***This post contains affiliate links. These books were received as advance review copies via NetGalley***
On the run up to Christmas, there is nothing better than snuggling up inside under a blanket with your children and emersing yourself into a good book. As someone who does Christmas advent with the girls and has done since they were tiny, I am always on the look out for NEW Christmas books that truly embrace the magic of the festive season and remind us of the important things to celebrate in December.
2020 has been a really challenging year, and I am determined to make Christmas as special as possible, no matter what rules or regulations are in place at the time. The good news is there are LOADS of new book releases this season that are perfect for those cold winter nights, from preschoolers to tweens, here are the must have Christmas books for 2020 that your children can read on the run up to Christmas Eve or even unwrap under the tree. Keep checking back on this post as more of our faves will be added over the next few weeks!
Tinsel by Sibeal Pounder – released 29th October 2020 – Our Rating 5/5!
The girl who invented Christmas….
Oh my goodness, what can I say about this book! Tinsel – the girl who invented Christmas is a story of friendship, determination, family and hope, with a strong feminist vibe, bashing down gender stereotypes, reinforcing the message that girls can be strong and brave too, embracing individuality and standing up for your beliefs.
At the start of Tinsel we meet Blanche Claus, an orphan child who lives under a bridge – she hates Christmas, and normally counts down the hours, minutes and seconds until it’s over and gone for another year. One night an old lady stops her and gives her a gift – a glass bauble and when she peers inside it she can see a scene moving inside – it actually looks like its really there – but it cant be – can it?
A chance encounter leads her to meet Rinki, a child who LOVES Christmas, and they share a mince pie picnic together. Every day that follows she returns to try and find her new friend, but she’s never there, leading her to believe it was all in her imagination. Some time they are finally reunited whilst Blanche is on an important mission and their Christmas adventure truly begins.
What if every child could have a gift on Christmas Day, just like the gift that the old lady gave to her?
A book that makes you question everything you know about Christmas – what if Father Christmas didn’t create Christmas after all?? I think Tinsel is a must have for children this Christmas. It would make an awesome advent read and absolutely NEEDS to be made into a movie as this is a Netflix film that would give Christmas Chronicles a run for its money!!
Santa Jaws – Mark Sperring and Sophie Corrigan – Released 15th October 2020 – Our Rating 4.5/5
Perfect for preschoolers and full of rhyming charm…
Santa Jaws is a refreshing Christmas book with a difference. Down in the depths of the ocean, we. meet Shelly the Shark who absolutely LOVES Christmas and decides to do a good deed by setting up her very own undersea grotto for all the fishes to enjoy.
Not surprisingly they are all a little suspicious. Shelley is a shark after all. But when Sid the Squid stumbles across the grotto, she is over the moon. She’s never hung a Christmas Tree, or licked a candy cane and never built a snowman (which seems an awful shame).
Whilst somewhat taken back by Shelley’s Festive Disguise, she soon learns not to judge a book by its cover, and Sid and Shelley team up to create the perfect Christmas surprise.
A beautifully illustrated Christmas picture book with lovely rhyming prose throughout, this is a fun festive read with a difference that little ones will enjoy reading over and over again, chanting the words along with you as you read.
The Good Bear by Sarah Lean – Our Rating – 4.5/5
What a lovely book for the Winter Season. The Good Bear is sure to give you the warm and fuzzies.
12 year old Thea’s parents divorced when she was young, and as such, she doesn’t see a lot of her estranged Father. One Christmas, she is encouraged by her Mother to go and spend Christmas with him and his new family in Norway. An aspiring writer, Thea hopes that her love of writing can help rekindle their relationship as Father and Daughter and asks him for a type writer for Christmas, just like the one her Mother has.
Nervous about meeting his new family, she arrives to find that everything is so different. The children are distant and cold. there is no tree, no decorations, and everyone seems to busy and preocuppied, even her Father Henry. When she opens what she thinks is her typewriter to see a pair of blue boots inside, her heart breaks a little. Her Dad clearly doesn’t know her at all.
She storms off to explore on her own and throws off.a boot in a fit of emotional rage. When retrieving it, she discovers something truly amazing – a big brown bear that has escaped from his captors, but rather than being scared, she finds him fascinating. They develop a strong friendship and she starts to visit him every day. When hunters threaten to capture the bear, it’s up to Thea to try and save him, but can she do it alone?
A heart warming story of friendship, bravery and determination set in a Scandi world, The Good Bear is a great reminder that not everything is how it seems on the surface, and that when we work together, we really can achieve anything.
12 days of Christmas by Lara Hawthorne – Our Rating – 4/5
A classic song with seek and find pictures to die for…
This song is one of my daughter’s favourite Christmas songs, after singing it last year at her school assembly carol concert.
The classic story / song of the 12 days of Christmas with absolutely gorgeous illustrations throughout – There is so much detail within the pictures and both my girls loved the scene at the end where you had to attempt to spot them all hidden in the picture.
This book would make a great Christmas Eve box addition or one for Christmas Advent if you do it. Whilst the song may be super familiar; there is something about the illustrations that make this book one to cherish.
