New (and favourite) Christmas books for children
It’s nearly Christmas again (where has the year in lockdown gone!?) and it’s time to start sharing with children our beloved seasonal stories. They’re fun, they’re festive and this year we have a plethora of new ones to choose from, as well as some classic favourites.
Santa Loves Australia by Collette Dinnigan & illustrated by Luke Sciberras
Travel with Santa over one magical Christmas Eve as he visits iconic landmarks, meets unique animals and delights in the beauty of the country.
The stars of the Southern Cross in the Milky Way guide him over Uluru, on to tropical Queensland where he sings Christmas carols with the kookaburras. His journey takes him to the Great Barrier Reef where he spies phosphorescence he’s never seen before and on to Sydney, through the mouth of Luna Park, just for fun. The devils in the Tasmanian forest astonish him and he is amazed by Wilpena Pound. Santa’s smile is as wide as that of the crocodile he encounters in the Kimberley.
Suitable for ages 3 and up.
Christmas Always Comes by Jackie French & illustrated by Bruce Whatley
From the author and illustrator of many beloved classic picture books comes a story about an Australian Christmas.
It’s Christmas Eve in 1932, and Joey, Ellie and their parents are droving cattle in the drought. How will Santa find them on the long and dusty road? And will there be pudding and presents and a tree in the morning? But Joey knows that Christmas always comes.
Suitable for ages 3 and up.
Green is for Christmas by Drew Daywalt & illustrated by Oliver Jeffers
The crayons are back in this funny, festive book from the creators of the The Day Crayons Quit and The Day the Crayons Came Home.
Green Crayon is certain that he is the only Christmas colour in the box. Of course, Red, White, Silver and even Brown have something to say about that… No candy canes or Santa without Red, no snow without White, no bells or stars without Silver and no cookies or reindeer without Brown!
The crayons agree that they all need to come together to make Christmas special!
Suitable for ages 3 and up.
Diary of a Christmas Elf by Ben Miller
All Tog wants to do is work in Santa’s workshop and one wonderful day, the letter from Santa arrives: Tog has been selected as an apprentice elf! Unfortunately, he’s quickly relegated to cleaning out the reindeer stables. But someone has been stealing the presents from the workshop and Tog is accused of being the culprit! Can Tog use his special Christmas magic to discover the real thief and save all the presents?
A funny and heartwarming story about the true meaning of gift giving, from the King of Christmas, Ben Miller!
Suitable for ages 7 and up.
Clarice Bean: Think Like an Elf by Lauren Child
Due Nov 17
Clarice Bean usually looks forward to Christmas. Except this year it is going to be a quiet-ish Christmas in her house, which doesn’t feel right because Christmas is all about noisiness and being full up and FAMILY. And without those things, she is going to have to try exceptionordinarily hard to stop the Christmas spirit completely floating away…
But luckily, there is no one in the world like Clarice Bean - and she is going to THINK LIKE AN ELF, and that means everything will be A-OKAY. Won’t it?
Suitable for ages 5 and up.
CLASSIC CHRISTMAS BOOKS
There are some Christmas books that are popular every year, with good reason. Here are a few of our most treasured Christmas stories that we gladly return to year after year:
