acting like a real horse, but the illustrations are also beautiful, and it always reminded me of how much I loved coming home to my family, which I guess can be relevant to the holidays!
Jen Jandavs-Hedlin: The Sweet Smell of Christmas Golden Scratch-and-Sniff Book by Patrica Scarry
In my house growing up, packed away with all of the Christmas decorations were several holiday-themed books. My favourite was The Sweet Smell of Christmas a story about a bear that was scratch and sniff. The pine tree sure smelled like Christmas to me! On more than one occasion I was found curled up in my top-secret-reading-room (my closet) with my mittens and toque on, reading my Christmas books. There was something so comforting about reading and re-reading those familiar stories from year to year.
What is your favourite Christmas book? Tell us about it on our Facebook Page.
About this Contributor:
Word Alive Press is a Christian book publishing company that provides professional book publishing, sales, marketing and distribution services all in one facility!