25th December Christmas!

Merry Christmas everyone. A couple of days ago,  my friend at Momotimetoread told her readers her favourite Christmas picture books, 24 of them. While it is a great list, it got me thinking about what would be on my list that was different from hers. Here's 12 books I like to read to children at Christmas...12 books to take you up to Epiphany.

These books touch on the real meaning of Christmas and about how it is about giving, not receiving; how it is about family and connections to them; how it is about wishing rather than wanting; and how it is about others not just you. I also like how some Christmas stories highlight historical events, hardship and difference.

1. What Do You Wish For? by Jane Godwin and Anna Walker

2. Threadbear by Mick Inkpen

3. Angel Mae  by Shirley Hughes

4. Sarah's Two Nativities  by Janine Fraser and Helene Magisson

5. Dear Santa  by Patricia Ludlow

6. The Polar Express  by Chris Van Allsburg

7. The Legend of the Poinsettia  by Tomie dePaola

8. The Story of Holly and Ivy  by Rumer Golden and Barbara Cooney

9. The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey  by Susan Wojciechowski and P.J.Lynch

10. The Year of the Perfect Christmas Tree by Gloria Houston and Barbara Cooney

11. Fair's Fair  by Leon Garfield and Margaret Chamberlain

12.  In Flander's Fields  by Norman Jorgensen and Brian Harrison-Lever