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Celebrate Kwanzaa, Hanukkah & Christmas Through Books.

Are You More Into Books Than Movies? Here Is My Holiday Book List. Updated 12/12/2021

By Melissa Shrader Editor Publisher Fort Collins Macaroni Kid December 13, 2021

Hanukkah Kwanzaa & Christmas are already a special holidays. These books give us a chance to sit down and read about your own tradition and learn about other's traditions.  My daughter and I take turns reading pages. I'll read a page and my she'll read one. 

Here is a list of some great books to add to the Christmas experience:

1. How the Grinch Stole Christmas
2. Mr Willowby's Christmas
3. Merry Christmas, Curious George
4. Charlie Brown Christmas
5. Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer
6. The Mitten
7. The Very Fairy Princess : A Very Merry Christmas
8. The Biggest Christmas Ever
9. Forggy's Best Christmas
10. The Little Christmas Elf
11. A Wish to be a Christmas Tree
12. The Sweet Smell of Christmas
13. Turkey Clause
14. The Berenstein Bears Meet Santa Claus
15. Mater Saves Christmas
16. Thomas's Christmas Delivery
17. Olivia Helps with Christmas
18. Mickey Saves Christmas
19. A Very Krusty Christmas (Spongebob)
20. Curious George Christmas Countdown
21. A Very Crabby Christmas (Dr. Suess/Cat in the Hat)
22. The Berenstein Bears and the Joy of Giving.
23. The Polar Express
24. The Night Before Christmas
25. The 12 Days of Christmas in South Carolina (by Melinda Long)
26. Christmas Remembered
27. Santa Claus
28. Olive the other Reindeer
29. The Christmas Miracle
30 The Teddy Bear
31. How To Catch An Elf
32. The Sweet Smell Of Christmas
33. Christmas In Camelot
34. Christmas Wish
35. Laugh Out Loud Christmas Jokes for kids
36. God Gave Us Christmas
37. Murphy's 12 Days of Christmas
38. Charlie and The Christmas Kitty
39. BOB (Sarah Boynton)
40. A Boy Called Christmas
41. The Snowman
42. The Wild Christmas Reindeer
43. 15 Letters To Santa
44. Bunny Christmas
45. The Bakers Dozen A Saint Nicholas Tale
46. Can You See What I See? Night Before Christmas.
47. When Santa Fell To Earth
48. A Wish To Be A Christmas Tree
49. Dream Snow
50. Bear Stays Up For Christmas
51. The Teddy Bear
52. Snowmen At Christmas
53. The Year Of The Perfect Christmas Tree  
54. A Pussycat's Christmas
55. A Pirate's Night Before Christmas
56. The Nutcracker
57. Carl's Christmas
58. The Legend of The Poinsettia
59. The Crippled Lamb
60. The Story of Holly & Ivy

61. Jingle Bells

62. You Are My Merry 

63. Christmas With Snowman Paul 

64. Merry Christmas Little Hoo!

65. How Santa Changed

66. North Pole Patrol 

67. Kaity Mouse And The Christmas Door

68. Christmas Time. It’s All About Jesus.

69. The Kingdom Of Christmas: Guardian Of The Mountains

70. Santa’s Zany, Wacky, Just Not Right, Night Before Christmas

71. The Road To Santiago It’s Nochebuena (Christmas Eve) during Castro’s revolution in Cuba

72. Waltz Of The Snowflakes Wordless book depicting a range of human emotions through Illustrations (Nutcracker) 

73. The Nutcracker in Harlem 

74. Night Tree 

75. Christmas Farm

76. A world of Cookies For Santa – A World Tour in cookies. 

77. Red & Lulu

78. A Christmas For Bear 

79. Gingerbread Christmas 

80. Santa Please Bring Me a Gnome

81. A Simple Christmas on the Farm by Phyllis Alsdurf

82. The Christmas Pig by JK Rowling

83. The Christmas Owl by Gideon Sterer 

84. Once Upon a Christmas by Dawn Young

85. The Magical Christmas Store by Maudie Powell-Tuck

86. Reindolphins by Kevin Brougher

87. Five More Sleeps Till Christmas by Jimmy Fallon


 Kwanzaa 


1. Little Rabbits Kwanzaa
2. The 7 Days of Kwanzaa
3. Seven Spools Of Thread A Kwanzaa Story
4. The Story of Kwanzaa
5. 7 Candles for Kwanzaa
6. Little Rabbits Kwanzaa 

7. Kevin’s Kwanzaa

8. Jaheem's First Kwanzaa

Hanukkah/Chanukah


1. Happy Hanukkah Corduroy
2. The Kvetch Who Stole Hanukkah
3. The Night Before Hanukkah
4. Hanukkah Bear
5. Latke, the Lucky Dog
6.Chanukah Lights Everywhere
7. Simon and The Bear 

8. Little Red Ruthie A Hanukkah Tale

9. Queen of the Hanukkah Dosas

10. Way Too Many Latkes A Hanukkah in Chelm

11. Oskar And the Eight Blessings

12. My True Love Gave To Me Twelve Holiday Stories

13. Hanukkah Cookies With Sprinkles About the Jewish tradition of Tzedakah (acts of Charity)

14. Shmelf The Hanukkah Elf

Hanukkah Kwanzaa & Christmas


1. My Two Holidays: A Hanukkah and Christmas Story
2. Light The Lights! A story About Celebrating Hanukkah And Christmas 

3. A Year Full Of Stories – Christmas & Kwanzaa stories from around the world.

4. Dusk – A boy and his dog walk through the city and notice the lights of Christmas, Hanakkah and Kwanzaa

5. Holiday's with a Tail  - Mother and Alex then begin a neighborhood adventure as they search for a runaway dog and meet neighbors with different winter holiday celebrations and traditions: the Hindu Diwali, the Jewish Hanukkah, the Latinx Las Posadas and the African-American Kwanzaa.

6. Home for the Holidays: A Book for Kids About the Different Holidays That Bring Us Together, with Elmo, Big Bird, and More! - Elmo, Cookie Monster, Big Bird, and more friends with festivities on Sesame Street! From Thanksgiving and Eid al-Fitr, to Chinese New Year, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Diwali, Christmas, and New Year's, this special picture book is a heartfelt celebration of different cultures and holidays from around the world.

7. Soulful Holidays: An inclusive rhyming story celebrating the joys of Christmas and Kwanzaa - Through this heartwarming tale, children and families all over the world can experience the magic of Christmas and the true essence of Kwanzaa. Read about the food, songs, cultural decorations, and more!

There is no real order to the list as to importance, all these stories are great!