Christmas in July
With long days of sunshine and summer fun, the end-of-year holidays seem a million miles away. Although it’s the season of marshmallows, not chestnuts, roasting on open fires, it will be Christmas Day in the blink of an eye. As always, we believe books make the best gifts, and we have a wonderful list of a few of this years most imaginative (and indie) children’s Christmas books. Check them out below!
The Star in the Christmas Play
Lynne Marie
Lorna Hussey, illustrator
Beaming Books
Hardcover $16.99 (32pp)
978-1-5064-3813-9
Buy: Local Bookstore (Bookshop), Amazon
Raffi the giraffe is disappointed when everyone except him earns a special role in the school’s Nativity play; all he wants is to fit in, but his height seems to make that impossible. The muted illustrations feature adorable savanna animals in playful scenes as Raffi finds himself a perfect part in the play and learns not only to accept what makes him stand out, but to celebrate it.
KARA HANSEN (July 31, 2018)
The Queen and the First Christmas Tree
Queen Charlotte’s Gift to England
Nancy Churnin
Luisa Uribe, illustrator
Albert Whitman & Company
Hardcover $16.99 (32pp)
978-0-8075-6636-7
Buy: Local Bookstore (Bookshop), Amazon
Queen Charlotte’s favorite holiday tradition was always decorating a yew branch, but when she decided one year to throw a Christmas party for one hundred children, she knew that the decorations had to be extra special. This lighthearted narrative is paired with textured, colorful, and palette-perfect drawings to tell of a generous queen and the beginning of one of the most cherished Christmas traditions.
KARA HANSEN (July 31, 2018)
The Holiday Heroes Save Christmas
Adam Wallace
Shane Clester
Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
Hardcover $10.99 (32pp)
978-1-4926-6970-8
Buy: Amazon
A mere three days before Christmas, Santa Claus is sick—luckily, he has the rest of the Holiday Heroes to help him out. Told through lively illustrations and a comic-book style layout, some disaster ensues when a leprechaun, the Tooth Fairy, a witch, and the Easter Bunny take over the Christmas duties but, ultimately, their unique strengths, creative thinking, and teamwork are showcased and celebrated.
KARA HANSEN (July 31, 2018)
Santa Claus and the Christmas Surprise
Dorothea Lachner
Maja Dusíková, illustrator
Floris Books
Hardcover $17.95 (28pp)
978-1-78250-543-3
Buy: Local Bookstore (Bookshop), Amazon
It’s Christmas Eve when the people of a small village find themselves snowed in, and the children begin to worry that Santa Claus won’t visit because of the weather. Illustrated with warm and hazy paintings that remind of traditional Christmas tales, this story follows Santa as he fulfills the children’s wishes, brings a clever surprise, and reminds the entire village of the true meaning of Christmas.
KARA HANSEN (July 31, 2018)
A Christmas Advent Story
Ivy Snow
Hannah Tolson, illustrator
Bloomsbury USA
Hardcover $14.99 (24pp)
978-1-68119-851-4
Buy: Local Bookstore (Bookshop), Amazon
In this re-imagining of an Advent calendar, each page is a collage of rainbow colors, hidden flaps, and illustrations of Christmas fun that encourage kids to practice classic first words, learn to read in full sentences, and count as high as they can—while also getting excited for the big day! This is the ideal beginner Christmas book that will stay with kids from their first steps to first grade.
KARA HANSEN (July 31, 2018)
Kara Hansen
